Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Real Estate

Elevating the agent experience with a seamless, consolidated platform


ROLE: Team Leader, Strategic Partner, Workshop Facilitator, UX Design

METHODS: Design Due Diligence, Pre-sales Design Workshop, Vision Conceptualization Design, Qualitative Research, Persona Development, Responsive Design, Design Pattern Standardization

TOOLS: Balsamiq, Figma, Figjam, Keynote

TEAM: Oracle NA UX Practice


Business challenge

HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is one of the nation's largest providers of residential real estate services, spanning brokerage, mortgage loans, property insurance, and escrow. Oracle was already engaged on a cloud services initiative, but the client needed more than infrastructure; they needed a cohesive, user-centered digital platform that consolidated tools for real estate agents.

Previous efforts with a third-party agency focused on cloud architecture but left gaps in system design, creating trust issues. HSoA needed a partner who could deliver both technical excellence and user-centered design thinking to transform their digital operations.

My role & leadership

As Experience Design Lead, I entered during a critical pre-contract phase to rebuild client confidence while demonstrating Oracle's superior UX capabilities. My mandate was to bridge business strategy, user needs, and technology while transforming a skeptical client relationship into a strategic partnership through research-driven design excellence.

I led the entire UX strategy from initial workshops through final concept delivery, coordinating with cross-functional teams to ensure technical feasibility and business viability.


Kind words on design leadership
Wai dela Cruz spent countless hours with the BHHS team understanding their requirements and taking them through her signature design workshops. The outcome of this massive Oracle collaboration was an agreement for a $4.5M in NAC Consulting Services and $3.9M for Apps Consulting, totaling $35M in TCV.

Aaron M
SVP, Strategic Services & Partners, Oracle


Approach and strategy

To build trust and momentum, I proposed a Phase Zero design exercise before contracts were finalized. My strategy used a "show, don't tell" approach through three key elements:

  • Design due diligence: Foundational research and competitive analysis of leading real estate tools
  • Vision concepts: Preliminary prototypes illustrating how HSoA's platform could centralize services and improve workflows
  • Capability demonstration: Tangible outcomes that earned confidence rather than promises

This research-driven foundation informed every design decision and helped position our concepts as industry-leading solutions.

Execution & key decisions

The Phase Zero deliverables focused on three high-value workflows: Homepage Performance Dashboard, Agent Profile Management, and Transaction Overview System.

Key features developed:

  • Performance data visualization with interactive dashboards and transaction summaries
  • Dual-view transaction management (grid/list) with visual type indicators and edit-in-place functionality
  • Comprehensive filtering systems for quick transaction sorting
  • Mobile-responsive design with vertical stacking and simplified visualizations

Critical design decisions:

  • Implemented typographical hierarchy and logical data grouping for complex real estate information
  • Delivered comprehensive style guide with CSS implementation guidelines aligned with HSoA's brand
  • Expanded scope to include comprehensive UX research with archetype personas focused on "jobs-to-be-done" methodology
  • Created usability-tested wireframes and high-fidelity mockups ensuring user-centered decisions


Results & business impact

Immediate client transformation: The Phase Zero vision concepts converted a skeptical client into an enthusiastic partner, directly leading to a $4.5M consulting services contract within 6 months.

Platform innovation delivered:

  • Centralized management system supporting both local branch and central oversight
  • Agent onboarding standardization improving efficiency across hundreds of locations
  • Mobile-desktop continuity enabling seamless workflow transitions

Exceptional business growth:

  • Total contract value: $35M ($4.5M consulting + $3.9M apps consulting + Oracle infrastructure)
  • Established Oracle as preferred technology partner for ongoing digital transformation
  • Phase Zero methodology became gold standard for Oracle's pre-sales design approach

Strategic impact: Transformed a commoditized cloud services contract into a multi-million-dollar partnership rooted in user experience, positioning Oracle as a leader in real estate technology solutions.


Strategic lessons
This engagement reinforced that trust through demonstration beats promises when clients have experienced technology failures. User-centered research drives revenue, understanding real workflows identified $3.9M in additional opportunities. In competitive enterprise sales, sophisticated UX thinking can be the deciding factor for multi-million-dollar engagements. Building replicable methodologies amplifies impact beyond individual projects, as the Phase Zero approach became Oracle's standard for client relationships.