Bygglovsportalen

Outcomes

Identified trust shift through in depth- research
Developed a chatbot to address user concerns and overall guidance throughout the Bygglovsportalen experience.
Encouraged the client to implement a customer service feature, enabling users to receive human support and assistance.
Allowing users to easily access essential information such as phone numbers and operating hours for local authorities.

Project Overview

Bygglovsportalen Bygglovsportalen is a company with 13 years of expertise in construction permits in Sweden.

Their audience consists of two primary segments: B2C clients (individuals seeking construction permits) and B2B partners (financial institutions, legal experts, architects, construction firms, quality assessors, and insurance companies).Our project focused mainly on the B2C audience, specifically users aged 30 to 60, based in Stockholm.

Our objective was to instill confidence in users that they would comply with all laws and requirements, making them feel compelled to join Bygglovsportalen throughout their building permit process. As specified by our client, "The site should have an aura of 'we are here, we know what we're doing, and we will guide you through it."

Our team was composed of 9 UX designers working together on-site, with me taking on the roles of team lead and facilitator. Since this project was extensive, I will mainly focus this case study on the Chatbot and Customer Service pages, which I researched, ideated, and designed.

0.1 Users initiating the building permit process rely on trust in authorities but their confidence faulters due to a lack of emotional support and human assistance.

0.1

Our assumption was that people needed guidance during their journey to achieve their dream construction in order to feel secure on the website. We believed that users would trust an expert who presents authoritative arguments.

To verify this assumption, we conducted interviews with 8 people aged between 30 and 60 years old. Among the participants, 3 had already experienced the building permit process, and the remaining 5, although not experienced with building permits, were homeowners familiar with do-it-yourself projects.

Through these interviews, we discovered that users sought comprehensive information on all the necessary steps for the building permit process to feel reassured. However, during the process, they became overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information due to a lack of accessible resources and support.

“It almost felt like they wanted you to fail. […]
It felt difficult to get support from them.
To actually understand what you needed to produce.”

Wilhelm

Owner in Stockholm,
had experience with building permit.

Our findings reveal a trust shift: users inexperienced with the building permit process trust authorities, while those who've gone through it tend to distrust them.

“In this case, it was a municipal website, where you were supposed to read about what was required. It wasn’t entirely clear.”

Anna

Owner in Stockholm,
had experience with building permit.

We realized that trust in the permit process can be enhanced by providing clear guidance, emotional support, and human interaction.

What I missed the most was not really having someone to call and ask.”

Thomas

Owner in Stockholm,
had experience with building permit.

Guided by our findings, we focused on addressing the following design challenge:

How might we take into consideration the municipality entry point where users lose trust, and address their needs by improving overall guidance, communication, and human support throughout their entire Bygglovsportalen experience?

0.2 A chatbot as an emotional response.

0.1

With this concept in mind, we aimed to address users' worries and uncertainties, helping them feel emotionally supported and secure. The chatbot also served as a mascot to guide users through the building permit process and the website as a whole. We designed the wireframe with these goals in mind.
Following 9 user tests, we discovered the following:
‍
The homepage's roadmap, intended for onboarding, proved unnecessary as users found it clear enough to interact with.
‍
The chatbot's design was not attractive enough to encourage users to seek help through it. In contrast,

22%

of the testers would have
searched
for an FAQ to find answers
to their question.

Considering these results, we decided to remove the onboarding process, improve the chatbot's visuals, and provide quick actions within the chatbot for easy access to FAQs. To ensure alignment with the client's vision, we conducted a workshop to discuss their brand identity and determine the most suitable visuals. The client favored their original logo, which resembled a human figure, and we decided to use it as a basis for the chatbot's design.

Chatbot talking AKA 'Rolf'

2 example of iteration on the quick action (e.g. FAQ, Customer services, questions) inside the Chatbot.

Chatbot resting AKA 'Rolf'

Terms and policy before starting to chat.

0.3 A customer services as a human support response.

0.1

Although the Chatbot can partially address users' concerns, it does not fully satisfy their need for human support.

After presenting our research, our client decided to incorporate a customer service feature in the future, enabling users to call and speak with a representative if needed. This addition would provide users with easier access to essential information such as phone numbers and operating hours for their local authorities.

The aim is to enhance search engine performance, improving visibility when users search for permit processes within their municipalities.

The last two sections of this page consist of an FAQ and a glossary. Through user testing, we discovered that users prefer to view questions and answers simultaneously, prompting us to design the FAQ section to be fully expanded upon first view.

FAQ in the Customer
Service page

Book a call in the
Customer Service page

Glossary in the
Customer Service page

Municipacility contact search
in the Customer Service page

Reflection

Be empathic in your practice.

0.1

In conclusion, understanding user emotions and needs is essential when designing effective solutions. By addressing trust concerns, offering emotional and human support, and maintaining open communication with stakeholders, we were able to create a more user-friendly experience for individuals navigating the building permit process.

Although interviews revealed user resistance to AI integration, implementing an A/B testing approach could help evaluate the potential benefits of incorporating AI in enhancing user support. By comparing a version with AI integration to one without, we can assess various metrics such as error rate, efficiency, and user satisfaction in specific tasks like searching for permit process information.

Slime agency work