Designing Better Support for Connected Communities

The challenge

A large telecom organization was expanding their built-in WiFi product for apartment communities, but both property managers and internal account representatives were creating their own workarounds to navigate fragmented support processes. The original ask focused on improving a property management portal. Research quickly revealed a broader systems problem that needed to be tackled prior to adjusting any UI issues.

Approach

I conducted two rounds of extensive moderated interviews with internal Customer Account Representatives and external Property Managers, then synthesized findings across both groups to identify shared patterns rather than isolated pain points.

Key insights

• Both groups served as unofficial technical support, increasing effort and reducing efficiency. This highlighted gaps in the service ecosystem, rather than issues with the platform itself.
• Missing information, rather than missing features, caused significant user frustration.
• Additional tools, thought to be the solution, often increased workload for internal representatives. Adding tools did not help unless they simplified tasks and centralized information.

Impact

The findings informed a redesign of the property portal, provided recommendations for enhanced self-service capabilities, and jump-started broader conversations about redefining internal support roles. By looking across multiple audiences, I transformed what began as a product study into a full service strategy initiative.