On-demand home services marketplace geared towards the millennial mindset, with the goal of being “the Uber of home services solutions.”
Omdana is the Swedish word meaning “to transform.” Not only does this product help transform the users’ home, it also focuses on transforming the process in which homeowners find, communicate and work with contractors.
Website
Amy Yang
Phylicia Flynn
Research
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability Testing
Visual Design
Competitive Analysis
Research Synthesis
Personas
User Journey Map
User Flow
Wireframes
Prototype
Style Guide
10 weeks
Sketch
Invision
Figma
Miro
How might we create an industry-leading product that connects home service professionals with homeowners that lack DIY skills?
Become an industry leader by creating an all-in-one platform
Capitalize on millennials' lack of DIY skills and connect them with home service professionals
Find reliable contractors for their home projects
Simplified process for finding, reviewing, bidding, scheduling and paying contractors
Conceptual project
Homeowner facing side of platform
Fully remote team
UI Design was out of scope but added after testing
A competitive analysis was done to assess the strengths & weaknesses of products already on the market. It also provided an opportunity to point out any gaps in the market. We took a look at 6 competitors:
Most platforms sent out contact information to contractors they see to be the best fit
Platforms are focused on searching and contacting contractors only
The platforms provided limited but simple and essential information about contractors
Most platforms utilized progress bars on forms to keep users informed of the status
A survey was conducted to gain an overview of homeowner/renters’ goals and pain points while working with home service professionals. Users were sourced through SurveySwap, Poll Pool and social media.
participants
questions
millennials
find contractors through
word of mouth
use their computers
to research
do not track the
progress their projects
Using our survey results as a starting point, we then interviewed our targeted demographic to gain a deeper understanding of their goals, behaviors, pain points, motivations, and frustrations.
participants
age range
male to female
Users prefer word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family on contractors
The construction phase with unexpected costs is a stressor for users
Users value ratings and reviews of contractors, but will not take the time to write a full review themselves
Users are persuaded by incentives, such as discount codes & coupons
We used data taken from the user interview to develop a primary persona to represent the millennial homeowners.
Even though our focus is on the user side, we did not want to forget about the contractor. I created a secondary proto-persona to make sure we fairly represent the contractors to the users. Data was based on information found from articles and forums.
To further build empathy, I created a journey map to go through the process of researching and selecting possible contractors for the user’s project. This highlighted pain points and opportunities to improve the process.
Millennial homeowners have trouble selecting trusted contractors for their home projects. The dispersed process of searching, reviewing bids and completing transactions makes it hard for users to stay on top of their projects, resulting in high stress and lack of confidence.
To create a simplified solution to the pain points outlined in the journey map, this user flow streamlines the process while also adding some delight to the process.
Now that the problems and challenges have been laid out, my teammate and I used Miro to brainstorm possible solutions for project progress tracking. We utilized mindmapping and I Like/I Wish/What-if to generate ideas then a Priority Matrix to stay focused.
Find and connect with contractors but also provide support through the entire length of the project
Allow contractors to create a more complete profile to further gain trust of homeowners
Allow users to select when and to whom their personal information gets shared with
In order to get user to leave a review, have an option for a quick star rating
Through the usability test, we aimed to validate the design solutions by creating specific tasks to be completed using our mid-fidelity prototype.
participants
age range
male to female
tasks
You search for Kitchen Remodeling contractors and would like to receive a quote from the first contractor you find. How would you accomplish this?
Your kitchen renovation will start in a few weeks. In order to stay on top of the progress, you want to make sure you’re receiving updates daily through the platform and via email. Show me how you would set these preferences.
Now you’re halfway through your remodeling project. You want to check out a recent photo update of the cabinet installation that happened on Feb 7th. Show me how you would find that.
Your other project, Hardwood Floor Installation, is now complete. You are pleased with the work and would like to leave a review. How would you go about reviewing the contractor for that project?
completion rate
overall satisfaction
out of 5
ease of use
out of 5
level of transparency
out of 5
Users were generally pleased with the layout and content structure of each page
Users easily found the location and were satisfied with the photo updates because of its familiarity
There was confusion around the form labels and what fields are required
The pop-up for leaving a review got mixed feedback. Some users will exit the modal before reading what it is, while others loved the convenience
Users did not recognize symbols on project card or the settings menu icon
Users were confused on some terms and icons used
Accomplishments & badges to help users more easily assess contractors
Allow contractor & previous clients to upload photos of work
List out the team members; nobody wants strangers in their home
Option to save and send quote information to other contractors to save time
User profile has quick info on side bar and tabs for projects, bookmarks and profile
Prominent progress bar that shows completed stages and estimated finish
Budget tracker to help owners stay on top of costs and payments
All collaborators can upload photos to share
Clicking on a completed project enables a pop-up with a short review form
Users can also leave a review from the contractor's profile
If users skip the pop-up, they still have the CTA on their project page
To further increase engagement, a reward system with a points was implemented
To provide more autonomy, there's the added the option to change individual project settings
Users can add collaborators to their project
Easy way to customize notification preferences and download project related documents
Users can contact support if they're experiencing a project related issue
On the final usability test, one user stated “it’s like AirBnB for contractors.” Hey! That’s pretty close to being Uber, right?!
There is some more testing that needs to be done on this website. In particular, the requesting a quote form received mixed reviews. Coming up with a few solutions and conducting A/B testing would be the most efficient.
The visual design has not yet been vetted. The final usability test was conducted using mid-fidelity wireframes and the addition of images, colors and real text could change the outcomes.
