VettaTrade
A web platform for tradespeople
Product
A social commerce platform that connects the entire construction and trades ecosystem in the Caribbean.
Role
UX/UI Designer, UX Researcher
Tools
Figma, Procreate, Google Drive
Duration
April 2024
Overview
VettaTrade is a social commerce platform for service providers and property owners in the Caribbean.
This project was done as a part of my Springboard UX Design course as a capstone project. The project required us to work within a team to solve a problem for an emerging construction company. We worked within the team, CEO, and our mentors to push out deliverables within a deadline.
Project scope
The goal for VettaTrade was to work with a company’s CEO to create a high-fidelity prototype.
This project was done as a part of my Springboard UX Design course as the Industry design Project (IDP). I collaborated with 3 other Springboard students to work through the UX Design process, from research to high-fidelity designs.
Target Users
Service providers (freelance tradespersons & contractors)
Property owners (residential & commercial)
01 Exploring the Problem
To better understand the problem and task at hand, I read the brief carefully. It is important to note that this product will cater to the Caribbean population, where specific problems present due to the construction industry there.
Vettatrade presented with 4 problems:
Shortage of skilled workers: many workers lack fundamental skills such as reading plans, adhering to safety procedures, and overall professionalism
Stigmatization of workers as criminals: due to some individuals associated with crime
A large percentage of construction jobs are informal: a significant portion of workers are low-income earners which might hinder skill development and professional growth
Competition from reputable firms: it may be difficult to build a successful construction business as cheaper, reputable construction firms may be outsourced
Important facts about the Caribbean & construction
Many property owners rely on word of mouth to share service worker contacts with one another.
Because of tourism, the construction industry in the Caribbean leans heavily towards resorts, high-rises, and other complex structures. These are complex projects that the local tradesperson may not have experience with, therefore increasing the rate of hiring outside, reputable firms.
Problem statement
This led me to hone in on the product statement:
Vettatrade seeks to solve the problem of the distrustful, informal element when hiring a tradesperson in the Caribbean,
02 Discovery
During the discovery stage, we wanted to run a competitive analysis of similar websites and create a persona to better understand our target user.
Personas
Since there are two users of the platform, our team created two different personas: one service provider and one property owner. We focused mainly on one: the service provider (see right).
We made sure to incorporate our previous knowledge of the problems and research on the Caribbean while determining their interests, influences, goals, needs, motivations, and pain points.
Competitive analysis
For our competitive analysis, we studied 8 different companies offering similar solutions to our problem. For my case study, I want to focus on the results of just 6.
These 6 companies are all platforms to connect property owners and tradespersons with one another:
Checkatrade
MyBuilder
TrustAtrader
HomeAdvisor
Thumbtack
Houzz
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We analyzed each of these websites and listed out their:
Feature sets
User experience
Reputation management
Trust & Verification mechanisms
Social component
Training & skill development
Cost management
Convenience features
Key Insights
Feature set
Most competitors offer job posting, provider profiles, and customer reviews. There is room for improvement in integrating more comprehensive features such as cost management and advanced training resources.
UX
Thumbtack and HomeAdvisor offer user-friendly and intuitive designs. A clean, easy-to-navigate interface is crucial.
Reputation management
All platforms heavily rely on customer reviews to manage reputation, but enhanced verification processes can add more trust.
Cost management
Few platforms address cost management directly, suggesting an opportunity to develop features that help users manage construction costs better, and adresse fluctuating prices and reliance on imported materials by using tools for cost tracking, local supplier integration, and bulk purchasing options.
Training & skills development
This area is notably lacking in most platforms, highlighting a significant opportunity to incorporate targeted training programs. LinkedIn Learning focuses on skill enhancement but lacks practical and on-site training. A platform offering both theoretical and hands-on training tailored to the Caribbean context could fill this gap.
Convenience feature
Basic job quoting and scheduling tools are common, but there is potential for innovation in convenience features to streamline workflows further.
Social components
Houzz and Yelp have strong social features. Incorporating forums, user connections, and the ability to follow and interact with friends can enhance user engagement and trust.
Verification and trust
HomeAdvisor and Angie's List excel in verification processes, which builds trust. Our platform should incorporate robust verification and background checks.
03 Ideating + Sketching
While I started ideating on solutions, I kept these four “How Might We?” questions in mind:
How might we allow tradespersons to advertise their services? What would this look like?
How might property owners look for and find a tradesperson for their services?
How might the onboarding process look/act like?
How might we separate and/or integrate the service provider and property owner website experience?
How might we allow tradespersons to advertise their services?
While looking at competitors, we wanted to let tradespersons showcase general information such as Age, Job, Location, Photos, About Me, Information, Services, Reviews, and Experiences.
An important aspect for the client was to incorporate a profile rating system that encapsulated smaller ratings based on quality of work, trustworthiness, etc.
We used mostly Checkatrade as UI inspiration as we liked their dashboard interface for traders.
How might property owners look for and find a tradesperson for their services?
While studying competitors, we looked at their homepages to see what functions they offer and what they looked like. We knew we wanted an eye-catching banner, a search bar to look up services, categories of services displayed on the homepage, and recommendations of traders in the area.
We really liked the look of MyBuilder for their homepage and Checkatrade for the categories on their homepage.
How might the onboarding process look/act like?
From studying competitors, we knew we wanted the onboarding process to be simple with a maximum of 4 screens. We needed the sign up screen, service screen, add contacts screen, and profile information screen.
We took inspiration from Houzz as we liked the appearance and format of their sign in process. Since users looked from left to right first, we wanted to play on that fact and orient our text left. We also wanted to keep it minimal to make the content the focus.
How might we separate and/or integrate the service provider and integrate the service provider and property owner website experience?
We wanted all users to land on the home page but have the two different users be onboarded separately since the required questions would be different. For example, the service provider would have to put what services they offer and different profile information.
We also wanted the service provider to have more of a dashboard with easy access to view and edit their home, messages, profile, network, experiences, reviews, settings, and help and support.
04 User Flows
As stated before, we had two separate users: a service provider and property owner. Therefore, we created two separate user flows to determine what screens needed to be made to complete each of their goals. Although we mostly focused on the service provider flow, the client still wanted us to create the property owner’s user flow and their view of the service provider’s profile.
For the user flow, I was able to combine my two solutions to one flow:
Compare products and purchase through guest checkout
05 Style Guide
Color palette
The colors for the brand were pre-determined with the client. We color picked the logo and determined the primary color as lime green (#72B14C) and dark gray (#1F1D1D). We also picked some grays so that we can add depth, dimension, and contrast to the design.
Text
For the text, we chose Roboto, as we wanted the text to be super readable. We did not choose a secondary text as we wanted to use the little time we had to focus on the user experience of the project.
Brand attributes
Reliable
Professionalism
Trustworthiness
Safety
To get inspired, we looked at competitors that we studied before which included:
Checkatrade
MyBuilder
TrustAtrader
HomeAdvisor
Thumbtack
Houzz
06 Wireframes + High Fidelity
We then created each screen of the service provider’s user flow based on the sketches and UI inspiration primarily from Checkatrade, MyBuilder, and Houzz.
It is important to note that the first round of sketches was reviewed by the client and approved. His only suggestion was to break the profile rating into smaller categories that influence the overall rating. He did not know exactly what categories he wanted to put but he wanted a representation of this on the trader profile. However, we created an effective rating box that the client was satisfied with at the end.
07 Feedback
Since we were not able to complete the guerilla test, the CEO was our only source of feedback.
Overall, the CEO had some great comments and suggestions. If we were to reiterate, I would discuss what the CEO said with my teammates and work to incorporate his suggestions.
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The CEO’s feedback were as follows:
“I like the overall UI of the prototype. The accent color (green) was used cleverly.”
“I like the video on the sign up page and like how simple the onboarding process was. However, I think the contact page could use some more thinking. Some traders advertise on Facebook and I would love to see how you guys could come up with a way to include social media on the contact page.”
“The trader dashboard looks very clean and nice. I like the left navigation side. However, I believe it could be more compressed to give more space to the actual content. Also, maybe we can add some UI elements to bring attention and some fun to the app.
About the trader dashboard: “I like the notices in different colors. I would have loved to see a way to gamify the profile score and make it more prominent on the dashboard.”
“I really like the trader profile. It is reminiscent of LinkedIn which is what I was envisioning as well.”
Key Takeaways
1
Take a pause and think about whether the client's suggestion is best.
Although I liked my client's suggestions and could easily incorporate them, I wondered if all clients have good suggestions and whether designers are able to incorporate all solutions. Moving forward, I definitely want to take a pause and think about if a viable solution exists and whether it is possible within business constraints.
2
Speak up if you strongly believe your idea is right.
When making wireframes, my team leader and I ahd a disagreement about how the landing page should look. However, through evidence of how competitors designed their website and an article about the importance of an alluring landing page, I was able to convince the team to go with my wireframe. The landing page was received well by the client.
3
Be adaptable when working within a team.
Our main constraint was mostly time and we felt the deadline pressing against us. While the other girls were trying to wrap up the course, I had some free time since I was on a pause. I was able to help with each deliverable since I had more time and our end product was well-received by the client. Team-work makes the dream work!
Reflection
Overall, I believe this was a great experience. From working with a team and communicating with a client, I learned so much from this project. Our main constraint was time and I believe it was great to experience the pressure of a deadline. It was interesting to work in an industry where I had little to no interest or prior knowledge. But it was great trying to delve into the world of trade and learn about the Caribbean to produce something effective. I am excited to move forward and graduate this course to work on cool projects like this in the future!