HomesRunner App

Project Overview

My goal for this project was to better understand where the app succeeds in meeting customer expectations & needs and where improvements can be made to increase a streamlined user experience.

My Role

I was one of the User Experience Researchers and sole Designer for this project.

I conducted a heuristics analysis on the app, developed usability tests and helped conduct them with 8 participants, synthesized the raw data, and produced several design concepts to recommend for the client.

In This Case Study

OPPORTUNITY SPACE What improvements can be made to better streamline the user experience?

METHODOLOGY Heuristics Report and Usability Testing

FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS What works and what doesn’t? How can it be improved?

RESEARCHER’S INSIGHTS 3 key steps to keep the app moving forward

1 — Resolve bug issues
2 — Implement recommended changes
3 — Conduct a second round of usability testing

What improvements can be made to better streamline the user experience?

OPPORTUNITY SPACE

Home Screen of HomesRunner App in it’s current state

My job was to evaluate the usability of the platform, identify key areas for improvement, and visualize recommended changes.

According to the HomesRunner developer:
“HomesRunner’s goal is to directly connect homeowners with home service providers (like plumbers, roofers, etc), specifically empowering the homeowners to get the best services at the best possible price.”

With this in mind, my team and I developed a series of scenarios and follow up questions to determine to which degree the app allowed users to:

  • connect to home service providers

  • requests bids on their projects to get the best service at the best price

  • book emergency service for their needs

  • find past or current booking information

  • cancel a service request

We conducted virtual usability tests with 8 testing participants, each rotating between moderating, note taking, tracking behavioral data, and gathering other qualitative data.

Heuristics Report

To better understand what works and what doesn’t work with the HomesRunner App prior to testing with participants, I conducted a Heuristic Report.

Namely, I found the app to consistently portray main and subcategories that match users’ mental models, but inaccurately display system statuses and cause confusion with design hierarchy.

Functions that should be easily accessible to users are hidden in deeper screens, and the copy of those functions doesn’t clearly describe its use, leaving users feeling confused instead of empowered.

METHODOLOGY

Heuristic Report conducted prior to user testing that I used to determine key areas for improvement. Systems Status was a common heuristics violation.

Usability Testing

Virtually conducted 5 usability tests using scenarios with 8 participants:

  • Tested users’ emotional experiences while navigating the app, noting particular areas of unease or confusion by assessing their emotions after each usability test scenario.

  • I conducted a Bull’s Eye Diagram test with a testing participant to identify the user’s values.

    • I found that reputation and reliability were high priorities for the user, so I emphasized making the provider and company information visible to the user in my design.

    • I found that the user didn’t value a personal site as highly, so I removed the star/favoriting feature on the home page and opted for a more streamlined placement.

Excerpt from Usability Test
Script: Scenario 1

Bull’s Eye Diagramming

What works and what doesn’t?

TESTING RESULTS

What Works

1. Majority understood the premise of the product

-8 out of 8 participants understood the purpose of the app

2. Most participants easily navigated Bookings and Choose Provider portions

-6 out of 8 participants expressed confidence when navigating Bookings

-6 out of 8 participants expressed confidence when navigating Choose Provider

Insights

These areas are meeting the mental model of users. As such, users feel confident navigating these screens and this builds user trust in the app.

Recommendation

  • Continue to refine the design hierarchy in these areas, increasing visibility and to better streamline the user experience.

What Doesn’t Work

1. Most participants struggled to understand Bidding and On Demand

-8 out of 8 participants expressed confusion around the wording of these buttons

-8 out of 8 participants expressed confusion around the functionality of one or more of these buttons

Choose Provider, On Demand, & Bidding buttons are grouped together 3 screens deep.

Home Screen in
current state.

Insights

The wording of “Bidding” and “On Demand” are not clear for the everyday user.

New users are more likely to leave the app and pursue other resources when they don’t feel like they can easily navigate to where they need to go to accomplish their goals.

The copy used in an app should place the user as the hero of their journey, allowing them to feel empowered and to complete a task seamlessly. This increases confidence and trust, which drives positive business results.

Recommendation

  • Change the user flow regarding navigation by relocating On Demand and Bidding services to the home screen.

  • Consider changing the language from On Demand to Emergency Service and Bidding to Start Bidding for increased clarity.

RECOMMENDATION 1
Home Screen (updated user flow)

  • Make Emergency Service and Bidding available on the home page

Recommended Changes

  • Remove “favorites” from categories

  • Add “Favorites” tab to bottom navigation bar for preferred vendors/providers

RECOMMENDATION 2
Emergency Service (updated user flow)

Recommended Changes

  • Provide progress indication

  • Have personal details closed until last screen

  • Have icons disappear once time frame has been selected

  • Have recommended providers adjust to new availability selection

  • Recommend most available provider for easy access

  • Once provider is selected, display relevant information to build user trust

  • Have personal info boxes pop open

  • Book Providers button becomes activated

RECOMMENDATION 3
Start Bidding (updated user flow)

  • On one screen, have clear sections that allow the user to input their request details before getting bids

Recommended Changes

  • Notify users that their bidding request has been submitted and they can check back later for updates

2. Most participants expressed desire for important details more easily accessible

-8 out of 8 participants expressed frustration when they couldn’t confirm their own vendor when going through Bidding or On Demand

-8 out of 8 participants expressed frustration when they couldn’t assess vendor’s company or reputation

Little to no personal information about providers available on the app

Insights

Users seek provider and company information and thoughtful reviews when hiring a service provider. Users know that the repairs or projects completed by a provider are likely something they will have to live with for upwards of a decade. In order to connect homeowners to reputable home service providers, users need access to decide for themselves how reputable a provider is by having access to valuable information like how long they have been at a company, what they specialize in, if they are backed by a HomesRunner Guarantee, and any reviews they have acquired.

Recommendation

Offer easily accessible important provider and company information to build user confidence.

  • Even when displaying available providers with the map, give users the option to learn more about the company and the provider

  • Make is easy for users to see the most important information about the provider

RECOMMENDATION
Provider Information

3. Most participants found the app lacked confirmation functions

-6 out of 8 participants felt the lack of friction led them to being stuck with a provider

-8 out of 8 participants felt they couldn’t trust the app to provide reputable providers

Insights

Users felt the speedy service was too fast — before even realizing they have booked a provider, the app alerts them that a provider is on their way to the user’s home. Users need to be in the driver's seat when it comes to allowing someone into their homes and working on their appliances and houses, and users need to feel confident that the provider they have chosen has been vetted (both by the HomesRunner app, as well as by them—see previous recommendation about offering easily accessible provider and company information to the user).

Recommendation

  • Create friction by allowing user to select their own provider and offering a confirmation screen before processing the order

Currently, app searches for first provider that accepts the request, instead of allowing user to vet and confirm the vendor.

Allow user to select their own vendor while still offering quick service by suggesting providers near them and who are available soon.

RECOMMENDATION
Create more friction with vendor selection

Researcher’s Insights

The HomesRunner App is in it’s early stages of development with a lot of potential for growth. In my professional opinion, there are 3 key steps for the developer to take in order to keep moving the app forward so it can serve its customers well.

1 — Resolve bug issues including instances where the app doesn’t allow back navigation/error prevention for the user, and instances where the app incorrectly indicates the system status (coinciding slides from the Findings & Recommendations Report below).

2 — Apply the recommended changes referenced here and in the Findings & Recommendations report to enhance the usability and better streamline the user experience.

3 — Conduct a second round of usability testing to observe how the changes made after the first round better understand where the app succeeds in meeting customer expectations and where further improvements can be made.

Bugs & Issues; instance where app doesn’t allow exit navigation/error prevention

Bugs & Issues; instance where app incorrectly indicates the system status