Redesigning a mobile app to make energy audits 3x faster and more reliable
BuildAptive is a software platform for professional energy audits and building compliance. The founders and engineers had built an early tool to replace pen and paper, but now they needed to elevate it's design and usability. The product also needed to scale to support deployments across New York City and enterprise level clients who manage thousands of properties.
I joined as the first design hire to transform the MVP into a field ready product that auditors could trust on every job.
The original app failed to support the way auditors actually worked:
- Workflow mismatch: Screens didn’t follow the natural sequence of site visits, reducing efficiency of data collection and management.
- Manual entry overload: Auditors wasted time filling out repetitive fields.
- Frustrating error handling: Small mistakes meant restarting entire sections.
- UI friction: Low contrast and small tap targets made field use frustrating.
These insights came directly from interviews with energy auditors and validation through field observation.
A redesigned mobile app that follows the natural structure of a property.
- New flow that mirrors auditor workflow: Property → Building → Space → Data
- Card based UI that shows only relevant information at each step
- Clear progress indicators to confirm all required data is captured
- Improved input patterns to reduce manual typing and rework
We designed confidence into the workflow. Auditors knew when they were truly done.
"Trust in functionality of the app is incredibly important ”
Jeffrey C., Energy Auditor Manager & CEO @Runwise
Understanding the Real Workflow
- Spoke with auditors to learn how they work on site
- Observed test scenarios that replicated field conditions
- Identified mental model patterns that repeated across all interviews
- Translated those patterns directly into UX structure
We designed from the ground truth of how energy audits really happen.
System Audit and Alignment
- Analyzed the original product screen by screen
- Surfaced breakdowns in navigation and data structure
- Found workflows that did not match the real world order
- Used this to align leadership and engineering on the scope of redesign
This gave a shared understanding of where the app was fighting the user.
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Workflow Aligned UX Structure
- Redesigned the product to follow auditors’ actual movement at sites (Property → Building → Space → Data)
- Simplified navigation so users always know where they are
- Reduced cognitive load by removing unnecessary branching
- Made workflow progress visible at every step
This gave auditors a mental model that felt intuitive and predictable.
New Mobile First Flow
- Designed a clean, step by step experience for phones and tablets
- Buttons sized for field conditions like gloves or low visibility
- Faster repeat entries using smart defaults and prefilled values
- UI built to minimize tapping while walking through buildings
This workflow unlocked speed and accuracy without adding effort.
Auditors navigate from the top of a property down to the smallest detail with clear visual structure. They know where they are, what is next, and what is complete. The UI responds cleanly to both phone and tablet, even in low visibility conditions.
We measured success through real field outcomes and auditor efficiency.
- 3.6x improvement in overall workflow speed (calculated from average time spent on audit data collection and management before vs after rollout).
- Onboarding time decreased from 3 months to about 2 weeks. New auditors could learn the workflow fast due to clarity and structure.
- Auditors expressed confidence leaving a property: “I no longer worry I missed something.”
This redesign unlocked BuildAptive’s scale. With mobile friction removed, the company expanded to serve larger contractors and more complex portfolios.
