Neu is an early-stage startup based in Seattle, WA that provides a tech platform connecting homeowners with house cleaners, specifically in the vacation rental space.

ROLE

User Experience Designer

TIMELINE

March 2019 - July 2020

TEAM

Kwame Boler - CEO
Claudius Mbemba - CTO

TOOLS

Figma
Illustrator

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

User Research
UX + UI Design
Visual Design

PROBLEM

Cleaners, vacation rental hosts, and Neu's internal operations team do not have a centralized workflow to update, track and manage property cleanings. 

OUTCOME

I developed a native dashboard application for mobile and desktop that streamlines real-time property cleans and centralizes communications.

Neu operates in a disconnected system.

In my initial evaluation of Neu's product experience, I identified that each user group utilizes a different technology, leading to breakdowns in communication and processes during cleanings.

Cleaners are utilizing a (recently implemented) greyboxed version of the Neu mobile app to update cleaning statuses.

Hosts can only view these updates as email or text notifications and need to physically call the Neu office to report issues, update their subscription details and ask questions.

Neu's operations team can only manage these inquiries in-office or through email and text, with other product operations being managed through Google sheets.

DEFINING THE PROBLEM SPACE

The 'clean' is tedious and disconnected.

To better understand the pain points and needs of the users, I interviewed 4 cleaners, 6 vacation rental hosts and 3 Neu operations employee and learned...

To extend what I learned from the user interviews, I conducted field study sessions with two cleaners as they each performed a rental cleaning and learned...

Cleaners are willing to upload 'Before' and 'After' photos

BUT dislike the tedious process as the current app only allows them to take and upload one photo at a time 
AND they have to stop their workflow to take these photos between each room.

Cleaners enjoy the act of checking off tasks to track their completion

BUT are frustrated that they can only check off tasks one room at time 
AND they cannot view other rooms until they mark off all the tasks and upload 'After' photos for that room.

To optimize all existing operations and streamline the "clean" experience for all three user segments, I determined that the design solution should:

Be Centralized

All of Neu's processes need to live on one native application that operates on multiple platforms (desktop, mobile, tablet) to faciliate timely and successful communication and services between all user groups.

Be Simplified

All repetitive and overly extensive interactions need to be condensed and refocused so users complete only the necessary amount of interactions to complete a task and don't need to rely on the Neu team.

Be Recognizable

The application will need a new design system that effectively presents information and interaction points in a responsive manor that is consistent across all platforms.

Ease The Transition

With the introduction of a new platform and product, tutorials are necessary to ensure a smooth and successful onboarding.

The push towards a native application is a goal that Neu had been pushing towards, starting with the implementation of their beta mobile application for cleaners, but there had been no clear design direction or concrete decisions made for how the application would impact users.

Taking inspiration from other hospitality service technologies, I chose to pursue a dashboard design system to center all of Neu's workflows.

A dashboard application supports responsive UI, transparent information hierarchy, and consistent interaction behavior across all platforms. My goal for the first round of designs was to build out the MVPs for each user group, with a focus on mobile interfaces for both cleaners and hosts as these user groups are often on-the-go when utilizing Neu's services.

MAPPING THE USER FLOWS

Redefining how Neu cleans as one system.

CONCEPT TESTING WITH WIREFRAMES

THE FINAL DESIGNS

Establishing a 'Neu' design system...

A crucial part of developing the dashboard interface from 0 to 1 was to define a new design system that would unify Neu's interface across every device, improving visibility and ease.

Cleaners - Rental Cleanings

Cleaners - Schedule Management

Hosts - Instruction Set Management

Neu Operations - Inventory Management

THE IMPACT AND OUTCOME

Designing 0 to 1 is rewarding and demanding.

With the work I completed at Neu, I:

Launched my designs for the newly implemented dashboard platform and mobile application

Reduced rental cleaning times by 10-15 minutes, boosting business metrics for all user segments

Removed Neu as the middleman for a majority of workflows, giving users functional autonomy 

Being the sole designer at an early-stage startup was an intensely immersive experience that afforded me a unique opportunity to present and implement my work at a high level. I learned how to advocate for my designs within business discussions and how to translate user needs into metrics that are more digestible for other teams, such as marketing and engineering. Working closely with both the CEO and CTO, Kwame and Claudius, also provided insights into the inner workings of startup culture, including gaining traction and buy-in from stakeholders.