Senior Product Designer
Figma · Figjam
2024
At McMakler, we're a PropTech company transforming how real estate brokers work across Germany. With high interest rates in 2023 making property sales challenging, we recognized brokers needed smarter tools to connect with potential buyers.
Our solution leverages years of accumulated data, giving brokers direct access to a comprehensive client database. This approach allows them to match properties with interested buyers more efficiently, helping brokers identify the right clients before properties hit the market.
The goal of this project is to transform our current applicant database into a strategic matching system. We aim to develop a data-driven solution that enables brokers to efficiently connect potential buyers with suitable properties, turning our existing online applicant information into a powerful tool for increasing property viewings and sales conversions.
For this feature, we conducted a comprehensive research process to gain deep insights into our brokers' needs and challenges. Our approach included:
for the broker-focused side of our business.
This multi-faceted research approach allowed us to develop a draft customer journey map for both broker acquisition and selling processes.
Following our research, we conducted a workshop that helped us refine the customer journey map and align HQ and field brokers on the roadmap and next quarterly objectives for the broker-focused side of our business.
We organized a focused 2-hour workshop that demonstrated our commitment to collaborative problem-solving and strategic innovation in real estate technology.
The primary goals were to:
Key Workshop Highlights:
By bringing together field brokers and headquarters staff, we:
The workshop exemplified our team's ability to:
This approach underscores our commitment to continuous improvement and technological innovation in real estate sales.
As a facilitator in the workshop, I guided participants to collaboratively build the Selling Broker Customer Journey Map. Together, we identified critical pain points and opportunities throughout the selling process.
This collaborative approach helped us pinpoint key areas where design interventions could significantly improve broker efficiency and success rates in the challenging 2024 real estate market.
Pain Points
Opportunities
After a collaborative voting session, we identified the lack of applicants as the most critical pain point. This challenge emerged as our top priority, presenting the most significant opportunity to drive business improvement and support our brokers' success.
I conducted in-depth interviews with brokers to understand their current workflows, uncovering key insights about their existing shared Excel lists and property matching practices.
I synthesized our findings to develop two main concepts: "Centralized Applicant Database" and "Integrated Reporting System". These ideas formed the foundation for transforming manual processes into an efficient, digital solution within Brokerforce.
After ideation, I defined the MVP core flows:
Additionally, I ensured error handling was considered throughout the UI design process for a robust user experience.These flows formed the foundation for our MVP and initial testing.
I created wireframes to align the information architecture with stakeholders. Through iterations, I refined the core structure and determined key functions for the UX concept. This process established the main framework for our MVP.
I reviewed the brand identity guidelines and defined the color palette to be used for the UI. Collaborating with the design team, we crafted typography, buttons, input fields, and other elements while ensuring accessibility standards were met. This process established a cohesive and user-focused design within the boundaries of the corporate identity.
I prepared a fully visualized product prototype and developed a comprehensive test plan. This crucial stage allowed me to validate the design by presenting core product functionalities to users. I finalized the prototype to conduct thorough usability testing, marking an exciting milestone in our product development journey.
Pages included in the test :
List - Past application - Search profiles - Report - Not completed
Total 6 participants - 4 selling brokers - 2 directors
Task 1
You have just logged into Brokerforce and received a call from your manager informing you about a new property added to your portfolio. Your task is to find information about this property. How would you proceed to view the details of this new property?
All applicant accomplished the task
Task 2
Now that you have reviewed the information about this property in Brokerforce, your task is to find potential buyers for this property within the system. Based on the information you see on the screen, how would you proceed to identify and contact potential buyers?
5 applicants accomplished the task
Task 3
You've searched for potential buyers, but the results are limited. Your goal now is to expand your search to find more potential buyers. How would you modify your search to increase the number of results in the list? Specifically, consider adjusting the search radius to 10km
5 applicants accomplished the task
Task 4
Based on the information available to you in Brokerforce, you've identified 'Philipp' as a potential buyer for your property. Your task is to initiate contact with Philipp through the system. Demonstrate how you would proceed to contact Philipp
All applicant accomplished the task
Task 5
You've just spoken with Mr. Philipp Shaar on the phone, and he has expressed interest in the property. Using Brokerforce, how would you record this interest and proceed with the next steps?
All applicant accomplished the task
From the earliest stages of ideation, I maintained close collaboration with our engineering team. This iterative approach allowed me to:
By involving engineers early and often, we ensured that our designs were not only user-friendly but also technically viable. This collaborative process helped bridge the gap between design and development, resulting in a more robust and implementable MVP.
This approach fostered a shared understanding of both user needs and technical constraints, leading to a more cohesive and efficient development process.
View PrototypeNow that the Potential Buyer feature has reached MVP status, the following steps are crucial for its evolution:
What I'd Do Differently Next Time
