Platform that empowers solicitors to the property conveyancing process
Tools
Sketch, InVision, Axure RP, Photoshop, Illustrator
Role
User Research, User Journey Mapping, Competitive Analysis, Visual design, Prototyping, Testing
Problem
The traditional UK conveyancing process is slow, complex, and delay-prone due to inefficient communication, extensive paperwork, and coordination challenges, resulting in client dissatisfaction, increased operational costs, and potential legal risks.
Challenge
The new conveyancing platform needed to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, integrate with existing systems, maintain data privacy and security, and handle high property transaction volumes. It manages the entire conveyancing process online and brings together conveyancers, clients, and estate agents in one digital space.
Goal
Create a more intuitive and streamlined interface to improve navigation and usability.
Develop a flexible task management system that allows users to easily track, prioritize, and execute conveyancing tasks.
Implement real-time communication tools to reduce delays and enhance collaboration among all parties involved.
Integrate advanced document management features that ensure accuracy and reduce manual data entry.
Initial research
In my initial research of the conveyancing process in the UK, I found that it involves a complex workflow with specific tasks and responsibilities. The process requires coordinated efforts from mortgage brokers, buyer and seller clients, solicitors, and real estate agents. Research revealed the following challenges:
29%
transactions delayed by slow communication
25%
delays due to incorrect information and waiting for documentation
70%
solicitors' time spent on non-billable tasks
Property title information obtained from Land registry
Client returns Client Information Form and Property Information Forms
Mortgage redemption statement ordered for information and copy sent to client on receipt
Contract pack prepared and sent to Buyer’s conveyancers
Additional enquiries dealt with and replied to
Contract and transfer deed sent to client for signature in readiness
Agents account and final mortgage
redemption statement obtained
Completion accounts prepared (if not already done)
Client returns Client Information Form
Contract pack received from Seller’s conveyancers
Searches ordered
Copy documents may be sent to client for information
Searches received
Mortgage offer received, any issues reported to the lender
Final report to client prepared and sent. Contract and documents signed in readiness. Client pays any deposit required
Registration completed by Land Registry and copy title deed sent to client and lender
Mortgage advance ordered. Completion accounts prepared (if not already done). Client pays balance needed to complete
Final searches
Mortgage monies and client balance received in time for completion
Completion monies sent to the Seller’s conveyancers. Keys released
Transfer deed received and sent to Land Registry
Completion monies received and keys released. Transfer deed sent to Buyer’s solicitors. Balance due provided to clients
Pre-Exchange
4-14 weeks
Exchange
9 weeks
SELLER’S CONVEYANCERS
BUYER’S CONVEYANCERS
Completion
2 weeks
Post Completion
2 weeks
User interviews
To directly address user needs and improve our platform, we interviewed two solicitors and consulted with a group of five experts. Their feedback highlighted issues with the client portal’s intuitiveness, legal form accuracy, and customization, leading us to enhance reporting tools, third-party integrations.
I often wait days, sometimes weeks, for responses from clients or other solicitors, which significantly delays the process.
We frequently receive documents with missing or incorrect information, which means we have to spend additional time chasing corrections.
Competitive analysis
This research phase also included studying market trends, analyzing competitors, and gathering user feedback. Informative sessions with experienced conveyancing solicitors were crucial in gaining a deeper understanding of legal aspects, critical for effectively digitizing the conveyancing process.
Company
Hoowla
InTouch
Leap
User Interface
User-friendly with document automation
Pre-configured matter types and intuitive interface
Customizable workflows and mobile apps
Legal Tools
Extensive legal tools including form automation
Automated legal forms and precedents
Extensive legal tools and custom workflows
Communication Tools
Client portal and email integration
Integrated email and SMS communication
Multi-channel communication,
Document Management
Document automation and eSignature integration
Comprehensive document management
Dynamic document generation and eSignatures
Search Integration
Integrated property searches
Integrated property searches and results
Seamless search ordering via InfoTrack
AML Compliance
Yes
Yes
Yes
Workflow Automation
Customizable workflows and task management
Workflow automation and real-time updates
Automated workflows with pre-configured tasks
Mobile Access
User-friendly with document automation
Pre-configured matter types and intuitive interface
Customizable workflows and mobile apps
Electronic Signatures
User-friendly with document automation
Pre-configured matter types and intuitive interface
Customizable workflows and mobile apps
Client Portal
Yes
Yes
Yes
Post-Completion Management
Digital AP1 and SDLT submission
Digital AP1 and SDLT submissions
Post-completion workflow integration
Completion Statements
Quick generation of completion statements
Easy completion statements and billing
Automated completion tracking
Persona and User Journey maps
We’ve developed detailed personas based on our initial workshops and continuous feedback loops with clients. For instance, with Harry and Alex, we’ve crafted User Journey Maps that really dive into their specific needs and ideas for enhancing their experience, providing us with clear insights into user goals.
Ideation
Our journey to create a user-friendly conveyancing platform began with brainstorming and sketching, prioritizing functionality and user experience. Through iterative wireframing and testing of a low-fidelity prototype in Axure RP, we refined our design based on user and stakeholder feedback, ensuring the final product met all expectations and optimized our workflow.
How might we…
How might we reduce communication delays between clients, solicitors, and third parties?
How might we ensure documents are complete and accurate to prevent delays?
How might we reduce the administrative workload on solicitors?
UI style and brand
When I joined OneDome as a Product Designer, the essential UI elements and the company's style had already been developed. My role involved studying these existing designs in Photoshop, importing them into Sketch, and developing new UI elements and icon illustrations to enhance the platform's visual identity.
The first round of high-fidelity screens
We had clear frameworks and ideas for creating a page of cases. We divided the cases into three sections and included the ability to sort, which was straightforward. However, creating case cards proved to be a challenging task. After testing multiple options, Option B emerged as the preferred choice. The main design decision was to use cards instead of a table or list to display cases. We believed that for the MVP version, our lawyers wouldn't have much initial work to do.
Final design
In the final stages of the OneDome project, we refined and iterated on the design based on comprehensive user feedback, ensuring the solution was both intuitive and efficient for conveyancers.
Case details
After everything is set up and the firm is ready to work, lawyers can receive cases through the client side or add cases themselves. To manage a case, a lawyer just needs to immerse himself in it, where he can get acquainted in more detail with all the current formation of the process, as well as perform a task or action to carry out the necessary task.
Timeline & Task track
One of the key pages I had to design during this project is the case info page. This page needed to effectively display the navigation between all the components, the process timeline, task lists, documents, messages, real estate information, and more. The primary objective of this page is to streamline the real estate transfer process.
Documents
Documents for lawyers in Britain occupy a kind of sacred place in life. For this reason, we have created a documents tab for each individual case, and at the moment when a lawyer creates or accepts a case, the system automatically generates a library of documents from branch templates. Each document is a digital document into which all the necessary information about the property and the client is inserted. There was also the development of the ability to edit and add additional assumptions
Integration and task actions
During almost the entire time of my work, together with the leader of the developer team and the product manager, we studied options for integration with state services from our platform. My part was to create simple forms from dry dates that provided an intuitive and simple look.
Results
The launch of the MVP version of OneDome's conveyancing platform marked a significant milestone in our project. We successfully deployed the platform to several conveyancing agencies, which allowed us to gather real-time feedback and observe its practical implementation in a live environment.
Auto-fill features reduced data errors, improving accuracy.
Early users cut transaction times by 20% with automation.
Rapid adoption by agencies indicated strong market demand.
