OVERVIEW
The goal of this effort is to produce a findings report for Homewise, an Albuquerque-based organization serving both Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Homewise’s mission is to help underserved communities achieve sustainable homeownership by:
- Providing financial fitness education and guidance
- Teaching the full home-buying process
- Preparing clients to become ‘buyer-ready’ and qualify for a home
- Supporting clients through home search and purchase with their realtor team
- Offering lending services to help finance their chosen home
KEY STAKEHOLDER DISCOVERY
INTERVIEWS
To begin, six participant types were selected for interviews as part of the discovery process. The goal was to uncover pain points, define user personas, and explore needed functionality and potential solutions
The interview script was tailored to each user type and organized by key who/what/why questions, covering topics like KPIs, advisor experience, process awareness, and participation in education courses.
INTERVIEW INSIGHTS
Building on insights from the current ecosystem and user personas, we identified key challenges affecting both the customer experience and internal operations. These pain points highlight where Homewise’s processes and tools can be improved to better support customers and staff.
USER PERSONAS
The Homewise team—Home Purchase Advisors, Realtors, and Loan Officers—works together to guide and support clients through every stage of the home-buying journey. Customers partner with these teams as they move through each phase on their path to homeownership
PROPOSED SOLUTION
The Homewise App
The Homewise Customer Application is a comprehensive, customer-centric platform designed to address key pain points and transform both client interactions and internal operations. Beyond a digital tool, it represents an evolution in Homewise’s approach, focusing on communication, document management, process guidance, and educational support.
By empowering customers and streamlining operations, the application helps Homewise scale its services while remaining intuitive, responsive, and adaptable to evolving needs. Key objectives and targeted solutions are outlined below.
- To meet these goals, three technical approaches were considered:
- Customer Service Portal / Experience Cloud: Out-of-the-box solution.
- Salesforce Lightning Applications: Partially customized solution.
- Custom 3-Tiered Web Application: Fully customized solution.
- Each option has distinct benefits and trade-offs, with the optimal choice determined by alignment with Homewise’s strategic priorities.
