Scaler

Project briefing

How might we improve our ESG survey tool to better support property managers and consultants in collecting consistent, accurate, and complete data — while reducing the manual effort and back-and-forth communication that currently slows the process down?

Methods

  • UX Research
  • Design Workshops
  • Prototyping

Tools

  • Figma
  • Miro
  • PostHog
  • Chat GPT

Scope

In scope

  • Survey creation and recipient experience redesign.
  • New information architecture for data collection flows.
  • Survey logic and validation improvements.
  • Prototype for survey input & review
  • Templates for recurring ESG data collection

Out of scope

  • Full integration with input portal & roadmap tool (handled in parallel tracks).
  • Implementation of back-end changes.

Research sources

Chart Bar Icon

Quantitative research


We used PostHog to analyze usage patterns, completion rates, and drop-off points across active surveys to identify friction areas and dead ends.

People Icon

Qualitative research


We conducted interviews with internal consultants, survey recipients (property managers), and platform users. Additional input was gathered through support tickets, field observations, and internal feedback sessions.

Quantitative results

Settings Icon

Users are not using the current survey tool

There was poor adoption to the first version of the survey tool, therefore we need to identify why people are not using it.

Mobile Icon

Most survey tool use has been through consultants

Consultants are usually super users of the platform. Speak with them to see what their experience with the tool so far is and any improvements already identified.

Qualitative results

Consultants aren’t using the survey tool — they’re still using Excel.

Because of poor usability and limited flexibility, consultants fall back on sending Excel sheets to collect data. This creates a lot of manual back-and-forth, increases risk of human error, and adds overhead to track what’s missing, reviewed, or needs clarification.

Property managers struggle to understand what’s expected of them.

Surveys are often too complex, unclear, or overwhelming. Respondents don’t know what data is required vs. optional, don’t have contextual help, and aren’t given guidance on what each field means or how to fill it in. This leads to a lot of drop off.

Edits, empty fields and versioning aren’t handled well.

Once data is submitted, it’s hard to edit or review fields. Consultants want the ability to distinguish between editing current data vs. creating new versions, with full transparency on what’s been changed. Currently the whole process is very error prone.

Core issues identified

The scope and research combined we can define the following focus points for the redesign.

Shield Icon

Clients are managing many assets per PM


Navigating between assets for a specific survey is time consuming as they need to return to the overview to do so. This is leading to recipients failing to complete all surveys.

Share Icon

Senders need the ability to send historic data


Users only had the ability to add new data, not edit any historical values. This essentially makes the tool useless as users cannot correct data when needed.

Typography Icon

Handling empty fields and marking them with reasons


No way for the users to send back empty fields if they do not know certain data, or to leave comments per field if they do not know the answer.

Star Empty Icon

Survey creator adding individual meters


The survey creators have no way to select individual meters, leading to a lack of knowledge of what they are actually sending to the recipients.

Additional painpoints from interviews

  • “Surveys are not usable — they don’t know what they are looking for.”
  • “We still rely on Excel templates and example files.”
  • “Layout needs a full overhaul — too clunky.”
  • “Survey forms aren’t mobile-friendly.”
  • “They need to differentiate between current version vs. new version edits.”
  • “No clear guidance on which surveys to fill out when.”
  • “Requesting fields per asset is still too manual.”

Focus points

Survey clarity and context


Introduce help texts, tooltips, and better sectioning of questions by theme. Provide definitions inline to help users understand what each field means.

Flexible and modular survey creation


Let consultants select fields by section (e.g., Energy → Electricity Meters → Consumption), then select which assets and meters to include.

Better version control


Enable editing current data or creating a new version — clearly differentiate the paths and only show editable fields as needed.

Improved error handling and validation


Inline validation and warnings (e.g., both meter reading and consumption filled when only one should be), with suggestions and ability to add comments.

Handling unknown or missing data gracefully


Allow recipients to mark fields as unknown and add a reason why, reducing guesswork and clarifying missing inputs.

Review and comment workflows


Consultants can add comments per field and return only those with feedback, instead of sending everything back for review.

Forwarding and collaboration


Enable forwarding surveys internally within recipient organizations, tracking who fills in what.

Survey overview improvements


Visual progress indicators, field-level completion tracking, and outlier detection on consumption data for reviewers.

Concept definition & prototype

We created a new IA and interaction model in Figma, focusing on both sides of the journey:

Shield Icon

Survey creator


Select fields → select assets/meters → assign recipients → send → review if needed → request changes → approve

Share Icon

Survey recipient


See assigned assets → guided data entry per section → submit → reviewer comments if needed

Validation & Implementation

We ran multiple feedback sessions with internal teams and external test users, testing key flows like survey creation, editing, field-level review, and forwarding. We also worked closely with consultants from Cooltree and CBRE to validate real use cases and fine-tune language and structure.

Lessons learned

Block Default Icon

Excel will always be part of the journey — embrace it.

Rather than fight it, we added functionality to export surveys as Excel templates and allow bulk re-uploads. This better fits property manager workflows and reduces friction.

Typography Icon

Small UX improvements go a long way.

Just adding explanations, comments per field, and outlier warnings significantly improved the perceived usability of the tool.

Sides Vertical Icon

Survey design is not just a data entry form — it’s a communication tool.

Clarity, flexibility, and feedback loops matter just as much as the actual fields. This project was as much about improving human collaboration as it was about improving forms.