In 2013, I joined CommonFloor to lead UX for Communities—a platform built to help residents and administrators manage apartment societies online. While the goal was clear (replace noticeboards and ledgers with a digital dashboard), the challenge was more nuanced: most admins were over 40, non-technical, and transitioning to computers for the first time. The success of the product hinged on design that felt familiar, forgiving, and empowering—on both web and mobile.
The product wasn’t just for tech-savvy residents—it had to work for those managing the community: retired professionals, homemakers, senior citizens. Most were new to digital tools, shifting from ledgers and handwritten notes to screens for the first time.often volunteers who had previously managed society operations through physical ledgers, handwritten notices, or Excel files on shared computers. Many were hesitant about technology, worried they might 'break' the system or press the wrong button. For them, the idea of transitioning to a fully digital platform was as much about confidence as it was about usability.
We ran on-ground interviews across Bangalore, visited societies, and tested early prototypes. Common feedback:
"Too many buttons."
"I’m scared I’ll mess something up."
"This is harder than using my bank passbook."
This feedback reshaped our approach. We prioritized visual clarity, icon-driven navigation, and large interactive zones for slower, deliberate interaction.
The admin panel became the nerve center—and it had to be dead simple
We used:
Swim lane experience mapping to break down user flows
Heatmaps and usage analytics to understand real interactions
First-time user guidance, inspired by onboarding models from platforms like Facebook and Quora
Post-launch, we saw a 75% increase in page views and 100% drop in bounce rate for first-time users. That meant users were not just signing up—they were staying, exploring, and using the product meaningfully.
