INTRO
WINspect
An offline-first report writing tool for home inspectors based in US
MY ROLE
I owned the end-to-end design across all platforms — from the initial research and hypothesis formation, through the design system, to shipping V2 and the web version. I worked directly with SMEs, the dev team, and the business to make prioritisation calls under tight timelines.
TOOLS
Figma, Figjam, Smartlook, Instabug
PLATFORM
iOS, Android, Tablet & Web
TIMELINE
2023 - Present
(Shipped the associated CRM alongside)
DESCRIPTION
Complete & deliver home inspection report on-site using an app that allows you to:
search & enter remarks using their own library
CONTEXT
In June 2023, WIN Home Inspection (operating across 45 states with 35 inspection service types) decided to stop paying for ISN and build their own tool.
The business case was straightforward. ISN was expensive, rigid, and getting more expensive every year. But the real problem wasn't the cost.
It was that 10 years of inspectors had built their entire working life around a tool that was fundamentally broken for the job.
THE RESEARCH
ISN wasn't bad.
It was built for a different era.
We needed to understand the problem before we could define the solution. So we went to the source.
So what makes completing the reports on site so difficult?
To find out what makes the process so cumbersome, we conducted surveys, focus group sessions, 1:1 interviews over the first 3 weeks by speaking to inspectors across experience levels, states, and revenue brackets. Our primary focus wasn't feature gaps. It was understanding one thing: How do inspectors actually conduct an inspection?
We also had 2 in-house SMEs; inspectors who initially were franchise owners but had moved into building solutions for the domain; who served as sounding boards throughout the entire process.
What they were working with…
Every inspection. Every day. For 10 years.
What the research reveal? 4 core problems.
Insight
Inspectors weren't slow. The process was designed to make them do the same work twice: once in the field, once at a desk.
Mid-career inspector, 6 years experience
I spend 2 hours on-site writing issues on my notepad and capturing pictures. Then I go home and spend another 2 hours putting it all into ISN. I'm basically doing the job twice
Insight
The tool was organised around its own logic, not the inspector's. To document a cracked foundation, you didn't describe it, you navigated to it.
Experienced inspector, franchise owner
I have to go through a checklist of 500+ items and carefully set up templates before I can even start. By the time I'm set up, I'm almost late 20 minutes on site. Plus the weekends, I can't even begin.
Insight
Familiarity had been mistaken for usability. Inspectors weren't efficient, they were just trained to tolerate inefficiency.
Senior inspector, 7+ years on ISN
I've been using it for 7 years and still can't get around the unnecessary steps. I know where everything is, but knowing where everything is shouldn't be the skill. I often ask my kids to help lol.
Insight
Inspectors work in basements, attics, and rural properties where signal is unreliable. Offline wasn't a nice-to-have. It was table stakes ISN never met.
Inspector operating in rural areas
The app crashes a lot and doesn't function well in offline mode, which makes me redo the same things twice.
WHICH TRANSLATED INTO THE BASIS OF WHAT WE NEEDED TO FOCUS ON FOR THE MVP
FLOW COMPLEXITY
500+ sub-categories, all mandatory to navigate
To log any finding, inspectors had to navigate: category → sub-category (from 400+) → add remark → attach photo. Every. Single. Time. The checklist drove the inspection, not the inspector's expertise.
Avg. 24 mins lost per inspection
OFFLINE FAILURE
The app failed where inspectors worked most
Network coverage was poor in ~65% of the homes inspected, especially older and rural properties and in the basements. Any feature requiring a live connection failed in the field, forcing double data entry on reconnect.
65% of homes: low signal
RIGID WORKFLOWS
Laggy app with rigid workflows & longer sync timing
The app was slow, prone to crashing, and hard to navigate, especially on older devices. It took inspectors a lot of time to sync data if they were working with their buddies on site. The app also was frustrating to navigate through and required a lot of training.
Avg. 24 mins lost per inspection
PERSONAL TIME TAX
Template management ate into weekends
Inspectors maintained their own remark libraries and templates in their spare time, no centralised system, no standards. Report quality varied wildly across the franchise, and the maintenance burden fell entirely on inspectors personally.
Avg. 24 mins lost per inspection
The hypothesis we formed for MVP:
The fastest inspectors weren't faster because they worked harder. They documented issues the moment they found them, without waiting to get home. If we could build a tool that made that workflow the default rather than the exception, we could cut report time significantly for everyone.
That became the design principle & the "aha" moment and everything else was measured against:
"Can an inspector complete this step without looking away from what they're inspecting?"
The constraints that we had to work in:
We were designing for the existing ISN data structure. We couldn't change the backend. Every design decision had to work within those constraints.
MVP EXPLORATIONS
Every screen was a hypothesis.
Not a deliverable.
After hitting the ground hard with research and getting enough data to start exploring our ideas, we started scoping out what the project would look like. The plan was simple:
Set up the infrastructure
Give out the MVP out for testing to 25% user group inclusive of every persona
Integrate Smartlook and Instabug to make data driven decisions
Conduct usability testing to iterate and ship out the v2 and bring rest 75% user base in too
*Gentle Note: We worked on user personas, empathy mapping, task flows, prioritisation and user flows which are not included here in this case study as a conscious choice
SME Toolkit
Category Navigation
Floating Toolbar
Gallery
Preview
Interactive Report
COMING SOOOOOON……
WINspect
A report writing tool built for the field, not for the desk