Relocation, Reimagined: Brookfield's New Planning Experience
Brookfield Global Relocation Services (BGRS), now part of SIRVA, hired me to redesign their relocation planner. With over 1.3 million business trips taken daily (Global Business Travel Association), the goal was to simplify the relocation process and improve the experience for employees preparing for their new journey ahead.
team
1 Product Designer (me)
1 Product Design Lead
2 Software Developers
timeline
Identifying the Problem: 1.5 weeks. Breaking Down the Problem: 1 week. Imaging a Solution: 2 weeks. Bringing a Solution to Life: 1 week.
my role
Led the design of the relocation planner with guidance from my design lead, handling concept development, user research, and final deliverables.
Design Challenge
"How can we streamline BGRS's relocation planner for a smoother, more user-friendly experience?"
what's the problem
Tens of thousands of employees rely on BGRS's online relocation planner for a seamless transition. With a stagnant design for 2 years, it was time for a change.
solution
In order to design a great planner, we needed to understand the pitfalls of BGRS's existing planner. To do this, we studied competitor designs and consulted with experts in business relocation.
outcome
After research, we designed and annotated multiple planner illustrations using rapid ideation brainstorming. I created the final high-fidelity prototype in Adobe XD to perform end-user testing and feedback.
Identifying the Problem
"What Makes a Good Planner?"
Understanding the complexities of a problem is necessary to find the ideal solution. Our first objective was analyzing user pain points. Interviews with end-users and relocation experts formed the "3 Needs" of a great planner.
0​1. What do I need to do?
02. When is it due?
03. How far in the process am I?
Meet Thomas, Rachel, and Ashley!
Identifying end-user played a vital role in our design process. By creating personas based on actual users, we were able to visualize the most essential part of our design challenge. This kept our approach diverse and inclusive.
Breaking Down the Problem
Stepping Into the Shoes of the User
Unnecessary features and redundant information confused users while preparing for their relocations. Users felt overwhelmed with the overabundance of features that they were not clear on how to navigate. This discouraged users from wanting to use the current planner.
0​1. Redundant information
02. Unnecessary features
03. Overwhelming content
Taking Advantage of Competitor Design
Due to the 3 main pain points, our existing solution lacked the "3 Needs" of a successful planner. Understanding and analyzing how competitors found success was vital. By studying other planners, we uncovered the Do’s and Don’ts of successful designs such as Asana's planner.
Imagining a Solution
Sketching Up a Storm
With all the problem analysis out the way, now came the fun part. By completing design sprints, I generated numerous designs. Through various user testing methods such as online surveys sent out to users and co-workers, immediate feedback on the different designs was gathered.
Laying Out the Foundation
After user feedback, a final design was selected, and a low-fidelity illustration was created. This prototype focused on testing the layout and design functionality. Annotations allowed my team and I to understand the user flow of the design. Illustrating the full planner layout allowed for a realistic feel of the prototype without actually creating it.
Bringing a Solution to Life
Designing the Real Thing
After presenting the low-fidelity prototype to the team, our next step was building the fully-functioning planner in Adobe XD. Using the Surface Pro, we designed personalized icons and graphics in Microsoft OneNote and Adobe Photoshop. We would go on to create 6 significant iterations of our final Relocation Planner design.
Making It Beautiful
The colour and typography style guide stayed original to our company colours. Using softer and darker shades, we were able to draw more emphasis on key objects. It was also crucial that we had uniform headers and spacing within the design to be more inclusive of all users.
The Final Frames
Our final design consisted of a duo screen layout that allows users to navigate tasks while reading event details. We included a progress bar and a motivating animation that left users feeling accomplish after complete a task. Ensuring our planner fulfills the 3 Needs of a successful planner, the end product emphasizes BGRS's model statement of putting the user's need first. Allowing them to be in the driving seat of their new relocation adventure that awaits them.
