Triage a Rental Maintenance Request
Design a tenant maintenance flow that captures useful evidence, recognizes urgent hazards, and keeps access and repair status clear.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
A request labeled broken sink might mean a slow drip or active flooding. Tenants need immediate safety guidance when appropriate, while property teams need enough structured detail to route work without forcing people through a long technical form.
User context
Dalia finds water spreading under her kitchen cabinet late at night. She can shut off the local valve but is unsure whether the leak affects the apartment below or qualifies for emergency service.
Product problem
The service needs to gather location, severity, evidence, and access preferences while making urgent human contact available before routine scheduling.
Objective
Create report intake, safety triage, work-order handoff, and status tracking for one rental repair.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Describe the issue using plain language and optional media
- Answer a short set of severity and immediate-risk questions
- Choose safe property access and contact preferences
- Track acknowledgement, assignment, visit timing, and completion
Screens and states
- Issue report
- Urgency guidance
- Access and appointment
- Repair timeline
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Dalia selects kitchen plumbing and records a short video of the leak
- 02
The triage asks about active flow, electricity, and affected neighboring units
- 03
She receives a direct emergency maintenance call option and safe shutoff guidance
- 04
After acknowledgement, she grants accompanied access for the next morning
- 05
The repair timeline shows the contractor, arrival window, and follow-up check
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Accept plain-language descriptions before structured diagnostic questions
- Surface emergency contacts and safety steps when answers meet property protocols
- Keep tenant-reported urgency distinct from the property's confirmed priority
- Capture access permission, pets, mobility needs, and preferred contact method
- Show every status change with owner, timestamp, and next expected update
Constraints
- The flow cannot diagnose a hazard or replace emergency services
- Media upload must be optional and support unreliable connectivity
- Entry permission must be explicit for each repair visit unless an emergency rule applies
Reality check
States worth considering
Finish line
What to deliver
- Four mobile-first screens covering urgent triage, access consent, and repair tracking
If you want more
Optional extensions
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.
Yeseva One & Merriweather
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.
Yeseva One & Merriweather
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.