Appraisal Expertise Made Visible.

Software development has come a long way in the past few years. Users now demand business software to be as easy as the software they use as a consumer. Complicated business functions like property appraisal analysis are now challenged to be as easy on an office desktop computer as a shopping app on your smartphone.

But modern User Interface (UI) design is about more than just designing a pretty software product, with bright colors and daring font treatments. Modern UI Design must be consistent and must always put the user in control of the interface. The user must be able to navigate the software menu and be able to self-discover where specific functions reside. The user must always be able to intrinsically know “the next right step” in the process they are trying to complete. A well-designed interface will also provide tool tips or contextual based help and nudges to keep the user moving down the “right software path”. Perfectly designed software provides contextual cues that keep the user on their journey as they try to complete their Jobs-to-be-Done (JBTD). 

When our Software User Interface Designer Team sat down to begin designing our framework for True Prodigy software solutions, they approached the design with these principals in mind. Our new user interface design is clear and intuitive. It was designed so that the user could figure out how to use the software with very little technical guidance. Functions within True Prodigy software behave in a way that the user would expect. These functions are consistent within and across applications.

Although we have a very structured software development process utilizing Agile product development methodologies, we start from scratch with EVERY software screen.  After we work through the customer personas and try to understand the user behavior for all different user types, we work with our designers on multiple sketches and wireframes of possible layouts. This process is time intensive, but the effort is worth it. Many of our software engineers and designers have worked at appraisal districts and have first-hand knowledge of how the software should work. 

The next step in the design process is to map out the user journey for every function. Designers think through and document the intended user’s journey and how the screens visually communicate the path. (This is usually the time Jon and Oz suggest including flashing and spinning buttons in the user interface and we tell them their ‘wisdom’ is showing. Ha ha!)

And when we have the user interface screens built and ready for testing, we turn to our many beta clients. This might be the most essential step in the entire process! We love their feedback and they are the ones who pressure-test the design and the process flow. They provide great real-world ideas that elevate our software to the next level.

Great user interface is the result of a great partnership between our product developers, UI designers and our great beta clients.  The combination of these teams working together allows us to make provide the most expertly designed software to Texas appraisal district and tax offices. 

To find out more about our products and our company, please call (972) 806-0668. We would love to walk you through how we are single handedly going to change the Texas property appraisal industry by finally providing you with solutions that make your job easier.

Vanessa Runco & Sarah Wallace