Methods
Interviews
Usability Testing
Phases
2
Context
B2C consumer platform
Sample
7 consumers, recent transactions
The Problem
A B2C application was being designed to help consumers track the home buying and selling process. The core question was whether consumers would find value in a tool like this, and whether the proposed experience would support how they actually wanted to navigate their journey.
Research Questions
Would consumers find value in an application that helped them track their transaction, store documents, and interact with required actions?
Did the proposed interaction design support how they expected to navigate that experience?
How we approached it
Phase 1 - Interviews
Generative interviews with consumers who had completed a transaction within the last year. Sessions explored whether a journey tracker would have been valuable and what information they needed most.
Phase 2 - Usability Test
Evaluative sessions measuring time-on-task, first click accuracy, and ease of task completion using a Likert scale. Focused on whether users understood where to find information and what was interactive.
What We Found
Consumers on both sides of a transaction wanted autonomy. Buyers wanted to track progress and understand what was next. Sellers wanted real-time access to offer activity and time on market. The need was the same: reduce how often they had to contact their agent for information that should already be available to them.
Usability testing surfaced three issues: agent contact information was hard to find, completed tasks were difficult to locate, and the absence of a consistent design system left users unsure of what was interactive. The last finding pointed to a product maturity issue beyond individual design decisions.
Impact
The research demonstrated clear consumer demand for a tool that gave them visibility and control over their own transaction. The application was green lit following the study.
The business later took the consumer product in a different direction to compete in the broader home search market. The research had done its job of validating the need. What the product became was a separate decision.