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SaaSPropTechProduct Design2026AI10 min read

When you observe, you document

Redesigning how home inspectors capture, organise and turn visual evidence into a report. Moving the camera from a standalone capture tool into a context-aware part of the inspection workflow.

*40 minutes

INSPECTION TIME

for documenting observations

52

FEWER CLICKS

to add 18 remarks on average

89%

ADOPTION

of ML assisted remarks

*Metrics reflect the broader Winspect redesign and are not attributed solely to the camera workflow

A house being inspected
0.1The Final FlowPROTOTYPE

THE PROBLEM

Inspectors don't take photos. They collect evidence.

The request was simple. The problem wasn't.

The original request was straightforward: make it easier for inspectors to add multiple photos to an observation. But tracing the existing workflow revealed that we weren't solving a camera problem. We were solving a handoff problem.

Two tickets in the Winspect backlog. WNC-713: allow categorisation on the camera flow by allowing inspectors to choose inspection categories. WNC-2506: Zillow integration, automatically add property details using Zillow's info.
1.1JIRA BacklogSPRINT

The existing workflow split one job into two

The inspectoropens camera

Captures a photo

Photo saved to uncategorisedsection in gallery

DONE?

Global orSubcategory Search

Find Remark

Add

AttachImages

NOYES
TASK 1:CAPTURE
TASK 2DOCUMENT
A recording of the existing camera flow, not yet captured
1.2The existing cameraPROTOTYPE + FLOW ANALYSIS

The constraints

Well to start off, the inspectors were primarily 40-60 year old who feared change, and were used to the flows that they were using for almost a year now. The change management was one constraint I had to deal with throughout, but there were some others too:

CONSTRAINTWHAT IT MEANT FOR DESIGN
Existing reporting modelPhotos still needed to map to the right inspection context
ML capabilitiesAssistance could suggest, but couldn't become a dependency
Field environmentPrimary actions had to remain fast and predictable, and available for offline mode (many areas did not have network)
Existing product architectureWe couldn't solve everything by rebuilding the workflow
Tech LimitationsNo image recognition
Evidence qualitySpeed couldn't come at the cost of usable documentation
1.3ConstraintsTABLE

HOW MIGHT WE

Connect capture and documentation without slowing the inspection?

What the data said

To start off, I already had good understanding of how the inspectors were using the gallery from interviews and SmartLook session recordings. I had to build something that does not get in the way, but acts as a supporting layer inside the camera flow itself.

SmartLook heatmaps over three screens of the inspection app, with the heaviest touches on the capture and submit controls
A SmartLook behaviour-flow diagram for iOS, showing sessions moving repeatedly between the camera screen and the modal that hosts remarks
SmartLook dashboards counting cover photo additions, camera photos clicked, camera photos uploaded and photos uploaded from the device library
2.1SmartLookANALYTICS

The data confirmed the synthesis, the inspectors captured multiple photos and then searched remarks to then attach the photos to the remarks

We explored 3 different ways of solving the same problem

The screen for this exploration, not yet exported

EXPLORATION 1

The exploration focused on allowing inspectors to capture multiple photos at the same time, and then perform certain actions for the batch:

  1. Add to Remark: The photos taken could be attached to the remark straight away after taking them.
  2. Categorise: The photos taken could be categorised to the specific category so that it’s easy for the inspector to find when needed among almost 500 photos.

Why it was rejected

  1. The flow still did not solve the issue of combining the capture and documentation.
  2. Leaving the camera to document seemed like a job for later rather than doing it between the capture
  3. We added a step b/w the capture which irritated the inspectors who wanted to just take multiple photos to store to gallery

What worked well

  1. The inspectors were able to take multiple pictures in a flow undisturbed.
  2. The inspectors were able to categorise which reduced their work for the later stage of documentation

THE LAUNCH

What went to production

So, what shipped?

The version that shipped was a combination of multiple explorations we did with the users, each interaction was defined by what we believed would work.

The screen that shipped, not yet exported
3.1v1 LaunchPROTOTYPE

The launch was made with a fallback setting, the inspectors could choose whether they wanted to enter the flow or not with a toggle that was being monitored. The flow was used by ~31% of the users (data from backend).

What the users said

Voice is cool, but the interruption isn’t

The inspectors liked that they had to just speak out the issue while taking pictures, but hated that they had to wait for the results which was delaying taking the remaining photos from the location they were inspecting

The voice is cool, but it acts as a blocker to take the rest of my photos. Switching back to the classic mode but kudos to thinking different

1-1 InterviewZoom
A second quote, not yet transcribed

Quick commands save time but need better accuracy

Inspectors enjoyed using quick voice commands to tag issues but found the recognition errors frustrating and slowing down the process

Love how fast I can tag things, but it keeps misunderstanding me—hope they improve it soon!

User FeedbackField Test
A second quote, not yet transcribed

Photo review feature boosts confidence and reduces errors

Inspectors appreciated being able to review photos immediately with voice notes, which helped verify issues before moving on

Reviewing photos with voice notes right after snapping them really helps me catch mistakes early.

Focus GroupMobile App
A second quote, not yet transcribed

One thing that was clear: We were on the right track!