Home Depot DIY App

Designing a mobile app to help DIYers with their home improvement projects.

Problem

DIY (Do It Yourself) has been growing in popularity. A big challenge that DIYers face is not keeping track of their project progress, which has led projects to be delayed and over budget.

Solution

The solution is to create an app that helps DIYers, from novice to advanced, keep track of critical details in their DIY projects to ensure timely completion while getting resources they need all on in one app.

Project Overview

Role:

UX Designer & UX Researcher

UX Designer, Project Manager

Peers:

In a 3 week timeline, build a responsive Mobile DIY app that helps DIYers of all expertise keep track of their project progress.

Task:

Figma/Figjam, Maze, Optimal Workshop

Tools:

Product & User Research

I know about DIY but I would not call myself a big DIYer, so the first step was definitely understanding how DIYers approach their projects and delving more into competitors.

Competitor & Comparator Analysis

For competitors, we went with Lowe’s, Ikea and Houzz because each brand catered to different audiences.

  • Ikea catered to novice DIYers because products are easy to put together and cost effective.

  • Houzz was for DIYers who had a more flexible budget and more advanced DIYers.

  • Lowe’s was the brand most similar to Home Depot in terms of catering to all DIYer levels.

Comparators were Pinterest and Sephora (I know it is makeup, but I will make a point here). We liked how the comparators created different experiences that catered to various levels of skillsets and preferences.

  • Sephora provided insight on how we present information to users who have different levels of knowledge or skin types.

  • Pinterest had the same approach, but we also learned how they provided step by step guides and material lists.

Sephora’s filter for various levels of knowledge/skin type

Pinterest’s filter for navigating types of DIY projects

Pinterest resources for materials needed and step by step process for projects.

Interviews

Interviews were conducted with users at various levels of DIY, from novice to advanced. Each user was interviewed anywhere from 30 minutes - 1 hour. We went into details about what levels they were at with DIY, kinds of projects they like to do, where they go to for materials, and how they currently keep track of their DIY projects.

Key Takeaways

Who are DIYers?

How do they keep track of projects?

Why do DIYers need an app?

DIYer’s Journey Map

Based on a user’s DIY journey, inspiration quickly drops in the beginning of the projects, where it is critical for DIYers to plan how their next steps look like.

What are we doing differently?

Providing an accurate way to track a DIYer’s project’s budget and timeline to make them more confident in completing projects successfully.

User Testing

After a few iterations, we came up with an initial solution and it was ready for testing!

What did we want to test?

  • Ease of use finding inspiration for projects

  • Ability to select and save a DIY project

  • Experience on reading step by step projects

  • Overall experience with navigating the planner itself

Testing Results

“The perfect meme to describe my reaction to the user testing doesn’t exi-”

100%

Users were confused on how they filter for projects.

User Quote: “I’m not sure what this means”

100%

Users were left baffled with how to read the planner.

User Quote: "This looks awkward”

60%

Users were hesitant when looking for inspiration because the content did not look clickable.

User Quote: “Oh I can click these?”

Final Solution

In case the Michael Scott meme wasn’t obvious, the user testing was not ideal. However, it gave us great insight on how we should proceed with the final solution.

So what changed?

Key Improvements

  • Created clearer filters

  • Put additional filters, like price and difficulty level, that catered to DIYers at different levels

  • Added CTA “Start DIY Project” to make starting projects easier

  • Included difficult levels, budget and reviews to DIYers have more upfront info about projects

Key Improvements

  • Provided DIYers with more photos of project

  • Added detailed reviews

  • Made design more consistent with Home Depot UI Design

Key Improvements

  • Changed planner UI entirely-got rid of the “notebook” UI from previous iteration

  • Fit more progress trackers into the planner, like completed tasks and progress photos

Key Improvements

  • Provided more visibility to the status of the project with the completion charts

  • Broke down aspects of the project, like budget and supplies, via tabs versus putting all info in one page

For access to the full prototype, please reach out via email.

How was the problem solved?

  • Provided DIYers with proper tools to track everything within a project accurately, including budget and timelines, in order to confidently complete projects. 

  • DIYers will also be able to track their work in real time (via uploading photos of progress, being able to check on tasks that were completed). 

  • DIYers will always have videos and other instructions at their disposal all in the DIY Planner. 

  • DIYers will be able to save money for their DIY projects because they were given a way to track what tools they currently have and tools they do not have-avoiding more unnecessary trips back to the store and more time focusing on project completion. 

  • If DIYers do not have a tool that is needed for the project, it is very easy to shop for it on The Home Depot app.