One House At A Time
Role
UX Design Lead
Overview
Developing a system that brings clarity and promotes independence in the process of rebuilding Baltimore.
The Story
One House At A Time is a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing Baltimore neighborhoods by restoring vacant properties. Chosen by the District Court of Maryland, they connect qualified individuals with homes in need of repair, bringing them up to code and back to life. To support this mission, we designed a user-friendly tool that streamlines the entire process, allowing users to find, explore, and purchase properties with a simple, personalized experience that makes participation seamless and accessible.
Duties
Product Strategy
Information Architecture
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability Testing
Agency
idfive
Discovery
Surveys
User surveys and interviews revealed that audiences struggled to find property details, bidding instructions, and eligibility requirements online.
Analysis
Data revealed the need for a clear step-by-step guide with timelines, self-management tips, success stories, and property search guidance.
How might we make the One House process clearer while enabling users to navigate it independently?
Information Architecture
Information Architecture
The initial information architecture featured a News & Media Center to share updates and highlight success stories through news publications.
Multiple changes resulted in a finalized “Resources” section for key links and documents while keeping the “About” section intact.
After the third IA iteration, we removed the “About” page and introduced “Success Stories” to highlight local entrepreneurs based on new feedback from stakeholders. The “Resources” section expanded to include FAQs and a website tutorial, ensuring better alignment with user goals from our initial research.
Transparency of Steps
Milestones
We designed a homepage section that presents the process in order, providing users with a clear overview and easy access to detailed information.
Clearly defined milestones provide users with visual cues, helping them track their progress through the One House process.
We incorporated an at-a-glance calendar on the homepage, highlighting three key dates for application deadlines and auction windows.
Dates
The calendar feature clearly displays key deadlines for the most important steps in the One House process.
A New Way To Search
Previous
The property search was clunky, with frequent “no results” due to poor taxonomies. Users requested sorting by for sale and previously sold, prompting improved categorization.
Proposed
We streamlined property cards, organized them by house number, and introduced detailed property pages with comprehensive location information.
It's All About the Details
The Detail page breaks down properties strengths to help buyers make the right decision.
1
A main info section gives details on the location.
2
A map embed allows for buyers to see exactly where the property is located in the city.
3
One House History shows location and its time within the One House system.
4
More properties are shown that are in the same zip code.
One House Match
We introduced a login section with bidding instructions, an eligibility application, a zip code-based matching system, and a dashboard for tracking progress.
Login
Dashboard
Instructions
Application
Zip Code Match
Usability Testing
Test Script
We developed testing scripts with 4-5 tasks targeting issues from our surveys and the new One House Match section to validate solutions with 6 users. Each session lasted 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Test Results
High success rates and positive tester feedback confirmed that our UX solutions effectively resolved common user issues. We found that One user was unclear that there was a new login system and had to be shown around the system.
Updates
Hierarchy
The Dashboard hierarchy was updated with prominent headings to improve section clarity and navigation.
Colors
We introduced color variations in the status bar to align with bidding statuses on the Dashboard for better visual clarity.
Tutorial
While users found One House Match intuitive, we added a tutorial in the Resources section to further clarify the process for users who need help with the newly implemented system.
Outcomes
By designing a clear, process-driven experience that highlights local success and empowers users, we strengthened the connection between One House At A Time and its community. Our updates improved their operations, reinforcing that user success is always a win.
Shoutouts
Sarah Yalov, Graphic Designer
Kathe Flynn, Creative Director
Andrew White, UX Mentor
Katelyn Brickey, Associate Director of Client Services
Dan Rogers AVP of Development
Brad Walker Associate Director of Developers
Andres Zapata, Founder