YLopo
A portal to manage everything about your marketing real estate goals
Research
Exploration
Ideation
Showcase
Simplifying the way of Marketing
THE CHALLENGE
How can we allow agents to independently fund and run their own ad campaigns?
An information focused and intuitive agent access dashboard - Mission control encouraging the real estate teams to create their own campaigns and promote payment autonomy.
This product redesign case study thoroughly documents the research, analysis and design process of the solution, It highlights the process used to solve the user problem strategically, the design decisions made, an analysis of the knowledge and research, sketching of the idea and development of the prototype based on multiple iterations and user testing results.
Simply, it answers the questions that motivate each process and action, that eventually led to the agents portal in Ylopo’s Mission control.
THE SOLUTION
Timeline
Fall 2024
Project Context
Product Redesign project
Team: Harshesh Sayani,
Samiksha Pawar, Arushee Thakur,
Dhruva Sharma, Viola, Kei
Tools
Figma, Figjam, word
Type of Work
User Research:
Competitive Analysis
User Interviews
Journey Mapping
Research Synthesis
UX Design
Sketches, wireframing,
prototype and usability testing.
ABOUT YLOPO
What about this Platform?
Ylopo’s ‘Stars’ is a digital marketing and lead generation platform.
A comprehensive digital marketing and lead generation platform specifically built for real estate teams and brokerages, combining AI-powered advertising technology with advanced lead nurturing capabilities.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
It started with..
Our team empathising with the team of agents in a real estate team.
As we thought about it..
Imagine being an agent with ambitious goals but no direct access to the tools you need to run your own ad campaigns.
That was the reality for real estate agents using Ylopo’s Mission Control—a platform built exclusively for team owners. This setup worked well for some but left many agents feeling dependent and constrained. We saw this as an opportunity to create something transformative.
The mission? Empower agents, modernise the platform, and ensure a seamless experience for all.
This project was designed and researched with the team me taking up the tasks related to product discovery, user interviews, while the team focused on the visual design and creating a design system for the platform aligning with the brand identity
We wanted to
address
The daily inconvenience real estate agents face when they can’t directly create and manage ad campaigns for their listings. Despite funding their own marketing efforts, agents must route everything through team owners- creating unnecessary bottlenecks in an industry where speed and timing are everything.
By creating
A refreshed Mission Control platform that puts the power in agents' hands. Think of it as giving agents their own set of keys to the marketing kingdom - they can launch campaigns whenever inspiration strikes, tweak budgets on the fly, and see exactly how their ads are performing, all without playing telephone with team owners.
4 5
How we structured and approached this project.
Exploration
We looked deep into understanding real estate agents' workflows, pain points, and the Mission Control platform's current limitations. Through interviews with 15+ stakeholders - from agents and team owners to Ylopo's marketing and finance teams
Creation
We brought our vision to life through careful UI design and prototyping, crafting everything from the navigation structure to micro-interactions. The design system evolved to support both current needs and future scalability
and Validation
We rigorously tested our designs through cognitive walkthroughs and usability testing with key stakeholders. Their feedback helped us iterate and refine the final solution, ensuring it truly solved the core problems while being intuitive
Ideation
Ideation Armed with research insights, we prioritized key challenges around agent access, user experience, and system architecture. We brainstormed solutions focused on empowering agents while maintaining appropriate controls, sketching concepts for an intuitive yet powerful interface.
Conception
We developed our core ideas into concrete solutions, creating information architecture maps and feature frameworks. Through collaborative sessions with stakeholders, we refined our approach to balance agent autonomy with business requirements.
1 2 3
PROCESS
This project involved reimagining a complex marketing platform used by diverse real estate professionals, we took a deeply iterative approach to design thinking. We focused on extensive research before development, carefully understanding the nuanced dynamics between team owners and agents, campaign management workflows, and system access controls.
This methodical approach helped us craft a design that not only solves immediate pain points but also lays the foundation for Mission Control's future evolution
EXPLORATION
How complex is the real estate marketing landscape?
For understanding the intricacies of digital marketing in real estate, agent workflows, and platform requirements to craft an effective solution, it was crucial to thoroughly map out the research process and understand what the space demanded, expected, and where opportunities lay.
We started by learning
About Mission Control's ecosystem.
Mission Control sits at the intersection of real estate marketing and campaign management. It serves as the central hub where property ads are created, budgets are managed, and marketing performance is tracked. The platform needs to balance powerful functionality with clear access controls, while enabling both team owners and agents to achieve their marketing objectives.
Key areas of exploration:
Tracking
Agents being able to track listing rocket launches
Notifications
Clear indication of campaign launch status and notifying ad status
Feedback
Unclear error feedbacks with the time taken to launch a custom ad.
Autonomy
Ability to pause marketing campaigns with start and end dates
This approach helped us deeply understand the ecosystem's complexities before diving into solutions. The research revealed critical insights about how agents and team owners interact with marketing tools, their pain points, and opportunities for improvement.
Analysis of the competitors
Extending from the concept, it was important to understand the current space around real estate marketing management platforms and the different experiences and solutions available to the user.
For this research, we’d conducted a heuristic evaluation, followed by a SWOT analysis of some known financial tools available and used by real estate teams
to Swot Analysis
Finding from the users
To conduct comprehensive user research, we employed both qualitative and quantitative methods, gathering insights from multiple stakeholders across Ylopo's ecosystem - from team owners and agents to internal marketing and finance teams..
To The initial phase involved detailed interviews with 15+ stakeholders to understand their workflows, pain points, and expectations. This was complemented by a thorough design audit of the existing Mission Control platform, analyzing user interactions and system architecture.
The purpose of this multi-faceted approach was to gain measurable data about user behaviors, workflows, and system requirements. We focused particularly on understanding:
- Campaign creation and management processes
- Budget allocation and tracking needs
- Access control requirements
- Notification and monitoring preferences
- Integration with other marketing tools
Building on these insights, we conducted cognitive walkthroughs and usability testing with key stakeholders to validate our understanding and refine our approach.
Learn more
About the research behind
Mission Control's redesign
IDEATION
Before translating research insights into actionable design decisions, we needed to address some fundamental questions to sharpen our project objectives.
What do we need to address?
Based on extensive stakeholder interviews and platform analysis, we identified three core needs:
1. An intuitive system that empowers agents to manage their campaigns independently
2. A clear organisation of campaign data and performance metrics
3. A seamless way to handle budgets and billing
Let’s pin the notes
A campaign management platform requires specific core functionalities to serve both agents and team owners effectively:
1. The system must provide transparent visibility into campaign performance while maintaining appropriate access controls
2. It should offer clear campaign creation workflows and status tracking
3. Budget management, ad performance metrics, and lead generation data must be readily accessible
Here's what our exploration of Mission Control taught us:
Many agents avoid creating campaigns due to the complex approval process
There's a strong desire for direct control over personally funded campaigns
Team owners need oversight while agents need autonomy
The current experience around campaign creation and management is frustrating
New users struggle with understanding different campaign types and options, but are eager to learn the system
What do we know about
the users?
Our research revealed diverse user needs across different roles:
Experienced agents who want maximum control
New agents seeking guided workflows
Team owners requiring oversight tools
Support staff needing administrative access
Understanding these distinct user groups helped us create a more nuanced and effective design approach.
The many Personas
CONCEPTION
We have the ingredients, what's next?
In this phase, our approach was to synthesise the research findings, understand the complex dynamics between stakeholders, and integrate campaign management best practices into the experience.
Our goal was to structure a solution that would empower agents while maintaining the controls needed in real estate marketing.
So, here’s how we started
What did the competitors tell us?
To shape our solution, we conducted a thorough competitive analysis of platforms like BoomTown, Lofty, RealGeeks, and CINC. This helped us understand how different real estate marketing platforms approach similar challenges around campaign management, user access, and analytics.
minimal interface focused on team collaboration and vendor management. Offers robust reporting but limited visual analytics
Integrated communication tools and lead tracking. Strong emphasis on CRM features and customizable lead stages. Clear hierarchical information structure.
lead generation, team collaboration tools, and customisable email campaigns. Strong emphasis on automated marketing and team management.
Advanced agent permissions and workflow controls. Pre-written marketing scripts and drip campaigns.
The Apps
The Impact
The feature
The Impact
Priority score
Track and analyze ad performance Monitor ROI and campaign success
Campaign insights
2.0
Create and manage property ads | Drive lead generation for listings
Listing Rockets
1.8
Control campaign timing
Play and Pause Ads
1.5
Monitor marketing spend | Track financial performance
Budget information
1.7
Create tailored video content | Enhance property marketing
Customizable Dyva Ads
1.6
Manage marketing activities | Control campaign flow
Play and Pause Marketing
1.5
Real-time performance data | Enable data-driven decisions
Interactive analytics
1.5
Personal campaign funding | Control marketing investments
Budget Management
2.0
Streamline payment process | Reduce transaction friction
Billing information saved
2.0
Track and manage leads | Convert interest to opportunities
Lead management
2.0
How do we structure everything?
After understanding the features and their priority, We proceeded with building out the Information Architecture and User Flow of the application. It was also important to visualise and understand the flow the users will be taking to access each feature in the application
The User Flow
Onboarding
Log in as
Agent
Dynamic Ads
Pipeline
Expense history
Leads Analysis
Budget Analysis
Cards
Name
All leads
Bank transfer
Listings
CRM Sync status
Activity
Status
Active date
Type of lead
Type of lead
ROI
Agent
Duration
Listing status
Ad status
Template
Total spends
Views & Clicks
Leads info
3d Tour
On/ Off
Team Owner
Launch
Import Leads
Saved payment methods
Link to FUB
Campaigns
Analytics
Command Center
Leads
Start
We staged it as such
We started with rough sketches to build an initial design concept
STAGE 1 OF 5
We started with sketching out the wireframes of the user flow and the lookout of the application, asking and evaluating with the team, with each sketch. We proceeded with a basic concept that works, building a high-fidelity mockup of the design to test with some potential users.
CREATION
Building the concept for the solution
After understanding the features, the flow of the components in the product and the outlook of the application, it was now time to conceptualise the design aspect of it and build an interactive and immersive experience for the users.
In the heuristic evaluation of multiple applications available on the market, including real estate marketing solutions, We started to sketch out different screens to visualise the user flow and also successively build out designs and prototypes for the solution.
The approach with the design was to first understand what the users are experiencing – the nature of the design they are using and the components they are interacting with. At the same time, going through and exploring inspirations for the application design, the visual style and the aesthetic.
After these initial steps are done, I proceeded with picking up the best aspects of both and building a design concept that would justify the vision for the product.
SOLUTION
A look at how Ylopo's mission control helps agents also to run their
own campaigns, pay, and keep track of leads generated.
and the team developed a dedicated system too!
Let's meet
Ylopo's
Mission control for Agents✨
Simplifying the
way of Marketing
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