The image featured at the top of the about us page #1
The image featured at the top of the about us page #1
The image featured at the top of the about us page #1

HOA Financial Service
Platform

Modernization

HOA Financial Service
Platform

Modernization

revamp the outdated platform to enhance the client experience, driving client retention and revenue growth.

revamp the outdated platform to enhance the client experience, driving client retention and revenue growth.

Timeline

Timeline

Timeline

I  Mar. 2024 - Jul. 2024

I  Mar. 2024 - Jul. 2024

Role

Role

Role

I  UX designer in Digital Banking team

I  UX designer in Digital Banking team

Business Overview

Business Overview

What is SmartStreet (HOA Financial Service platform)?

SmartStreet is SaaS software used by HOA property management companies to handle HOA finances, including payment processing, deposits, and property management.

A SaaS platform for HOA property management companies to manage finance-related workflows.

Banc of California profits from the deposit balances, payment processing fees, and lending to the property management companies utilizing SmartStreet.

SmartStreet Statistics

SmartStreet Statistics

439

439

Property Management Companies

Property Management Companies

38,014

38,014

HOA (Home Owners Association)

HOA (Home Owners Association)

$4,130,982,520

Total Deposit

$4,130,982,520

Total Deposit

challenges

top revenue

The HOA Property Management platform is BOC's top revenue-grossing product, generating $300 million annually.​

BOC's top revenue-grossing product, generating $300 million annually.​

poor usability

Initially developed by developers 15 years ago, the outdated platform lacks coherence and hinders user experience. 

Initially developed by devs 15 years ago, the outdated platform lacks coherence and hinders UX. 

Business Objective

Business Objective

Revamp the current HOA Property Management platform aiming for:

Revamp the current HOA Property Management platform aiming for:

25% *

25% *

↑ Increase in user satisfaction scores within 12–24 months following platform modernization

user satisfaction scores ↑ within 12–24 months of modernization

20% *

20% *

↑ Increase in
new client sign-ups

new client sign-ups ↑

35% *

35% *

↑ Increase in deposit accounts within 12 months of the platform's modernization

deposit accounts ↑ within 12 months of the platform's modernization

*numbers are hypothetical and derived from market projections.

Research & Discovery

Research & Discovery

Current State Analysis IA  

objective

Analyze and understand the current platform for enhancement.

activity

Create and document the platform’s top-down information architecture based on observations.

documented the platform’s information architecture using a top-down approach grounded in observation.

finding

The current IA is highly complex due to many interconnected gateways.

current IA extends far beyond what is documented, with many interconnected gateways contributing to complexity.

User Interviews 

Six interviews were conducted across four roles, gathering 97 pieces of qualitative and quantitative data. Common feedback patterns were identified and rated based on the severity of the issue.

Conducted six interviews across four roles, synthesizing 97 qualitative and quantitative data points into severity-ranked insights.

objective

Identify the users' pain points to define the correct UX opportunities to improve the platform.

Scoop

Interviews with internal users were conducted via Teams for 30–45 minutes, focusing on portal usage and daily feedback.

conducted 30–45 minute Teams interviews to understand portal experience and the feedback received in daily operations.

All user feedback is documented in Airtable for optimal organization and viewing.

All user feedback is documented in Airtable for optimal organization and viewing.

Heuristic Evaluation

All user feedback was evaluated according to Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics, and the problems were identified based on this evaluation.

All feedback was evaluated using Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics to identify and categorize usability issues.

An example of the process for identifying problems with the current portal.

an example of the process for identifying problems with the current portal.

01.

Interview Feedback

Based on these interview feedback:

Navigation feels aligned, but occasional issues arise, prompting suggestions to use alternative routes or storytelling to locate desired features

Navigation is largely intuitive, but inconsistencies lead to seek alternative routes to reach desired features.

If someone is very frustrated, I suggest they choose 'other' and write what they need. We'll read it and follow up from there

If users feel frustrated, they can select “Other” and describe their issue, and we will review it and follow up.

Users face challenges in creating tickets, particularly in understanding the issue and selecting the appropriate ticket type

Users struggle to create tickets, particularly when identifying the issue and selecting the correct ticket type.

02.

Evaluation

The evaluation determined that it does not meet the UX principle of Flexibility and Efficiency of Use, leading to the identification of a problem.

Determined that it does not meet the UX principle of Flexibility and Efficiency of Use, identifying it as a usability issue.

03.

Define Problem

Identifying the correct ticket type per use case is challenging.

04.

Rating

The problem was rated based on heuristic importance and user impact.

The problem was rated based on heuristic importance and user impact.

heuristic importance

how significantly the problem affects the overall user experience of the platform.

how significantly the problem affects the overall user experience of the platform.

user impact

how the problem affects the user's ability to complete their task.

how the problem affects the user's ability to complete their task.

05.

Define UX Opportunities

These ratings were later combined to determine the priority and severity of UX opportunities.

These ratings were later combined to determine the priority and severity of UX opportunities.

examples of problems identified

examples of problems identified

Visibility of System Status

Difficult to identify the primary action across the application.

Difficult to identify the primary action across the application.

heuristic importance

user impact

Aesthetic and Minimalist Design

UI design not aligning with the Aurum design system.

UI design not aligning with the Aurum design system.

User Control and Freedom

Users can't delete or cancel a submitted ticket.

Users can't delete or cancel a submitted ticket.

Error Prevention

The lack of error recovery functionality in the Ticketing System.

The lack of error recovery functionality in the Ticketing System.

Help and Documentation

No confirmation of receipt or updates on ticket progress on a submitted ticket.

No confirmation of receipt or updates on ticket progress on a submitted ticket.

Recognition Rather than Recall

User must rely on their historical knowledge of the platform to navigate it correctly

User must rely on their historical knowledge of the platform to navigate it correctly

Initiatives Identified 

User feedback patterns were categorized into 10 major initiatives to better define areas of prioritization.

User feedback patterns were grouped into 10 key initiatives to clarify and prioritize focus areas.

Product Initiative

Examples of user feedback

Current State/First Impression

Current State/First Impression

"Right now, we have about 600-700 clients using the portal."

"Right now, we have about 600-700 clients using the portal."

Banking Service

Banking Service

"Some software companies charge hefty ACH setup fees, sometimes around $15 per transaction."

"Some software companies charge high ACH setup fees, sometimes up to $15 per transaction."

Integration

Integration

"Portal does not integrate well with IBS, leading to discrepancies in account balances and issues with ICS."

"The portal’s poor integration with IBS leads to account balance discrepancies and ICS issues."

User Provisioning

"Our analyst team supports several Tier 1 clients, our largest clients with the highest deposits."

"We have a group of analysts who support several Tier 1 clients—our largest customers with the highest deposits."

System Usability

"Desired improvements include better attachments, clearer customer visibility, and a simpler process for staff and clients."

"Desired improvements include improved attachments, clearer customer visibility, and a simpler experience for both staff and clients."

Payments

"A misapplied payment occurs when a homeowner makes a payment in the portal but selects the wrong association."

Ticketing

"We're averaging somewhere around 100 to 150 support tickets a day."

UX Opportunities Identified

After scoring the problems and identifying initiatives, 24 UX opportunities for improvement were created. Each opportunity was rated for user impact and design effort, with the ratings combined to calculate an overall influence score.

After scoring the problems, 24 UX improvement opportunities were identified and prioritized.

Here is an example of how we identified the UX Opportunity

here is an example of how we identified the UX Opportunity

01.

Identified Problem

The lack of error recovery functionality in the Ticketing System.

The ticketing system lacks error recovery functionality.

Excessive and redundant steps and clicks when creating a ticket.

Excessive and redundant steps and clicks when creating a ticket.

Navigation to different menus when creating a ticket is inconsistent, and the directions for user actions are unclear.

Ticket creation navigation is inconsistent, and user action guidance is unclear.

02.

Define a UX opportunity to address identified problems

Redesign "Create a New Ticket" Process

Redesign "Create a New Ticket" Process

Revise the ticket creation process from a UX perspective, applying a design system to simplify the flow and improve user communication regarding progress.

Redesign the ticket creation flow using the design system to simplify the experience and clearly communicate user progress.

The ratings from each UX opportunity are combined to assess their impact on the current portal, from critical to low, and to prioritize actionable items for the first release.

Combined UX ratings assess portal impact and prioritize items for the first release.

Top Initiative Identified

Based on the priority influence rating of each UX opportunity, the top initiatives have been identified for prioritization in the first product release.

Top initiatives for the first release were selected based on UX priority influence ratings.

Product Initiatives by Influence

Product Initiatives by Influence

Influence

Critical

Critical

High

High

Medium

Medium

Low

Low

Overview

Feedback, Opportunities And Initiatives

6

Interviews across four roles

Interviews across four roles

Client Services

Sales/Account Executive

Exception Fraud

Account Servicing

97

Pieces of qualitative and quantitative data

Pieces of qualitative and quantitative data

Feedback Amount by Interviewee’s Role

Feedback Amount by Interviewee’s Role

Interviewee’s role/team

Client Services

Sales/Account Executive

Exception/Fraud

Account Servicing

24

UX design opportunities were created then rated on areas of estimated user impact and level of design effort.

UX opportunities were identified and rated by user impact and design effort.

8

Initiatives

Current State/First Impression

Banking Service

Integration

User Provisioning

System Usability

Payments

Ticketing

Top 2 Product Initiatives to Focus on for the First Release

System Usability

Implement platform-wide usability improvements guided by UX heuristic principles and portal evaluations.

Implement platform-wide usability improvements based on UX heuristic evaluations of the portal.

Support Ticketing Enhancements

Support Ticketing Enhancements

Improve the end-to-end support ticketing experience, from ticket creation and management to ticket detail views.

Improve the end-to-end support ticketing experience.

Recommendation & Vetting

Recommendation & Vetting

Current State Analysis - Dashboard

It's [using the platform] is about knowing where to go and it's a process because it's a lot of data that's in here based on what you're looking for within the platform.

Using the platform requires knowing where to go due to the volume of data.

— Client services team member

Current

1

Lock of Flexibility and Efficiency of Use

Top menu with complex submenus makes it challenging for users to select the right options and navigate efficiently.

A complex top menu with multiple submenus hampers users’ ability to select the right options efficiently.

2

Lock of  Visibility of System Status

Poor readability and ineffective content placement.

Poor readability and ineffective content placement.

Recommended

1

Improved Flexibility and Efficiency of Use

Rearranged the layout to feature a single pane dashboard with side navigation to improve findability, navigation, and scalability.

Single-pane dashboard with side nav. to improve findability, navigation, and scalability.

2

Improved Visibility of System Status

Placed top tabs corresponding to the selected side navigation menu, with numbered indicators to effectively communicate required actions.

Top tabs aligned with the selected side navigation, using numbered indicators to clearly communicate required actions.

Current State Analysis - Ticket Details

We manage 9-15 tickets daily and spend 2 to 3 hours on average handling a single phone call.

— Client services team member

Current

1

Lock of Recognition Rather than Recall

No clear action indicator to view the ticket details. A user must rely on past experience to click on the row to display the ticket details.

There is no clear indicator to view ticket details, requiring users to rely on prior knowledge to click the row.

2

Lock of  Visibility of System Status

When a user selects a submitted ticket, the detail panel appears below with poor visual hierarchy, requiring scrolling, reducing readability and navigation.

Selecting a ticket shows details below with poor hierarchy, requiring scrolling and reducing readability.

Recommended

1

Improved Visibility of System Status

Clicking a ticket card opens a sliding detail pane showing status, assignee, and communication, improving clarity and keeping users informed.

Clicking a ticket card opens a detail pane with status, assignee, and communication.

2

Improved Match Between the System and the Real World

The selected ticket card moves to the top to visually connect with the detail pane, and users can switch between cards to view ticket details.

The selected ticket card moves to the top to connect with the detail pane, and users can switch between cards to view details.

Current State Analysis - Ticket creation

Current State Analysis - Ticket creation

Users face challenges in creating tickets, particularly in understanding the issue and selecting the appropriate ticket type.

Users struggle to create tickets, especially when identifying the issue and selecting the correct ticket type.

— Exception/fraud team member

Current

a user selects one of the 12 available ticket types.

a user selects one of the 12 available ticket types.

a user re-selects ticket topics within a chosen ticket type.

a user re-selects ticket topics within a chosen ticket type.

1

Lock of Flexibility and Efficiency of Use

Users must navigate 12 ticket types and 40 topics, slowing submission, hurting findability, and leading to ticket abandonment.

Navigating 12 ticket types and 40 topics slows submission and drives ticket abandonment.

Recommended

1

Improved Visibility of System Status

When a user starts ticket creation, a placeholder appears at the top of the ticket section to maintain consistency and indicate the current state.

Starting ticket creation shows a placeholder at the top to indicate the current state and maintain consistency.

2

Improved Flexibility and Efficiency of Use

Added a search bar and prioritized the most frequent ticket types to simplify and speed up ticket creation.

Added a search bar and prioritized common ticket types to speed up ticket creation.

Thank you for watching

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FIG

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FIG

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