Wellon Process
Wellon Process
PROBLEM TO SOLVE
Their mission was to improve the home improvement experience for DIYers. Most DIYers look at YouTube videos for examples but, the project on YouTube might not match the needs of their home. The most common alternative is asking a friend or family member with some experience for advice. There is not a solution out there that allows people to do it themselves with professional(Pro) support.
CONSTRAINTS
When I joined Wellon, it was an early stage self-funded startup in the process of raising a seed round. It was clear that time and money were a concern.
APPROACH
research
We began the project with user research, market research, and competitive analysis. We created a simple landing page for the company and posted ads on Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube to gauge interest and narrow down the user base. We also sent out surveys. We got equal interest from break/fix users and planner. Break/fix users have something broken now (e.g. a burst water pipe, leaky faucet) and need immediate help and Planners are people who spend time researching their next home improvement project. The existing research indicates millennials and aging in place are the two groups of people most likely to do home improvement projects themselves. Our goal was to focus on DIYers and not try to convert people to become DIYers. With the competitive analysis, we discovered that no one focused on customize project plans. It was a one-size fits all market, and hopefully, your home fits into the existing scenario.
PERSONAS
Proto-personas were created based on our research and the team's educated guess of who to design for. There were two major groups: DIYers and Professionals (Pro). DIYers are the users who need help, and the professionals are users providing the help. For the DIYers, we decided to focus on one persona for the initial build - millennials. We made this decision because they are more likely to be early adaptors.
User JoURNEY
Then I created the user journey to help understand user behavior and define the taxonomy and interface.
Conceptualize
After the research, our team got together to come up with a list of features we wanted in the app. From that list, we prioritized for MVP.
FLOW CHART
Next, was the flow chart to make sure we were all on the same page.
WIREFRAMES
I created wireframes for the app based on the flow and threw them into inVision for testing.
Interactive wireframes
I also created wireframes for the Pro website.
Test WIREFRAMES with Users
I created a testing plan for DIYers and started recruiting, when BAM! ... we ran out of money. The product development was put on hold while the founders continued to fundraise.
LEARNINGS
Timing and planning are critical when building a product or feature. Wellon couldn't raise money because they didn't have anything to show current or potential investors, with the time already spent on the project.
CREDITS
Chris Basham, User researcher