PixelTree Media

Adrian Richardson and the team at Mortgage Wallet set out with one mission: to disrupt the status quo of a mortgage industry that was opaque for customers and admin-heavy for brokers.

When they asked if there was a better way though, they found themselves at cross-roads 🧭

Building an “all singing, all dancing” app straight away was going to cost a lot of money for what might be a hunch.

But not trying anything could mean that they let a potentially huge opportunity to change the entire industry pass by.

They opted for a middle ground; setting out to test their beliefs, gather feedback and ultimately use data to determine their path forward.

Over a 6-week product sprint with Adrian, Jared and the team, we:
🎤 Used stakeholder interviews alongside existing datapoints to reveal the biggest challenges for both customers and brokers
✏️ Designed the screens that would deliver solutions for the big challenges
🤖 Crafted interactive prototypes that could provide a “real” user experience
🧪 Conducted user testing to gather feedback
🔁 Iterated on design and prototypes to gather further rounds of feedback

How did it do? 🤔

The testing paid off!

Mortgage Wallet is now in use at brokers across the country, helping teams optimise client management and delivering better user experiences in the process 🏡

Want to know more? Read our full case study below:

https://pixeltreemedia.co.uk/work/mortgage-wallet-app-prototype/

Controversial take: 5 users is not always enough for usability testing.

There, we said it!

To set the record straight, we say this as a team that use 5 users as our standard.

We fully back Nielsen’s belief that it finds 85% of usability issues and that it:
⏲ Delivers results rapidly
👛 Is cost effective for clients who might otherwise try and launch a risky product

The thing is though, we need to remember context when we insist on using just 5 users:

🧮 It’s not enough for numerical evidence -
If you're testing for statistical evidence, 5 users may simply not be enough. 5 users’ is a great rule of thumb for identifying common problems, but not significant a sample size for factors like ‘how many completed a task?’, ‘how satisfied were users?’ etc.

🔁 Iteration doesn’t stop at 1 attempt –
Iterating on the feedback you receive may introduce new bugs or may not always solve the original problem. Remember, you may need further testing beyond the original 5 testers.

Ultimately, testing with 5 users for usability issues is the best starting point. But here are a few things that might make it require more users:

📈 Your goal is to gather quantitative evidence on usability

😵‍💫 You’re testing a large or complex product

🙋 Your test relies on multiple different target audiences or users

📅 You plan on conducting iteration

See our full breakdown here: https://pixeltreemedia.co.uk/usability-testing-with-5-users-is-it-enough/

Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below!

Did you know that 34% of departments report to product management (according to UXcam)?

But even with all these experts at arms reach, gathering insights and being collaborative across departments still remains a huge challenge for product managers ⚠️

Ultimately, product teams that don’t have structured times to collaborate, or worst case, work in complete silos lose out on a GOLD MINE of expertise that you can’t get anywhere else.

And the more expertise you have, the better, resulting in:

❓ An easier time identifying challenges and questions that need answering

💡 Better ideas coming to the forefront from people outside of your usual silo

✅ Better informed decisions early on that make the process smoother

So, the key question ends up being “how can I get the best results out of cross-departmental teamwork?”

As always, we’ve got a few pointers:

⏰ Get started early! - The earlier you involve internal experts in the requirement gathering phase the better, resulting in faster progression and more information to work with from the off

🤝 Activities matter – Team activities can make unnatural and unstructured meetings into something that’s fun and encourages experts to contribute

📅 It’s not one and done – You should look to keep checking in with your experts over the course of your project to make sure that if things change, you’re in the know

Read more requirement gathering tips here:

https://pixeltreemedia.co.uk/things-to-remember-when-collecting-requirements/

Here’s a few things about our friends at Your Sexual Health:

🧪 They’ve been at the forefront of improving access to sexual health testing, serving as the UK’s leading provider of private testing.

🤝 They work with over 100+ clinics across the UK to provide a wide array of tests.

🏠 They’ve gone above and beyond to make the process as easy for users as possible; offering bookable clinic appointments, home testing kits and home visits.

With a brand-new testing service in the works, Your Sexual Health have partnered up with us for UX design, prototyping and user testing to get their website ready for the new service’s launch🚀

Over the course of our collaboration, we’ll be working closely with their team to:

🗺️ Detail all user journeys on the website and the touchpoints with the new service

🧭 Differentiate the new service from other testing types, improving visibility and maximising its commercial potential

🧪 Validate the prototype with real users

📱 Oversee the deployment of the work to their live site

Check out more details at the link below:
https://pixeltreemedia.co.uk/your-sexual-health-partner-with-pixeltree-ahead-of-huge-testing-expansion/