A homebuying guide for first-time homeowners in Boston
Hats Worn
Service Designer • UX Researcher
Client
Boston Home Center (City of Boston)
Collaborators
UI/UX Designers, UX Copywriter, Manager
Timeline
4 months
Overview
In the midst of Boston’s growing housing crisis - where the city ranks as the second most expensive for renters and among the top ten for homebuyers - first-time buyers face a daunting path to homeownership. This challenge is especially acute for those new to Boston, who often struggle to access clear information or receive guidance.
Challenge
Partnering with the Boston Home Center (BHC) to create an accessible, official guide that eases the complexity of homebuying for first-timer buyers. By providing straightforward resources, this tool will help people make informed decisions and will be integrated into the City of Boston website as an reliable resource for homebuyers and other experts.
Making Sense of the Work
Where Do We Begin?
At the start of this project, my understanding of the homebuying process in Boston - especially for people who are new to the process - was minimal. So I set up starting points:
Experience
Understand the current homebuying experiences of Bostonians, to identify challenges around understanding the existing resources and processes.
Scenarios
Identify key homebuying stages, factoring in different stakeholders’ perspectives and Boston Home Center’s goal to build a cohesive guide.
Customization
Understand the needs of diverse first-time homebuyers, including non-native English speakers or people who are new to Boston, to inform the design.
Recognizing Project Constraints
Our project faced significant constraints by several factors. First, it was challenging to connect with all the stakeholders - such as home inspectors, real estate agents, and sellers - due to limited access, scheduling conflicts, and varying levels of cooperation. Second, the sheer volume of data available from diverse and often disorganized sources made it difficult to piece together a clear, consistent understanding of the homebuying process. On top of that, many terms and legal jargons were unfamiliar, creating additional hurdles in synthesizing information for first-time homebuyers. Still, I managed to gather insights through surveys and interviews with homebuyers, homeowners, BHC employee, and non-profit expert.
How might we ensure an inclusive, user-centered design approach despite limited stakeholder access, disorganized data, and unfamiliar legal jargon?
Design Process
Understand The Territory
To understand the project territory, the team and I first acknowledged the complexities of Boston’s housing market - particularly the challenges first-time homebuyers face in Boston. I adopted a service design mindset, viewing each step of the homebuying journey as part of a broader system of interconnected experiences. By mapping relevant references - from government programs to non-profit services - I identified critical pain points and existing resources. Immersing ourselves in user research techniques - like surveys, semi-structured interviews, affinity mapping and more - ensured our insights remained grounded in real experiences.
Discover, Co-Design, Reframe
Research Framework
To ground the team and the work, I developed a research plan focused on capturing both user and stakeholders’ insights at every stage of the project.
Primary research with experts
Engaged with the Boston Home Center, potential homebuyers, new homeowners, and non-profit organization to shape early design concepts and validate assumptions about the homebuying journey.
Secondary research
Examined official data and gathered personal stories from blogs, city reports and local news to understand emerging challenges and user concerns.
Team diversity as an asset
Held honest conversations about our own experiences with Boston’s housing, and conducted an affinity mapping session - leveraging unique perspectives to guide interview questions and pinpoint key areas.
Survey and results
City report
Brainstorming sessions - mind mapping and affinity mapping
Interviews
I developed an interview guide and had one-on-one conversations with first-time homebuyers, seasoned homeowners, BHC employee, and non-profit expert. By intentionally reaching out to individuals with varied backgrounds, I gained a broad perspective on financial hurdles, trust issues, and informational gaps within the entire experience. These interviews revealed the need for step-by-step guidance, simpler language, and a centralized resource hub - shaping our service concept and hi-fidelity prototypes.
Research Artifacts
Interview guide
Empathy maps
Stakeholder map
Interview map
Current user journey map: Homebuyer
User Personas
An Aha! Moment
A recurring pain point surfaced during interviews: homebuyers struggled to track their progress. This realization inspired the creation of a comprehensive checklist - detailing each stage, necessary documents, key stakeholders, and expert advice - to provide guidance and maintain transparency.
Service blueprint
Exploration - Wireframes, Lo-Fis and Hi-Fis
User Testing
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Tested different iterations of the Homebuying journey checklist with our participants (from the Homebuyer 101 class conducted by Boston Home Center).
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Tested the copy written for the guide with a small group of participants to understand if it is easy to understand.
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Tested our hi-fi prototypes at a design conference, gathering over 50 responses. Although these participants weren’t our core demographic, their feedback confirmed the guide’s clarity and helped us address minor usability issues.
Iterations of the checklist
Questions asked during the design conference
Shifting Outcomes
Initially approved to build a standalone website, we eventually had to integrate our work into the City of Boston’s content management system. This imposed certain design constraints, but maintained alignment with official city standards.
Regular Check-ins
We kept the representatives from the Boston Home Center (BHC) updated on the progress, clarifying jargon, refining language, and ensuring our guide remained user-centric. Meanwhile, we collaborated with BHC’s webmaster to navigate and troubleshoot the content management system’s limitations.
Design Implementation
We displayed the step-by step guide and supporting resources as two separate webpages: The Homebuyer Journey and Homebuyer Support Hub.
| ONE
Guide
Our research directly informed the design and development of a streamlined, user-friendly Homebuying Journey guide, now hosted on the City of Boston website.
| TWO
Checklist
By prioritizing resources being simple and accessible, we also introduced a Homebuying checklist that highlights essential steps and resources for first-time buyers.
| THREE
Hub
Finally, we launched a dedicated Support hub, centralizing guidance on financing, seeking advice, learning about organizations, and a glossary section - all in one place.
Impact Measurement
While working on the tool, it was not deployed to the City of Boston website.
Here are some of the anticipated impacts.
User Engagement
Total user base, Rate of new users logging in, Geographic Distribution
Number of partners
Quantifying the network, and building new collaboration ways.
Content Utilization
Number of resources saved, Number of inquiries created
Appreciation Note
“I so, so appreciate the documentation of the process - this is fantastic. Thank you for pouring so much work into this - I know it will be a useful resource for years to come!” - Paige from City of Boston
Summary of My Contributions
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Employed a service design mindset to identify critical touch points and opportunities to streamline buyer’s experience.
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Crafted and led implementation of research to uncover user pain points and validate the guide’s features.
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Aligned the project vision with city requirements, ensuring our solutions met both user needs and city’s objectives.
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Coordinated and collaborated with the Boston Home Center, non-profits, and homebuyers to maintain clear communication and project momentum.
What Would I Have Done Differently?
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If I had access to metrics like NPS or conversion rates after launch, I could better gauge the guide’s effectiveness. This data would also help refine the content and features.
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I would have loved to put together a toolkit with all the resources BHC employees need to guide first-time homebuyers, making their support more consistent and efficient.
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Providing a dedicated space - like a community forum - for homebuyers to share experiences, ask questions, and celebrate milestones could strengthen community ties. BHC employees, non-profits, and other stakeholders could also post timely updates or reminders.
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Including a centralized FAQ that addresses recurring questions would cut down on confusion and help first-time buyers get quick answers without extensive searching.