SayLambda

A client project where I built a zero-to-one contact tool that helps first-time minority homebuyers increase their response rate with finding professional help in navigating the home-buying process.

Role: Designer

Duration: October - November 2022 (Eight Weeks)

Team: Three fellow UC Berkeley Graduate Students.

Client: SayLambda (now called HomeBase)

The Background

SayLambda works to help minorities overcome financial barriers to homeownership.

In 2021, this non-profit created a website listing available housing incentives. These are funded programs (from various sources) that provide financial support to prospective homebuyers.

Soon after launching, they realized that their users reached out to them asking for help with navigating these resources.

Because they didn’t have the manpower to assist the users themselves, they expanded the website to connect users with professionals that can help – housing counselors.

While the newly-added counselor’s list was a wonderful addition, we worked with the owner to develop the next iteration.

Creating our Design Brief

In order to create our design brief, we conducted stakeholder interviews, a website teardown, user interviews, and an analysis of twelve direct and indirect competitors. Here are the most important aspects for this case study:

Business Goals:

  • Increase user sign-ups

  • Decrease direct SayLambda contacts

Primary User Concerns:

  • Clarity in language and explanation of the process

  • Connecting with the right counselor for their needs

Key Constraints:

  • Geographic time differences

  • Hard two month deadline

  • No in-house developer and no communication with engineers

  • Existing design schema

  • Upcoming rebranding (From SayLambda to HomeBase)

  • Unconventional desktop-first request

The Breakdown

We identified four key areas of improvement within the scope of this project. To divide up the labor, we each of us focused on a specific component:

My Challenge

How might I improve the way that first-time minority homebuyers can access counselors to help them navigate the housing search process?

My Approach

I started by reviewing the current contact flow which revealed three potential opportunities.

The Discussion

I took this analysis back to the team to discuss how our solutions could best be integrated.

The brainstorming session helped me to arrive at the most plausible solution...

The Solution

I proposed an integrated email tool within the existing dashboard, allowing users to directly contact counselors they're matched with.

This enhances the user experience by:

Increasing Engagement

Nesting the feature within the dashboard incentivizes account creation, aligning with the business goal of increasing user sign-ups.

Streamlining Communication

The tool eliminates repetitive actions by enabling users to contact multiple counselors at once, improving the response rate.

Reducing Uncertainty

Pre-drafted email content, based on Yitian's user questionnaire, reduces user anxiety by providing a starting point for their message.

The Low Fidelity Designs

In the iteration process, I developed two possible versions of the design that received divided feedback from fellow designers and users in guerrilla testing:

Option A: Foreground Window

When users go to the dashboard and select the counselors they would like to contact, a button appears that would open the email feature in a foreground window.

Pros:

  • More space for editing the email content

  • Closer to a traditional Outlook-style email design

  • May be easier to incorporate in a mobile version of the design

Cons:

  • The user would have to exit the window to edit the email recipients (could potentially have to start over with the emailing process)

  • The user might not notice the feature addition

Option B: Sidebar Widget

The email panel would be present on the right, where users can generate an email directly in the dashboard.

Pros:

  • The feature is prominently displayed which may encourage more use

  • The user can craft the email and adjust the recipients in the same window

  • Makes use of the existing grid structure of other pages which feature widgets on the right

Cons:

  • Limited amount of space available in this narrow side panel

  • Not exactly mobile-friendly

  • Less conventional presentation, which may pose accessibility issues for less tech-savvy users

The Design Decisions

After receiving feedback through guerrilla user testing and design critiques, I decided to go with a hybrid option.

The Prototype in Action

The Usability Testing

Once we finalized our high-fidelity prototype, we conducted traditional usability testing to gather user feedback.

The overwhelming response paraphrased:

“This is an awesome feature but why do I need to contact multiple counselors?”

Usability testing highlighted a critical gap in user understanding.

Leveraging my experience at Newport News Redevelopment and Housing Authority, combined with insights from the SayLambda CEO, I recognized the time-sensitive nature of the home-buying process and the impact counselor availability can have.

This should be clearly communicated with the users. Before finalizing the handoff documents, we presented these findings to the client and proposed actionable recommendations to address user concerns.

The Recommendations

Educate Users

As the usability test revealed, there may still be critical knowledge gaps. it may be useful to share the best practices and recommendations in the home-buying search and how SayLambda can support their needs.

Mobile Next

Before shipping this design, consider fully fleshing out the mobile version of this feature. Although I tried to account for feasibility through my coding knowledge, there may be some additional changes to make.

Promote It

Once the feature is released, consider adding details about it on the homepage. Informing the users about this feature being nested within their free SayLambda account may incentivize sign-ups.

My Reflections

  • My Experience

    This was my first traditional UX design project with a client. I could not have asked for a better team. The collaboration was great and I was able to learn from two designers with an academic background in design, and gain meaningful tips from their experience and guidance. We even finished the project with a celebratory dinner at Imm Thai. :)

  • What I Learned

    Although it did not fit the flow of this specific case study, I did extensive work to update the existing design system. I also learned how to establish a communication schedule with my teammates and our clients in light of the time zone differences.

  • What I Would Do Differently

    Looking back, I definitely would have done research to find more examples of in-browser email/contact form designs. I definitely would not recommend keeping the side panel design because it would not be effective in a mobile format. Mobile-first always.

  • How I Have Grown

    One of my biggest lessons from this project regards scope creep. As a team, we definitely created a lot of changes for the platform. In hindsight, it might have been a bit overwhelming for the client which may have also posed some issues with implementation. I think it would have been better if we would have focused our energy on one critical design decision and then provided a list of prioritized changes going forward.