1. Key challenges

Design a dashboard that simplifies complex request flows, clearly communicates request limits and statuses, and helps users manage ongoing, declined, or expired requests with confidence.

How might I...

2. Competitive analysis

Turning Angi’s Cards, Airbnb’s Layouts, and Upwork’s Flows into One Seamless Experience

I began by reviewing home service platforms like Angi, which offered clean card-based discovery but lacked full project and payment flows. To bridge those gaps, I drew inspiration from Airbnb’s layout clarity and Upwork’s complete request-to-payment workflows.
By merging these strengths, I crafted a dashboard that feels familiar, intuitive, and supports users through every stage of their project journey.

3. Team & stakeholder discussions

Designing for the Unexpected

Discussions within our team and with stakeholders helped surface critical edge cases, especially around cancellation flows, limited active requests, and user confusion when managing multiple request states.I used this input to simulate realistic scenarios and refine our design logic.

Mapping the Request statuses

To handle edge cases like cancellations, declines, and limited active requests, I mapped all possible request statuses across projects.
This clarity helped define logic for filtering, displaying, and interacting with each state, reducing user confusion and enabling smoother task flows.

4. Request Journey Map

I then translated these states into a task flow and user journey, focusing on moments when requests are declined or expire. This ensured that users stay informed and empowered to take the next step, whether that’s messaging a provider, scheduling a consultation, or sending a new request.

Here’s how Sam, the persona, experienced a declined request and how the interface guided her to choose another provider seamlessly.

5. Persona & Scenario

Sam, Organized but Busy Homeowner

"A Quick Check-In"
Sam monitors his requests mid-workday—focused but calm.

"Declined? No Problem."
An unexpected decline appears, but Sam stays in control.

"Back on Track!"
With one tap, he replaces the provider—no stress, just progress.

6. Card sorting and content classification

Content Grouping through Card Sorting: Requested, Declined, In Progress

Through competitive analysis and edge case exploration, I identified patterns in how users interact with project requests. To validate and refine these insights, I ran a hybrid card sorting study focused on grouping and labeling.

The study revealed three intuitive categories—Requested, In Progress, and Declined—which directly informed the structure and labeling of provider cards, improving clarity and usability in our 3-column layout.

7. Navigation and site map

Visualize the whole hierarchy of content

I created a sitemap to visualize the content hierarchy and navigation structure. This helped align the design and development teams on page relationships and ensured clarity before moving into prototyping.

8. User Testing

Validating Layout and Content with Real Users

After testing individual components step by step, I conducted overall design validation to ensure the dashboard supported fast comprehension, confident decision-making, and clear visibility across multiple request states.

9. Proposed solution

An intuitive, state-aware dashboard for Fixsy that increased task clarity by 83% and boosted completion by 67%—designed to give users control and build long-term trust.

10. Project outcomes

Delivering meaningful improvements in user behavior and satisfaction through a redesigned dashboard experience.

Next steps

Delivering meaningful improvements in user behavior and satisfaction through a redesigned dashboard experience.