Timeline
I Mar. 2024 - Jul. 2024
I UX designer in Digital Banking team
What is SmartStreet (HOA Property Management platform)?
SmartStreet is SaaS software used by HOA property management companies to handle HOA finances, including payment processing, deposits, and property management.
SmartStreet Statistics
439
38,014
$4,130,982,520
challenges
top revenue
The HOA Property Management platform is BOC's top revenue-grossing product, generating $300 million annually.
poor usability
Initially developed by developers 15 years ago, the outdated platform lacks coherence and hinders user experience.
Current State Analysis IA
objective
analyze and understand the current platform for enhancement.
activity
create and document the platform's Information Architecture from a top-down perspective based on observations.
finding
current IA is extremely intricate, extending far beyond what is currently depicted, with numerous interlinked gateways heavily contributing to the platform's complexity.
User Interviews
objective
identify the users' pain points to define the correct UX opportunities to improve the platform.
Scoop
the interviews with internal users were conducted through Teams for 30 to 45 minutes, asking questions about their experience with the portal and the feedback they receive daily.
All user feedback is documented in Airtable for optimal organization and viewing.
Heuristic Evaluation
01.
Interview Feedback
Based on these interview feedback:
Navigation feels aligned, but occasional issues arise, prompting suggestions to use alternative routes or storytelling to locate desired features
If someone is very frustrated, I suggest they choose 'other' and write what they need. We'll read it and follow up from there
Users face challenges in creating tickets, particularly in understanding the issue and selecting the appropriate ticket type
02.
Evaluation
03.
Define Problem
Identifying the correct ticket type per use case is challenging.
04.
Rating
heuristic importance
how significantly the problem affects the overall user experience of the platform.
user impact
how the problem affects the user's ability to complete their task.
05.
Define UX Opportunities
Visibility of System Status
Difficult to identify the primary action across the application.
heuristic importance
user impact
Aesthetic and Minimalist Design
UI design not aligning with the Aurum design system.
User Control and Freedom
Users can't delete or cancel a submitted ticket.
Error Prevention
The lack of error recovery functionality in the Ticketing System.
Help and Documentation
No confirmation of receipt or updates on ticket progress on a submitted ticket.
Recognition Rather than Recall
User must rely on their historical knowledge of the platform to navigate it correctly
Initiatives Identified
Product Initiative
Examples of user feedback
"some of the software companies are charging pretty hefty fees for people to set up ACH through the software like $15 per transaction..."
"Portal does not integrate well with IBS, leading to discrepancies in account balances and issues with ICS."
User Provisioning
"we have a group of us on the analyst team who supports us several of the tier one clients, which are probably our biggest clients who have the biggest deposits on the books."
System Usability
"Desired improvements include better attachment functionality, clearer visibility of attachments to customers, and a smoother, less confusing process for both staff and clients."
Payments
"What a misapplied payment is, is that a homeowner has gone into our portal, made a payment, and maybe chose the wrong association name"
Ticketing
"We're averaging somewhere around 100 to 150 support tickets a day."
UX Opportunities Identified
01.
Identified Problem
The lack of error recovery functionality in the Ticketing System.
Excessive and redundant steps and clicks when creating a ticket.
Navigation to different menus when creating a ticket is inconsistent, and the directions for user actions are unclear.
02.
Define a UX opportunity to address identified problems
Top Initiative Identified
Product Initiatives by Influence
Influence
Overview
Feedback, Opportunities And Initiatives
6
Client Services
Sales/Account Executive
Exception Fraud
Account Servicing
97
Interviewee’s role/team
Client Services
Sales/Account Executive
Exception/Fraud
Account Servicing
24
8
Initiatives
Current State/First Impression
Banking Service
Integration
User Provisioning
System Usability
Payments
Ticketing
Top 2 Product Initiatives to Focus on for the First Release
System Usability
Implement platform-wide usability refactoring and enhancements to optimize user experiences based on UX heuristic principles and evaluations of the portal.
Improve the overall user experience in the support ticketing process, encompassing every aspect of the process, from creating and managing tickets to viewing ticket details.
Current State Analysis - Dashboard
It's [using the platform] is about knowing where to go and it's a process because it's a lot of data that's in here based on what you're looking for within the platform.
— Client services team member
Current
1
Lock of Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
Top menu with complex submenus makes it challenging for users to select the right options and navigate efficiently.
2
Lock of Visibility of System Status
Poor readability and ineffective content placement.
Recommended
1
Improved Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
Rearranged the layout to feature a single pane dashboard with side navigation to improve findability, navigation, and scalability.
2
Improved Visibility of System Status
Placed top tabs corresponding to the selected side navigation menu, with numbered indicators to effectively communicate required actions.
Current State Analysis - Ticket Details
We manage 9-15 tickets daily and spend 2 to 3 hours on average handling a single phone call.
— Client services team member
Current
1
Lock of Recognition Rather than Recall
No clear action indicator to view the ticket details. A user must rely on past experience to click on the row to display the ticket details.
2
Lock of Visibility of System Status
When a user clicks a submitted ticket, the detail box appears below without clear visual hierarchy, requiring scrolling and hindering readability and navigation.
Recommended
1
Improved Visibility of System Status
Clicking a ticket card on the dashboard reveals a sliding pane with details, including progress, assignee, and communication.
This design enhances clarity and keeps users informed about the ticket's status.
2
Improved Match Between the System and the Real World
A selected ticket card moves to the top to visually link it with the detail pane. A user can switch between cards to view the ticket details.
Users face challenges in creating tickets, particularly in understanding the issue and selecting the appropriate ticket type.
— Exception/fraud team member
Current
1
Lock of Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
Currently, users must navigate through 12 ticket types and 40 topics to select the correct category, which prolongs the submission process, creates findability issues, and lead to users abandoning ticket creation.
Recommended
1
Improved Visibility of System Status
When a user initiates the ticket creation process, a placeholder appears at the top of the ticket section to maintain UX design consistency and inform users of the current state of the ticket creation process.
2
Improved Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
Implemented a search bar to simplify finding the correct ticket type. Defined and sorted the most frequent ticket types for quick and easy access during ticket creation.
