To help the UK achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, TrustMark aims to assist in the retrofitting of 25 million homes with an efficient platform connecting customers to contractors and energy transformation organisations. Analysis and Design team the discovery phase and prepared the product for development.
Category:
Web service
Client:
Trustmark
Domain:
Real Estate
Duration:
9 months
Actions
Strategy Workshop
Competitive analysis
Advanced user research
Wireframing
User interface design
Axure prototyping
Usability testing
[PROJECT NEED]
To help the UK achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, TrustMark aims to assist in the retrofitting of 25 million homes with an efficient platform connecting customers to contractors and energy transformation organisations. Analysis and Design team the discovery phase and prepared the product for development.
[STRATEGIC BEGININGS]
Navigating the road ahead
During the workshops we used the Business Model Canvas to shape strategy, SMART Goals to set clear objectives, and The Value Map to refine key benefits. While Personas and the Customer Journey Map ensured a user-centered approach, optimizing engagement at every touchpoint
[RESEARCH]
We started by diving into desk research, uncovering industry insights and user expectations, then listened to real voices through qualitative interviews, and finally put our findings to the test with quantitative research, ensuring our hypotheses were backed by data.
We started by listening— we uncovered real needs to build a meaningful solution
As a first step to build a user-centered Trustmark page, we conducted desk research and 18 in-depth interviews across five user groups verifying key needs and pain points. Desk research provided market insights and industry benchmarks, while individual interviews uncovered real user expectations, behaviors, and challenges.
Overly complex wording on the job-applying confirmation pop up
Then we validated insights
To confirm our findings, we conducted quantitative research with 1,645 responses across four user groups. This large-scale study allowed us to validate patterns identified in qualitative research, measure user preferences, and refine key assumptions.
What we concluded?
Ensure uninterrupted portal access by minimizing technical disruptions.
Create a dedicated area for comprehensive information on legislation affecting landlords.
Enhance consumer notification systems for improved business support and visibility.
[IDEATION]
Turning vision into actions
Through ideation workshops, we prioritized features (MoSCoW), mapped the user journey (Story Mapping), and defined WCAG accessibility levels. A risk workshop identified potential challenges, assessing probability and impact, ensuring a strategic and resilient Trustmark.
Previous app: Issues in the UI, as seen in the job offers example.
New app information architecture
[DESIGN]
In the design phase, we translated ideas into tangible experiences by creating low-fi and hi-fi mockups, ensuring a user-centered interface.
To test usability and functionality, we developed two interactive Axure prototypes—one for landlords and another for business users—tailored to their specific needs.
Through user testing, we validated key design decisions, refining interactions and improving usability to ensure a seamless and intuitive experience.
From concept to validation
To visualize and refine the user experience, we first developed low-fidelity mockups, focusing on structure and functionality, before evolving them into high-fidelity designs with polished visuals and interactions. We then built two Axure prototypes—one for landlords and one for business users—tailored to their unique workflows.
To ensure usability and satisfaction, we conducted 11 user tests across two user groups, gathering valuable feedback on functionality and interactions. We measured System Usability Scale (SUS) scores to assess ease of use and evaluated Net Promoter Score (NPS) to gauge user satisfaction and engagement. These insights helped refine the design, ensuring Trustmark met user expectations with a seamless and intuitive experience.
New app information architecture
How tests went?
During all usability testing sessions, there were collected 139 conclusions in total.
Out of these, only 5 were marked as critical and 12 as serious problems. The majority of all conclusions belong to minor issues or ideas for improvement.
Final usability of the prototype was measured by Net Promoter Score and System Usability Scale constituted about at least a good user experience of the presented functionalities, features and general look & feel.
Previous app: Issues in the UI, as seen in the job offers example.
[SUMMARY]
So what did we achieve?
The discovery phase successfully identified key user needs and pain points, providing a clear direction for the project's development. Comprehensive research and stakeholder engagement ensured a well-defined scope and actionable insights for the delivery phase.
Lessons learnt
/ What would we do differently?
Recruitment with specific requirements: a Complex and time-intensive process
Recruiting for highly specific requirements is more challenging and time-consuming than it may seem. There is a significant risk that relying on popular tester recruitment platforms may not deliver the necessary quality. To achieve a satisfactory research sample, it would be beneficial to allocate more time, expand the sample size, and pay special attention to qualification questions
Early visual concept development for more refined final design
Due to limited decision-making regarding the final design, we would start working on the overall visual concept already at the wireframing stage to allow more time for refining the final direction.
Extending a time buffer for smoother project execution
During the strategic workshops, it became clear that we were behind schedule due to the number of strategic and legal considerations related to the domain. This delay, along with a few other underestimated areas, put us under significant pressure to meet the deadline. This could have been avoided by adding a 5% time buffer to each project phase.
