Intuit Pro-Finder
Innovating to connect our customers on a pro-to-pro network based on customer research and insights I uncovered by going to the source - our customers.
The Challenge
On one hand, we have customers that are trying to find help to lighten their workload but they find it difficult to find the help they need. On the other hand, we have customers that are trying to grow their practice but they feel confused by the many channels that are available so they rely on informal, scattered networks. How can we help both sides find and connect with each other? This solution aims to address both sides of this customer problem.
The Approach
I used a double diamond design framework to execute this project. During the discovery phase, I conducted generative research with almost 20 of our customers and captured themes and insights. This research lead to identifying that this was a two-sided problem. There were a couple of rapid prototyping sessions with customers and eventually I landed on a product design that we will test with customers.
The Outcome
During the discovery phase of this project, a survey was completed by almost 800 of our customers. 70% of those respondents said they'd be interested in learning more about this service. I am currently working with our senior leaders to get this service green-lighted.
Project Background
This project started as a result of being awarded the Scott Cook Innovation Award at Intuit. One of the rewards for winning this prize was the ability to focus full time for three months on any project as long as it aligned to Intuit’s business goals. I started my innovation time without a product or service in mind, but I knew that talking to our customers during the most painful part of their year would yield some visceral responses. I spent time with over 20 of our customers in their offices, on the phone, and in our offices. During this time there was a consistent theme of wanting to 'right-size' their practice - either by growing or shrinking their workloads. Once I had a clear problem statement defined I was able to start the design phase. I employed several techniques to get customer feedback in creative ways and I needed to find ways to conduct rapid prototyping sessions, user testing, and validation. This project was shared with several senior leaders, including Scott Cook, and was eventually implemented.
Discovery Phase
The discovery phase of this project was spent doing generative research with customers. In-depth phone interviews were conducted to get an idea of big customer frustrations. As the research progressed I was able to visit customers in their offices. During these contextual observations, I immersed myself in the real day-to-day life of our customers. The interruptions, the hacks they figured out, and the rhythm of their days were all very informative.
After synthesizing this large amount of data there were a few key insights that captured the crux of both sides of the problem.
Our customers are looking to ‘right-size’ their practices (marketing, networking, etc.,) but are unable to connect in a central place.
Our customers are trying multiple methods to get their names out there (marketing) but the signal is diminished because it’s scattered over multiple channels.
Some of our pros are looking to shrink their practice due to retirement but they’re not sure how to find a good home for their clients.
These key insights led to several opportunities for ideation and innovation. The next step was to put some definition around this project scope.
All the Stickies - this is one collection of notes/observations captured from a team synthesis session.
Define Phase
After gaining critical insights about our customers and their problems, I crafted a design brief to help get buy-in and help define the remaining phases of the work.
Identifying the strategy and how this solution could fit into our offering line up was a major aspect of the definition phase. We have strategic priorities on every level of our organization and clearly defining the target customer, the business opportunity, and technology fit were all included in this phase. These connections between the business and the customer helped to prioritize what was most important to both sides.
After determining the strategic fit I was able to move on to defining the personas, design principles, and current state customer journeys.
Design + Deliver
The design process for this was a very fast-paced, exciting time. During this phase, I was able to connect with our customers to do some rapid iteration directly with them. I started with a basic prototype and shared it with one customer in their office. During the visit, we were able to find gaps in the experience and pivot based on those findings.
Every night the designs were updated and tested with a different customer. This was a scrappy solution that yielded plenty of refinements to the initial prototype.
After a week of testing with customers, I finally had a solid set of design directions that I used to update the final prototype. Once this part of the process was complete I was ready to deliver the final presentation to Intuit’s founder Scott Cook. Click the image below to open the final presentation. Enjoy!
