UX & Product - Case StudyMaking home-maintenance easier and friendlier for tenants & owners
HandyHome is a subscription service app that helps users with their home-maintenance needs, from finding professionals & tradespeople to learning DIY tricks and organising regular check-ups.
The Challenge
Busy homeowners and renters lack the time and skills to fix any issues that arise with their property, and conduct regular maintenance.
The Goal
Design an app that will help users easily find and book assistance with home repairs and maintenance.
Project Overview
My role as a UX & Product Designer involved conducting interviews, paper and digital wire-framing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.
This project was developed between December 2021 - March 2022 as part of the Google UX Certification Programme.
Research & Discovery
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m designing for and their needs.
During the initial research I identified working adults who don’t have time for repairs and regular maintenance of their home as a primary user group. I also identified tenants and home-owners as two distinct user groups with different needs & pain points.
Research revealed that time was not the only factor limiting users from conducting property maintenance: other user pain points included lack of skills and support. Many users expressed a big interest in DIY and feeling more confident about property maintenance when they had the sufficient time and support for it.
Mapping Beibhinn’s user journey revealed how helpful it would be for users to have access to a dedicated home maintenance app.
2. Ideation
Taking the time to draft iterations on paper ensured that the elements that made it to digital wireframes would be well-suited to address user pain points. For the home screen, I prioritised a quick and easy access to services & upcoming appointments to help users save time.
I also introduced guides on the home-screen to help users quickly find DIY tutorials.
Easy search and filtering was a key user need to address in the designs, in addition to providing options for users that don’t know what service they might need.
Stars were used to mark the elements of each sketch that would be used in the initial digital wireframes.
3. Designing & Testing
Using the completed set of digital wireframes, I created a low-fidelity prototype.
The primary user flow I connected was searching for a scheduling & booking a remote service call, so the prototype could be used in a usability study.
Next, I needed to find out if the main user experience - scheduling a service call - was easy for users to complete.
I also wanted to understand the specific challenges that users might face in the searching, scheduling, and booking processes.
I conducted a moderated, remote usability study with a diverse group of users: 2 Male, 3 Female, 2 homeowners, 3 tenants, all in full time work, 3 parents, 2 cohabiting with partners.
I iterated on the initial design taking into account the research insights, designed mockups and conducted further usability tests.
Many users expressed interest in the tutorials and wanted to be able to sort by category. I incorporated a search and filter option to the tips and tutorials to facilitate this.
I added steppers to guide users through the booking process more clearly. Used bigger, legible typography and simplified each screen to show one clear action for each step.
The second usability study revealed that some users didn’t immediately see how the tutorials could be useful to them, or trusted they would find relevant material there.
I also found that some users felt the booking success screen was jarring - they were experiencing a difficult moment having a leak in their kitchen, yet there was a celebration icon in there. They felt it wasn’t a time for celebration. They also were left confused as to what to expect or where the call was going to happen.
I replaced the names Tips & Tutorials to DIY Tutorials to clarify the use of this feature, and added star ratings to give credibility and relevance.
I replaced the icon and made the next steps clearer so users can know what to expect.
Many users couldn’t immediately understand what a free call entailed, or a difference between a free call and remote assistance.
Many users hesitated between looking for some kind of plumbing service under services, or booking a free call.
There wasn’t an immediately clear CTA.
To streamline this flow, I replaced the ”Book a free call” button, with a “Book Now” button. A remote assistance free call is now part of the services you can book via the Book Now button.
Accessibility Considerations
1
Used icons to help make navigation easier
2
Used big input forms and buttons, along with big, high contrast text and elements, to make navigation easier.
3
Provided alt text to all images to make navigation screen-reader accessible.
“I have been trying to find someone to help me with an issue with my boiler for months. I really genuinely wish I could use this app already!”
— Usability study user, Round 2“
Takeaways
Impact
Most users I interviewed expressed they would love to have an app like this in real life. Many of the participants felt they would pay a subscription fee to have their home maintenance needs met without hassle. A lot of users commented this product would be really useful for landlords and property management businesses.
What I learned
It was specially interesting learning how the more simple, and the least options you can provide at each step, the more usable and delightful the product seems to be for the users.
I also learned there is great diversity in the way users navigate or what their expectations are, this really highlighted the need to user test with a big and varied group of testers. Thinking about the solutions to the insights gained was one of my favourite parts of the process, in which I learned about patience, perseverance and attention to detail.
Thank you.
Thank you for your time reviewing my work on the HandyHome App! If you’d like to
see more or get in touch, visit my full resume or reach out to me over email: