Empowerment as a key to success: DFH empowers homeowners with digital customer service

The fact that customer satisfaction is DFH’s top priority is also evident in its highly trained customer service representatives. Although these representatives were already supported by various digital systems, key processes, such as planning and construction support, were still handled by phone or fax. The goal was to create a comprehensive customer portal that streamlines analog processes while maintaining the high standard of customer service provided to date.

The customer portal was designed to enable customers to help themselves. The features had to be intuitive and self-explanatory to enable “self-service light,” an approach that doesn’t require additional effort from customers but offers them significant benefits. To achieve this, it was also necessary to distinguish between major and minor issues and pre-sort them, thereby reducing the workload on customer support so it can focus precisely where its strengths are needed most.

The customer portal should not only offer functional value but also engage users on an emotional level through the user interface and user experience, fostering long-term enthusiasm for the portal. User needs should form the basis for all solutions, true to the motto: Love the problem, not the solution.

The portal needed to be launched as quickly as possible within a tight budget and with limited development resources. The implementation involved dependencies on DFH’s internal service design.

In addition to economic and political challenges, we found ourselves navigating a complex web of legal requirements, three coexisting brands, and internal interfaces within the existing product ecosystem. At the same time, we needed to address various user groups, ranging from end customers and construction managers to DFH’s account managers.

Face-to-face customer contact plays a pivotal role in the industry. It’s all about trust and human connection, both of which had to be carried over into the digital realm.

First and foremost, it was important to establish a shared understanding of the goals. We conducted kickoff, requirements, and ideation workshops, making sure to involve everyone from the start and consistently follow a bottom-up approach.

The foundation of our work was to understand the specific needs, fears, and uncertainties of our clients and to gain a clear understanding of the problem. The following methods supported us:

• User Story Mapping: We were able to derive requirements and a workable plan from the stories.
• Event Storming: Complexity was made tangible and broken down.
• Mini Design Sprints: Ideas were quickly tested in short sprints.
• Impact Mapping: The measures were prioritized collaboratively with a focus on customer benefit.
• Proto-Personas: Based on assumptions, we created hypothetical personas to quickly gain insight into the users.
• Usability test: Every feature was tested very quickly by real users.
• Direct feedback: We’ve integrated features that allow users to report issues directly within the app.

For the MLP: the Minimum Lovable Product, we had to set clear priorities. We were able to distill all features down to the essentials and deliver them within the budget and timeframe.

DFH recognized the value of a positive user experience, and we were on the same page from the very beginning when it came to a human-centered approach. The “what” was clear; we helped with the “how.” We’re particularly pleased that the UX mindset has been integrated into the company’s processes. UX methods continue to be used, and the personas we developed are still being utilized.

We created unique design tokens for each of the three sales divisions that can be flexibly used within the portal. This resulted in a unified brand identity for the DFH umbrella brand, while at the same time giving each sub-brand its own distinct identity in the eyes of customers.

The bottom line: The customer portal is a hit. The mymassa app boasts a 5-star rating in the Apple Store, and the feedback feature within the app also shows consistently positive responses.

Given the project’s fast-paced timeline, the excellent collaboration was worth its weight in gold. There was trust on all sides, and the entire team consisted of highly experienced professionals. The roles of codecentric and UX&I were clearly defined and worked well together. We had free rein in our work, and everyone approached the project with a pragmatic mindset. Bottom line: Cross-functional team + Scrum Master + client open to change = a winning combination.

The successful project has left a lasting impression. We’re still in touch and have had the opportunity to facilitate further change processes.

Period: 2021–2026