From A Wall Of Information To Well-Organized Workflows
The first project we worked on with CINC Systems was the redesign of their core administration platform. A cloud-based tool that bundles association management, accounting, integrated banking, and homeowner communication. While packed full of useful features and information, the platform suffered from a dated user interface and a poor user experience.
To improve this, MaybeForYou interviewed both internal stakeholders and CINC’s customers to learn how the software was used and the main information and functionality people needed access to. With this knowledge in mind, we were able to work with CINC’s product team to refine the user experience and design a more streamlined interface that tailored the information to the different devices users are accessing the platform on. These designs were then turned into a set of reusable UI elements and UX patterns and assembled into a Design System that CINC’s engineering team used to refactor and scale out the platform.
Using Smartphone Features To Simplify Tedious Tasks
The following year, we were engaged to help envision how homeowners and residents would engage with the system. These users needed quick and easy access to pay their association dues, submit work orders, communicate around violations and ACC (Architecture Covenant Change) requests, and access important association information such as events, policies, and personal documents.
Through our research, it became clear that a native mobile application would provide users with the best experience. Taking advantage of key smartphone features such as notifications, camera access, to provide a seamless way of connecting the homeowners with the association.
The application was designed to work on both iOS and Android devices, with a user interface that could be white-labeled to match an association’s branding. Providing a tool that strengthened relationships with CINC, the associations, and residents — a “win-win” for everyone involved.
A Mobile Toolset For Property Managers On The Move
For our third project together, we built upon the knowledge we gathered when designing a solution for the homeowners and residents to create a mobile experience targeting the unique needs of property managers, who spend a large portion of their day working in the field. Obviously working “in the field” beings a very different set of needs and context than working out of the office. These employees needed offline access to information, formatted in a way that allows for easy data entry and quick decision making while walking through and driving around an association.
To help them complete their jobs most efficiently, we designed an experience that provides information and functionality based on the specific task a user is performing. Using GPS data and other benefits of today’s mobile devices, we created custom driving/walking plans for a community, pull up key information based on the property you were standing in front of, and store data locally on the device that can be synchronized later if internet access isn’t available.
We also had to think about and design for battery life, screen glare, and other accessibility concerns that would affect the experience of interacting with the application while outside and the go. The final solution addresses all these concerns to provide a solution that is functional, reliable, usable, and a pleasure to work with.
