SkySlope
Refining the Agent Experience | Detailed Snapshots
Goals
Every feature we worked on at SkySlope centered the following goals:
How might we reduce time spent on complex real estate documents?
How might we give agents more time with clients?
How might we create a seamless experience across all products?
How could we transform the real estate software industry?
Featured Projects
Below is an overview of my key projects at SkySlope that helped achieve these goals. For more details on my design process, please reach out directly; some specifics are omitted for confidentiality.
Shortcuts:
DigiSign - Interactions
Problem Statement
Agent feedback consistently showed frustration with placing signatures on documents in DigiSign. Our goal was clear: make this core e-signing experience much easier to use.
Goals
How could we significantly improve the signing experience?
Usability Test & Research
To understand why users were struggling, I conducted targeted usability tests. We found many agents struggled to place and assign signatures correctly (40-50% error rate).
4/10 testers expressed frustration with having to set the properties of each block after drawing it
5/10 testers struggled greatly when trying to change a property selection when creating a new block
Our DigiSign tool had a unique behavior where the signature block and its type stayed selected after placement, unlike most e-signing tools. This created confusion, forcing users into extra clicks or unexpected changes when moving to the next signature.
Even worse, when users tried to change who a signature block was for, it unexpectedly changed the type of signature, adding to their confusion.
Ideation
Solving this wasn't straightforward; many long-time DigiSign users were accustomed to the existing behavior. Our surveys confirmed this split, showing half of users liked the current selection pattern while the other half didn't. This led us to develop two new features: a preferences page allowing users to choose their desired selection behavior, and improved solutions for changing signers that reduced effort and confusion.
After addressing the gaps discovered during initial user testing, we released the app to everyone.
Forms - TC Access
Overview
Real estate agents handle large amounts of paperwork, often with the help of assistants called Transaction Coordinators (TCs). My work focused on transforming our Forms product to support entire agent teams, not just individual agents.
Team Management
We built new ways for agents to easily add TCs to their accounts, and for TCs to request access, making teamwork and delegation much smoother.
When a user views their team, they can share access or request access.
When a user requests access, they have to option to add multiple emails.
File Management
TCs often manage files for many agents. We added a crucial feature to easily filter files by agent, which made delegating paperwork easier and significantly boosted efficiency.
A user can filter by one or more file owners to view just their files.
File History
Agents needed to know who changed what on documents. We integrated a file history feature, allowing users to track every update made by any team member.
Users can track which editors made each change to the document.
Our design efforts and refined flows cut digital signing mistakes by ~50%, significantly improving the user experience.
Breeze
Overview
Breeze was launched as a new web app, building on earlier work to help agents complete the many disclosure forms required in California real estate transactions more seamlessly.
Disclosures
Our data showed that 90% of California transactions involve a few key disclosure forms. So, we designed a simple "wizard" that guides users and automatically fills in these complex forms, making a previously difficult task much simpler.
MHTDS: Manufactured Home Transfer Disclosure Statement
SPQ: Seller Property Questionnaire
TDS: Transfer Disclosure Statement
EQ: Earthquake Safety Disclosure
Users easily select the disclosure forms for their package.
Management UI
We built a clear way for agents to track how their clients were completing documents. This allowed agents to proactively monitor progress and offer help when needed, ensuring smoother client experiences.
Agents gained a clear overview, able to see single document completion or full package status.
Mobile First
We made Breeze mobile-first, understanding agents often work on the go. Features like text-to-speech for visual inspection forms helped them complete forms directly on-site, significantly boosting their efficiency in the field.
Agents could complete the visual inspection AVID form on-site by typing notes or dictating with text-to-speech.
Conclusion
Impact
Cut digital signing mistakes by ~50%.
Expanded platform to capture new user segments, boosting product stickiness
Drove 15% increased cross-product usage.
Retrospective
Reflecting on the rapid pace of building, I realized I'd overlooked a crucial challenge: our new app's authentication system. It needed to work flawlessly with our existing products and for new users outside our ecosystem, but we only found this high-impact issue after user testing. This experience taught me a vital lesson: prioritize a thorough technical audit to pinpoint changing constraints before diving into UI design, especially after big strategic shifts.
