Owners
From MVP to a Feature-Rich Product
Owners.gr brought me on board to take their initial MVP—a small-scale version with limited functionality—and help transform it into a fully-fledged product with a robust roadmap. My role involved researching and analyzing new features, defining the product roadmap, and designing an app tailored for five distinct user roles, each with unique needs and interactions.
Role
Product Designer
Tasks
Work Type
2024 | 4 months
Freelance
Mapping out the flows
Collaboration with the Technical Development Team
In this task, I worked on creating a comprehensive user flow and feature map for the "My Property" section of the Owners application. The goal was to ensure that all user interactions related to property management, bookings, and guest coordination were clear, intuitive, and technically feasible. This required close collaboration with the development team to align design decisions with technical capabilities.
The need
Seamless management of property ownership responsibilities and shared costs.
Transparent communication with other co-owners regarding property usage, expenses, and maintenance
Design Process
A Palette for Usability:
Solving Contrast Issues
One of the most immediate challenges was addressing the app’s limited text contrast, which hindered accessibility and readability. By revamping the color palette:
-
Enhanced the app’s visual hierarchy, allowing users to navigate effortlessly and focus on what matters most.
To meet the diverse needs of five user roles, I designed unique interfaces and workflows. These role-specific solutions: Simplified complex processes, reducing cognitive load for users. Created a tailored experience, improving engagement and satisfaction across all user groups.
Tailored Designs for Each Role
Created interfaces and workflows specific to each user role, ensuring ease of use and relevance for diverse needs.
Tailored workflows reduced confusion and boosted satisfaction across all user roles.
Working on Owners taught me the importance of balancing user needs with technical feasibility, especially when designing for a diverse audience with distinct roles and workflows. Collaborating closely with the development team ensured that even complex features, like drag-to-select booking dates and advanced filters, were not only implemented seamlessly but also enhanced user satisfaction. This project reinforced my belief that empathy and continuous user validation are key to creating products that simplify complexity. It also highlighted the value of modular, scalable design systems in streamlining development for future iterations while maintaining a premium user experience.
Simplifying the complecity
Where the MVP fell short
Complex Workflows: The initial MVP lacked clear pathways for managing property bookings, guest invites, and special requests, causing user confusion.
Low Accessibility: A poorly chosen color palette and limited text contrast made navigation difficult, especially for quick, task-oriented actions.
Disconnected Roles: The app needed a unified experience while addressing the unique needs of five distinct user types, such as owners, guests, and property managers.
Complex booking System
One of the key challenges in Owners was designing a booking system that could handle the intricate needs of co-ownership while remaining simple and intuitive for users. This involved functionalities like drag-to-select booking dates, advanced filtering (e.g., last-minute, special occasions), and seamless handling of guest management.
To ensure the solution was both effective and easy to use, I created multiple prototypes to test the system’s workflows. These prototypes were tested iteratively, both internally with the team and externally with a diverse pool of 12 users, divided into three groups based on user roles (owners, guests, and managers). Each round of testing provided valuable insights, allowing me to refine interactions, optimize usability, and simplify navigation without compromising functionality.
User Testing Insights
While advanced filters (e.g., for special occasions or last-minute bookings) were appreciated, their initial layout appeared overwhelming to users.
We decided to go with an automated version were the user selects the dates and the special occasion is shown after the selection.
(No need for the user to understand how the whole system works.)
Many participants missed the "Add Request" feature while managing guest details, as it was not clearly labeled or placed.
So we used the same UX patterns we had for the rest of add-ons with a toggle button to activate the special requests.