Summary
Greg Petroff, the SVP of Design at Compass & UXR, talks about the Compass mission and how User Research and Design play a crucial role in building a groundbreaking platform for real estate agents.
Key Insights
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Platform thinking is vital for integrating disparate real estate tools into seamless workflows that better serve agents.
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Compass aligns its business success directly with the success of its user base, real estate agents.
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User research at Compass focuses deeply on understanding varied agent personas, including demographics and technology savviness.
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Research teams at Compass are embedded within product squads to maintain close ties with development and feature decisions.
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Real estate is among the top emotionally significant life events, making user empathy essential for product design.
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Compass values a culture of transparency, frank communication, and collaboration without ego among teams.
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Fast pace and comfort with change are key characteristics expected from contributors at Compass.
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Diversity and inclusion are actively fostered within Compass’s design and research teams.
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A strong executive commitment, including CEO-level involvement, supports and champions research initiatives.
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Compass is evolving its research function to include cross-product and horizontal capabilities focused on customer journeys.
Notable Quotes
"If we do that, we can drive insights for our product team members to drive really great experiences and outcomes that are meaningful for them."
"Agents do well, we do well. The more we know about you, the more we can make you better or fulfill your goals and aspirations."
"Real estate is in the top five life events that are really powerful for people. It is a rational decision but also incredibly emotional."
"Without research, empathy, and commitment, platforms may alienate users and push them away from what they actually care about."
"Compass is a very flat organization where researchers talk to our CEO on a regular basis and are right in there with them."
"We want to create the conditions for research teams to do their thing and bring the rest of the organization along with us."
"We’re not about who owns what or who’s doing what, it’s about the outcome and the problem, not the people pieces."
"At Compass, we’re working very fast but trying to do things the right way and grow a culture that values research."
"We have a fanatical desire to fulfill agents’ needs with great software that lets them grow their businesses."
"The real estate market is highly fractured and being digitized now, offering a target-rich environment for user researchers."
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