Housing Repairs Development Summary 2023

This year, we’ve hit some major milestones for Made Tech’s online Housing Repairs reporting tool. Our clients are benefitting from new functionalities, expanded capabilities and optimised user experiences based on their feedback and our ongoing user research.

We’ve poured our hearts and minds into crafting this innovative solution that focuses on user experience and accessibility. From user research interviews to feedback from housing repairs officers, we’ve worked collaboratively to turn ideas into reality.

July: Communal Repairs

After launching the first version of Housing Repairs, we knew that we needed to extend the functionality to allow residents, leaseholders and housing officers to report repairs in communal areas, without having to select an appointment. 

After selecting a communal address from our address selector, users answer a series of questions to identify the issue. Once the issue has been captured, the report is sent to the housing repairs team. As the repair is in a communal area, an appointment time doesn’t need to be selected. 

During our research and discovery phase of the product build, we identified that a lack of information on the repair request form often leads to repairs not being completed and repeat callouts being made. To boost first time fix rates, we added an additional question to the reporting tool requesting more details about the location of the repair to help contractors and repairs people quickly identify and address the issue. 

August: Instant repair submission

With instant repair submission, residents get instant acknowledgement of their repair request whenever they hit submit.  

This means residents can report repairs without delay, irrespective of whether they are using slow mobile data connection or if there is an issue with downstream systems.

We then send the repair off in the background to the housing management system or scheduling tool. 

This improves the reliability of the service as repair requests will always be processed,  regardless of system response time. In the event of system failure, the information is saved and emailed to the resident, so when a resident calls they have the information to hand. 

November: Photo upload

Providing repair operatives with the right information to assess a problem before they get to the job is critical for delivering first-time fixes. So we added photo upload – where residents can submit images of their issue along with their repair request.

Mobile users can open their phone camera from the application and take a photo, or upload a photo from their files. Since mobile users make up 70% of the user base, this camera phone integration was essential to create a seamless reporting experience within the app.

The housing repairs team can then share this image directly to their repair operatives who can determine the specifics of the issue, assess severity and identify necessary parts before attending a job.

From an accessibility standpoint, supplying photos of the repair can aid communication where written English may be challenging.

December: rescheduling and cancelling appointments

In conversations we’ve had with repairs teams over the last year, the problem of no-shows is often at the top of the agenda. That’s why we’re adding a new cancel or reschedule appointments feature to our application.

If a resident books a repair visit online, they’ll be able to cancel or reschedule their appointment from within the application. No call required!

By providing a frictionless way to cancel or reschedule repair appointments, we’re aiming to bring down costly no-shows, reduce inbound calls and provide a better experience for residents. 

Cancel appointments is now available, with rescheduling appointments ready in early 2024.