MAX/Center Referrals UX Research

One of the benefits of a owning a RE/MAX franchise is connection to the vast network of other RE/MAX franchises across the globe. RE/MAX encourages its franchisees to refer home buyers and sellers to each other so that 1) the franchises are encouraged to remain RE/MAX customers and 2) to keep more sales within its franchise network and ultimately boost RE/MAX's revenue. Brokers and agents conduct these referrals through the MAX/Center web application. The MAX/Center product manager noticed the number of referrals made through the application was low and asked the UX team to investigate the cause and what could increase it.

Client: RE/MAX LLC

• Real estate franchisor
• Generates income from franchise fees
• Provides MAX/Center web application to franchisees

Business Problem and Target User

The MAX/Center referral feature was designed to help agents across the globe connect and share referrals (which for some agents is their whole business). We have observed that

• users are not happy about the length of form,
• there's dissatisfaction with the referral fee agreement piece,
• and there's dissatisfaction with contact sharing,

which is causing networks members to avoid referring business to each other within our platform. How might we improve the process of referring business to other agents in MAX/Center so that our agents are more successful as determined by an increase in the number of referrals sent within MAX/Center?

Team and Role

Role: UX researcher
Stakeholders:
Product manager
Product owner

Constraints and Scope

• This research project was requested after I introduced Lean UX practices to the UX team's processes. By shifting our design requests to problem definition from solution specification, I created more opportunity for the UX team to gather real data from our customer base instead of trying our best to make a desired solution work when it may not be the best path forward.
• I wanted to use this opportunity to get the product, development, and QA teams to hear live feedback from users, so I created research observation guides and invited them to the test sessions.
• With a small team of two UX designers working in two-week sprints, I broke this task down into 1) planning the study, 2) scheduling the sessions, 3) conducting the sessions, and 4) analyzing the results and leading a workshop for the observers.

Assumptions

In an effort to create more cross-functional collaboration on our team, I started a practice of sharing new design requests with the development team to get their input on technical contraints and thoughts on the problem itself. When I brought shared this design request with the development team, the overall assumption between them and the product team was that brokers and agents would have an easier time using the referral form if it were shorter or used progressive disclosure to make it less overwhelming.

Research Approach

For this project, I decided to conduct qualitative moderated usability tests on the current referral process in MAX/Center so I could understand how brokers and agents approach referring homebuyers to each other, what was working well with the form in that process, and what needed to be improved. Watching them talk through using the live form and asking follow-up questions would be the best way to get this information.

To prepare for the test sessions, I drafted a usability test script with a few background and follow-up questions. Prior to conducting the sessions with RE/MAX brokers and agents recruited from our research volunteers panel, I did a dry run of the script with another RE/MAX designer to spot any issues with the flow and any missing setup checks (e.g. making sure the user can log into MAX/Center.). For this study, I used Calendly to schedule participants and Zoom to conduct the tests.

• The script focused on the scenario of referring a homebuyer to an out-of-state RE/MAX agent.
• The sessions dug deeper into the agent's workflow process around managing referral.
• I asked follow-up questions focused on referral productivity for the year.

Usability Test Sessions

• I conducted ten 30-60 minute sessions over the course of a two week sprint.
• I coordinated stand-by participants after the sessions filled up.
• All the sessions were remote over Zoom.
• I invited members of the product, development, and QA teams to observe the sessions.

Analysis

Rigorously analyzing qualitative data from a recorded session typically involves transcribing the session and meticulously breaking down the conversation to find themes and patterns. In the past, I've done a lighter version of this as a thematic analysis of notable observations typed on sticky notes in a digital whiteboard. Now that I'd started learning about Lean UX methods, I decided to try a new approach: the rainbow spreadsheet.

With this method, a usability observation is noted once and then marked for each qualitative data source being analyzed. This method was much faster to execute and produced an easier report to scan through compared to the slideshows I usually created. As the only person conducting this research project, it was faster and created a deliverable that was easier for the product team to consume.

Research Findings

It turned out that the assumptions about the form length were incorrect. The most pressing problems for brokers and agents around the referrals process in MAX/Center were focused on making the referral legally binding, paying the referrer, and tracking the transaction.

• Agents needed a way to formalize the contractual agreement to execute and pay on the referral.
• Agents needed a way to document tax ID information to process payment after the real estate transaction was completed.
• Agents needed a way to manage and monitor the referral transaction after the agreement was formalized.

Outcomes and Next Steps

• Saved $3,800+ in design and development salary on building the wrong, assumed solution.
• Planned and facilitated an affinity mapping workshop to help product, development, and QA team members process their usability observations.
• Planned and facilitated a design workshop to help product, development, and QA team members quickly brainstorm and vet possible design solutions for recommendations in analysis report.
• Wrote user stories for the design team to focus on designing solutions for different problem areas of the referral creation user flow.