During my 8-month internship as a UX designer/researcher at Landsure Systems Ltd. I helped research, design, and test a new web form service for the public to submit land title-related forms online rather than needing to download, print, and mail in applications.
*please note that some confidential information in the images below have been blurred
The original form was downloadable from the LTSA website and despite providing guidance on how to fill out the form, applicants still made mistakes that could be avoided with form validation.
The Change of Mailing Address on Title application is used when a customer wants to update the address at which they receive important notices about their property, such as their BC Assessment notice and Speculation Tax Notice. For example, a customer who owns a rental property may wish to receive notices at their home address instead of their rental address.
The goal of the project was to convert the current paper-based form into a web form that users can submit online. The shift towards a webform not only makes it easier for customers to fill out online but also reduces common errors such as missing fields and unformatted data as well as decreasing the need for manual filing internally using automation.
I was responsible for compiling discovery research into a customer user journey map, designing and updating wireframes based on stakeholder feedback, participating in user testing, and debugging the application.
1 – Filling in the gaps
As part of the UX discovery research, I participated in discovery sessions with internal stakeholders and was primarily in charge of creating the customer journey map which included revising content, designing documentation, presenting to teams across the organization and implementing feedback.
During a 3-hour brainstorming session with Jenny, UX Team Lead, we collaboratively created a rough draft of the user journey map in Miro based on the discovery sessions with stakeholders.
As part of the UX discovery research, I participated in discovery sessions with internal stakeholders and was primarily in charge of creating the customer journey map which included revising content, designing documentation, presenting to teams across the organization and implementing feedback.
Unfortunately, we were not able to hold discovery interviews directly with users, and as a result, our team had a difficult time gauging customers’ emotional states throughout the journey. After receiving feedback, I lowered the emotional path needed to more negative because customers expected the application to be available to submit online and were frustrated to find out the process was so manual which impacted their overall mood.
I explored many different visual representations of the customer map trying to find the design that would be easiest for stakeholders to review.
I presented my first draft to my manager Jenny Lee, UX Team Lead, and captured her comments in sticky notes addressed after the meeting.
The final journey map was shared with multiple teams across the organization and was well-received. It helped not only the design team but also the policy and customer support departs empathize with users and start to visulze how we might aid customers during the new process.
2- Designing the MVP
We started by designing a MVP (minimal viable product) which we used as a first draft milestone to share with stakeholders and customers for feedback. My manager created the initial draft of the MVP wireframes and handed them off to me to progress and update. I was in charge of presenting the wireframes to internal stakeholders and holding discussions on the design. I captured the feedback during these meetings using the comments feature of the prototyping soft Axure. To ensure that stakeholders felt their concerns were being addressed and I consistently updated the wireframes based on the latest discussions. I also collaborated directly with the developers walking them through the designs, writing technical documentation and explaining the functionality.
Our team used the comments feature in Axure to communicate about the designs offline. I was responsible for monitoring the comments and updating the designs.
3- Usability testing… with Microsoft
Myself, UX Team Lead Jenny Lee, and LTSA Contractor Tracy Rawa conducted a usability study with public customers to identify any changes needed before launching the service. I was the primary observer and notetaker during the session. After the study, I consolidated all the notes from the sessions and calculated the quantitative data. I also collaborated on a slide deck outlining the key findings of the study for stakeholders.
The biggest challenge was addressing technical difficulties with participants connecting to Microsoft Teams, accessing the chat, and being able to screen share. We spent over 30 minutes in the first session troubleshooting before needing to reschedule. I was able to support the facilitator, Tracy, during sessions by providing troubleshooting resources and helping with ad hoc solutions, such as emailing participants instead of using the chat feature.
Participants often mentioned having difficulty accessing the chat feature in Microsoft Teams. I discovered it was because we had sent links rather than email invites to the meeting.
During LandSure’s monthly company-wide meeting the Product Owner, Duncan Fraser, gave us a shoutout for our work on the usability study.
4- Back to the drawing board
A PID is a number that uniquely identifies a parcel in the land title register of British Columbia. Every PID has a matching legal description, a text description that may include lot number, plan number and others.
The MVP required users to manually enter a PID.
My manager’s initial design of the PID look-up used a table to display results.
My new PID look-up design utilizes cards to display the PID and Legal Description results.
One of the most challenging parts of the application for a member of the general public is finding their Parcel Identifier (PID) and Legal Description, which identifies a parcel of land. The usability study indicated that most people were unfamiliar with the terminology and concept of a PID/Legal Description.
I made the original MVP based on the team’s decision to require users to manually enter their PID and the Legal Description of their property. This put more onus on the user to ensure they entered it correctly, as any spelling mistakes will cause errors.
Our team later discovered we could leverage an internal registry so that customers could use their PID and have the Legal Description pre-populated for them. My manager, Jenny Lee, mocked up a draft design based on similar functionality in the style guide that used a table.
However, I voiced my concern that using a table to store only one or two rows of data could mislead users into thinking they needed more data.
I took the initiative to mock up a new potential design of the PID look-up and pitched it to the team. My design was to use a single text entry field and cards to display the results because it would take up more real estate on the screen. The team liked my designs and the service was launched using the card-style look-up.
5- Bug testing
We used Jira to communicate and track any issues with the application during the Quality Assurance testing. While I was primarily responsible for testing the offline and rainy day scenarios, I also contributed to the testing of the overall application.
I created numerous tickets in Jira describing the behavior of bugs and the expected functionality of the application.
6- Let’s launch!
After rigorous quality assurance testing and debugging, the new online Change of Mailing Address on Title service went live to the public on July 15. Since going live the new web form has performed very well with members of the public.
As we worked on the next two webforms we have continued to improve the design and experience of the Change of Mailing Address webform post-launch. I have added several Jira tickets for sustainment items that may be pushed in the next release. Just because the web form is public doesn’t mean the work stops.
7- What’s it like to work with me?
8- Moving onto the next web forms
Over the course of my co-op, I was able to complete two more customer journey maps for other paper-based forms. I felt more confident in taking more ownership and control over completing the deliverable and improved my delivery/facilitation of the meetings.
During the MVP design of the next web form, I became the primary designer creating and updating the web form. My manager was less involved in the day-to-day design work as I took charge but was still available when I had any questions. Having gone through the experience of the first form and learned more about the domain of land titles, I found I was better able to voice my opinion and contribute to discussions.
At the tail end of my co-op, I was able to facilitate two sessions of a usability study for the next web form, which I had worked closely on designing. The entire UX team shared their tips and tricks for facilitating as well as giving lots of valuable feedback during my practice session. The biggest learning curve with facilitating was to think on the spot and make judgement calls when participants were struggling to complete tasks.
