Role: Business Developer / Product Owner / UX Specialist
Organization: MKB Fastighet AB
Years: 2014–2017 (with follow-up 2019–2021)
Domain: Real estate, municipal housing, marketplace platforms
Impact: Designed and launched an integrated online marketplace for both apartment leasing and parking spot allocation in Malmö
Overview
MKB Fastighet, one of Sweden’s largest municipal housing companies, aimed to streamline how tenants and potential residents discover, apply for, and manage both apartments and parking spaces. The project sought to create a unified, user-friendly marketplace platform — reducing friction, improving transparency, and consolidating back-end integrations.
I led this initiative: from discovery and UX strategy through design, coordination with IT/ERP systems (leasing & parking), GDPR compliance, and full launch. The result: a modern digital marketplace platform aligning tenant experience, business process, and operational efficiency.
The Challenge
Key pain points prior to the project:
- Separate systems for apartment leasing and parking allocation — leading to inefficiency and tenant confusion
- Manual processes dominating landlord/tenant interactions for parking spots
- Limited visibility into availability for both apartments and parking
- GDPR and data integration requirements across ERP/CRM systems
- Need to serve mobile users while integrating with legacy systems used internally
- High volume of inquiries and administrative overhead
The business goal:
Build a seamless dual-marketplace that supports both apartment and parking space bookings in one coherent platform — improving tenant experience, operational efficiency, and data reliability.
My Role
I put on multiple hats to deliver this solution:
- Owned product definition, UX strategy, and research for the marketplace
- Conducted discovery and competitive analysis (housing + parking marketplace models)
- Mapped stakeholder and user journeys (tenants, staff, parking operations)
- Designed interaction flows and UX for both marketplace modules
- Defined requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria for development
- Coordinated backend integrations with ERP, CRM and leasing systems for both apartments and parking
- Ensured GDPR compliance and data governance workflows
- Conducted usability tests and rollout planning for mobile-first experience
Approach
Discovery
- Interviewed tenants, parking-space users, and internal staff
- Analyzed data on parking allocation, vacancy rates, tenant mobility, and leasing process bottlenecks
- Ran process-mapping sessions across internal teams: leasing, facility, parking operations, customer service
- Identified mobile use cases and common pain points
Service & UX Design
- Crafted service blueprint linking apartment leasing and parking allocation workflows
- Built an information architecture that handled both categories in one platform
- Designed clear user flows for discovering availability, applying, managing bookings, and payments
- Implemented booking logic that handled real-time availability for parking spots (new for MKB)
- Prioritized mobile-first design; responsive experience for desktop and mobile
Integration & Implementation
- Defined API and backend integration requirements with ERP/CRM systems
- Created conditional logic for parking vs. apartment flows
- Ensured data flows were GDPR compliant and secure
- Coordinated with development team to deliver prototypes and final build
- Managed rollout phases: internal pilot, region-wide launch, parking-specific module release
Deliverables
- Dual-marketplace platform (apartments + parking) interaction design
- Mobile-first UI prototypes
- Flow diagrams, IA, and high-fidelity designs
- Backend integration blueprint and user-story backlog
- GDPR-compliance documentation and data-flow diagrams
- Launch roadmap and adoption strategy
Impact
For Tenants
- Transparent visibility into available apartments and parking spots
- Unified booking experience for two major tenant services
- Mobile-friendly interaction improved adoption and accessibility
- Reduced friction when applying for parking vs older manual processes
For MKB
- Reduced administrative overhead for parking allocation
- Better match of parking supply & demand due to real-time logic
- Higher tenant satisfaction and improved service ratings
- Increased digital maturity and integrated service experience
- Improved data quality and compliance across systems
For the Organization
- Demonstrated value of integrated marketplaces in housing operations
- Strengthened internal collaboration across leasing, IS/IT, parking, and tenant services
- Built a platform that could scale to other services beyond parking (e.g., storage, bike spots)
- Positioned MKB as a digital frontrunner in municipal housing services
Reflections
This project reinforced the importance of designing across services, not just within isolated flows. By combining apartments + parking into a unified marketplace, we removed silos, improved user experience, and delivered a tangible business benefit.
It also deepened my skillset in backend integrations, compliance, and service-level design — completing the UX/product/business triad I now specialise in.