Project Introduction

During my 7-month internship at Landsure, I had the opportunity to research, present designs and test the new solutions for the recently published “Change Name on Title” product. The "Change Name on Title" service provides a legal and straightforward way for individuals to update their property title if they have changed their name.

RESEARCH

The need to transition to digital solutions

Qualitative research within the company was conducted to understand the current manual application process better. The UX team set up meetings with internal stakeholders who were primarily involved in handling applications. During these meetings, most of the time was spent addressing similar errors and returning defective applications for corrections, with one in four applications being defective due to missing documentation. Additionally, it was extremely time-consuming for customers to receive and fix the defects in person and by mail. Therefore, it was clear by having an online application process, the company hoped it would reduce the number of defective applications.

Defining "Success"

The success of this project is transforming the manual process of handing in applications into an online process. There were three enhancements that were crucial for this transition to an online process to become a success.

1. Optimization

Enhance efficiency and accuracy of applications being handed in.

2. Streamlining

Reduce manual labour (ex. mailing, writing, printing etc.)

3. Yield

Increase the number of successful documents being sent in.

Journey Mapping

To better understand the customer's journey and to develop better insights, I helped create and was in charge of maintaining the journey map. The journey map highlights the differences in emotional experiences a customer may have during a physical process versus a digital process. Additionally, the journey map also considers the three main scenarios of why a person might be submitting an application: divorce, marriage and legal name change.

Discovery

Through an in-depth analysis of our secondary research and journey mapping, we uncovered key insights into customer behaviors. These insights include the following:

Name Change Verification

Applicants did not mention all of the names changes they have had.

Proper Documentation

Customers have submitted documents that were not accepted by the LTSA.

"INITIAL" SOLUTIONS

Hi-Fidelity Solutions

Based on the team's understanding from a very similar previous online application and research, I was tasked with designing early iterations of the new online application.

Prepare users with clear instructions and requirements

Before the user begins the application, the user will need to scroll through what is needed and what to expect. This makes sure that the user would not need to go back and forth looking for information or documentation they need.

Provide help texts for areas of potential confusion or ambiguity

In sections inside the application where the layperson might struggle to understand or answer, we should provide help text to provide them with the information to proceed.

Use warning and error messages

Warnings and errors are a feature that we leverage to moderate the quality of applications coming in. We give customers warnings or error messages if they forget or incorrectly fill in necessary fields to avoid defects. This feature was only possible because applicants are now filling out the form online rather than manually.

Only accept documents/evidence that are needed

From speaking with the customer service team, many customers get their applications rejected due to insufficient or incorrect supporting documents. Therefore, we should only allow users to upload one file at a time and only allow or show accepted documents.

USABILITY STUDIES

Preparing for interviews

Screening Participants

To ensure our proposed solutions were effective, we conducted a usability test with 12 carefully screened participants to ensure they meet the following criteria.

Criteria

Must be from British Columbia.

If they currently own or have owned property.

If they have legally changed their name before.

Script and Note-Taking

The UX Lead/Product Manager created the structure and questions of the interview which was then given to me to check the quality and update the questions. Questions about the interview mainly tried to gather qualitative information for more in-depth overview of how they feel about the application process. Furthermore, at the end of each session, a survey was created to gather more quantitative data on how participants felt about each stage of the process ex. likes and dislikes.

User interviews

During interviews

During user interviews, I was responsible for taking notes and asking follow-up questions to gather more descriptive responses. After each interview, the team would debrief to ensure that we were all aligned on our individual insights.

After the interviews

After the interviews, I consolidated notes, tagged comments, quantified data, and evaluated each page's task performance. I then sent the data to the Product Manager to present to the stakeholders.

What we learned during usability interviews

Generally, participants were happy with the transition from in-person/mailing to an online process, especially for those who owned multiple properties. Although there were lots of important data to consider, the team noted a couple that the team deemed crucial.

Concept comprehension

Participants understood the 'chain of name' concept and the table on the Supporting Evidence page, which helped them identify and fix errors.

Word connotation

Certain words can negatively affect the customer's mood. For example, one customer found "evidence" negative and preferred "documentation" instead.

Application deadlines

Participants are highly concerned about deadlines and application timelines, and they want more clarity on this information.

Cost visibility

Customers want to know the price of a State of Title Certificate before ordering, even if they choose not to purchase it.

CONCLUSION

Reflection

This internship was my first corporate experience as a UX designer, where I truly understood the importance of transferable skills like active listening, note-taking, scheduling, and clear communication. The nature of working in corporate requires lots of ideas being bounced back and forth therefore, mastering transferable skills helped me convey my ideas better.