Ivy today released Room Boards, a tool that enables designers to conceptualize and put together products and services by room for current and potential clients. As product manager, Amit Slowo, oversees all aspects of the engineering and design development for the tool. Outside of work, Amit enjoys exercising, hitting the beach and traveling the world, whether she’s climbing mountain peaks or scuba diving in the ocean. Up next on her bucket list? Visiting Bali!
What is Room Boards? Room Boards is a new tool within the Ivy platform that allows designers to share a concept and images with their current and prospective clients pre-proposal, streamlining the product selection process. Current clients can approve or decline products directly in each Room Board, and designers can then turn the approved products into tearsheets, a complete proposal or an invoice.
It gives designers a unique way to showcase their style and creativity. They can also add budgets and attachments, like floor plans, to Room Boards so that everything related to the room is in one centralized location.
How will the tool help designers with their business? Room Boards provides designers with a seamless path from the ideation phase to the procurement and accounting process. Based on early testing with our community, designers enjoyed using the tool as a presentation platform during in-person meetings with their clients. We also added a “discussions” feature, following their feedback, to communicate with clients virtually through the platform by commenting directly on products in the Room Boards.
From a technology perspective, what’s your favorite part of the Room Boards feature? In one click, it brings everything into the main Ivy workflow. It’s really easy to work with the products in the space and offers a great communication layer between designers and their clients.
What’s the development process like for Ivy features? The development process is very collaborative and extremely community-centric. Internally, the product team works closely with our design and engineering teams on a feature targeted release plan. When the product is nearly ready to go live, we involve our community in beta testing to ensure it will meet their needs. Prioritizing features that enable a holistic workflow for interior designers and eliminate day-to-day challenges is imperative because our community is truly the driving force behind Ivy’s platform.
Why did you decide to become a product manager? I’ve always been interested in technology and studied engineering in school. As a product manager, I get to see the entire product and understand its impact on the audience. I’m also a people person, so I enjoy working with different types of people, from our community to our engineers, to understand and develop solutions for interior designers.
What do you enjoy most about your role? Communicating with the designers on Ivy and being able to have an impact on their business makes my role feel meaningful. And of course, I love working with the amazing Ivy team and being part of the Houzz family. I’m happy to wake up every day to spend time with such smart and creative individuals who I can learn from, brainstorm with, and share ideas and feedback.
How would you describe your personal home design style? White walls, gray furniture, and clean lines give my house a classic feel. Living in the city means minimal storage, so functional storage solutions are also super important!
