Atlas CRM Dashboard - Design Sprint
Project
Atlas CRM – Design Sprint
Team
Product Designers / UX Researcher / Engineering / Project Manager
Timeline
1 week
Tools
Figma / Mural / Microsoft Teams / Notion
Overview
Atlas is a Condo Analyst CRM application that helps condo analysts manage their workflow more efficiently. The platform allows analysts to access and manage data related to condo reviews, generate detailed reports, track communication with clients, manage their schedule.. Overall, the Condo Analyst CRM simplifies the condo review process and helps analysts save time and increase productivity.
What is a Condo Analyst?
A condo analyst is a professional who specializes in conducting condo reviews and providing advice on the condo’s overall financial health and physical condition. A condo analyst may work independently or as part of a team, such as a condo management company or real estate brokerage. Their primary goal is to help condo buyers and condo corporations make informed decisions based on a thorough analysis of the condo’s financial and physical health.
Problem
Reviewing a condominium is, admittedly, a complicated process. There are lots of moving parts and plenty that can go wrong, but it can be mastered. The current CRM interface makes the workflow even more complicated for new and existing users.
Project Goals
- Create an intuitive CRM Dashboard
2. Perform a UX Audit on old interface
3. Make interface friendly to new and existing users
User Goals
- Improve workflow
2. Ability to onboard new users to the CRM
3. Ability to easily navigation information
Business Goals
- # of users signing up
2. # of returning users
3. # completed projects
Solution
A Condo Analyst CRM with search filters, a well structured dashboard, and the ability to customize their streamline process makes it more efficient for new and existing users.
Day 1 – Understanding the problem
During this project’s understanding phase, the team worked with an internal Condo Team to balance research needs with minimal impact on their workflow. We developed a personal glossary and identified areas of improvement in workflows through user interviews, focus groups, and card sorting activities. The result was a better understanding of the most relevant information and logical locations for access, leading to improved user experiences for the Condo Analysts. We synced up with the research team to review the findings and began brainstorming designs.
Key takeaways
- 4 Users said onboarding new users was a difficult task
- 2 Users said navigating the dashboard was confusing
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- 2 Users said it is not obvious what the current dashboard is displaying
- 3 Users said they were presented with an overwhelming amount of information
Main Insights
The following questions helped drive the design process.
How might we design a more user-friendly experience in order to improve ease of use for Condo Analysts?
Day 2 – Ideation
Collaborative brainstorming and prototyping. The main goals of this phase include generating fresh ideas, collaborating to bring varied inspirations and perspectives, and embracing iteration to improve and refine proposed solutions. The team sought inspiration from various industries, including through lightning demos and individually sketching out ideas through Crazy 8s. Heat mapping was also utilized to visually indicate the ideas team members were excited to explore and test with users, allowing each member to influence the direction of the design.
Lighting Demos – took various CRM interfaces and discussed with the team what was working and drew inspiration from
- This is an exercise to inspire your team with products or services that they think they can use as inspiration for their concepts in the next phases of their design sprints.
Crazy 8s – activity in order to sketch and discuss potential ideas for the workflow
- It is a fast sketching exercise that challenges people to sketch eight distinct ideas in eight minutes
Day 3 – Deciding
After the ideation phase, we moved on to the deciding phase, where we evaluated and selected the most promising solutions to pursue further. This phase involved careful consideration of the data we collected during the ideation phase, including the heat map, user feedback, and insights from the lightning demos.
To guide our decision-making process, we established a set of criteria that we used to evaluate each proposed solution. The criteria included feasibility, user value, business value, and alignment with our project goals. We also conducted a competitive analysis to ensure that our chosen solutions were distinctive and addressed gaps in the market. This phase was important in ensuring that we pursue the most promising and valuable solutions and set the foundation for the next phase of the project.
Based on the what was established in the understanding and ideation phases, we decided to implement the following:
- Project dashboard with the ability for user to edit columns (drag),
- A feature that allows user to hide and display information on the project dashboard
- Dropdown feature in project dashboard to easily assign tasks to other members
- Autocomplete feature in the search field for easier navigation
- New button component for easy access to create a new project
Day 4 – Prototyping
I developed a prototype based on the most promising solution sketched earlier. The prototype aimed to align with the sprint’s overall objective. To do so, I integrated the features that our users had communicated to us during previous sprint phases. Additionally, I referred back to the information gathered on Day 1 of the sprint, by having information to reflect on, I could ensure that the dashboard’s overall appearance and usability were consistent with our users’ needs.
Iterations:
Day 5 – Testing
The team executed a remote user testing session for the final version of the dashboard. Five users participated in the testing remotely through Microsoft Teams due to the COVID pandemic.
The testing focused on tasks and aimed to identify usability issues, attitudes, and behaviors of Condo Analyst, as well as the performance of the solution. The session lasted for an hour, and the team gathered valuable feedback from the participants, which will be used to enhance and perfect the prototypes.
Improvements
- 3 Users mentioned that they needed to the ‘+ New Project’ to be more versatile
- 2 Users commented that the labeling phases & programs could be improved
- 3 Users found the auto complete search functionality useful
Retrospective – Design Sprint:
What went well
Team collaboration
Remote design sprint
Communication with Condo Analyst
What didn’t go well
Participants had issues with Microsoft Team, internet connections, during Usability Testing
Usability testing would go over allotted time
What can be improved
Involving more Condo Analyst in order to get more feedback on their workflow
Reflections
Understanding the user
This was a great experience learning about the user and their overall pain points. It was great sitting down with a Condo Analyst and understanding their needs. This part made the designing process more clear.
Condo Analyst process is complicated to wrap your head around
There is still more to learn about the Condo Analyst process, it is a very complicated workflow. I believe I can still do more on my part to sit down with users and further understand their workflow/process as well as do more secondary research on my end.
Design Sprint
This sprint was a great learning experience where I got to wear multiple hats and learn more about the design process. It helped me empathize with our users and really understand their needs. This experience really helped me evolve as a designer.
Next Steps
In the future I would like to be able to create:
Mobile Application
Provide a mobile application that allows analysts to work on-the-go and access critical data from anywhere.
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