ned benjamin

Independent practice · In progress

Hera Haus

I’m leading discovery, business analysis and UX for a trade-only furniture hire platform for interior designers. This page covers roles, flows and rules; screens will follow when the build can be shared.

Outcome
Phase 1 product plan and functional specification ready to brief the build
Role
Discovery, business analysis, product strategy and UX
Team
Business owner; interior designers interviewed
Timeline
2026 – present
Methods
Stakeholder interviews · workflow mapping · requirements · business rules · data modelling
Deliverables
Phase 1 product plan · functional specification · user roles and job flows · data model · build-vs-buy recommendation
Skills
Business analysisData modelProduct spec

The problem

Most trade furniture hire still runs as request, wait, manual confirmation. A designer asks for pieces, then waits to hear whether they’re actually free on those dates. Double bookings and back-and-forth waste time on both sides.

Research

I interviewed the business owner and interior designers to map how hire works today and where it breaks.

Analysis

Roles

RoleWhat they do
ApplicantApplies for a trade account.
Interior Designer (approved)Creates jobs, adds pieces against live availability, and pays the deposit to confirm.
Hera Haus admin / operationsApproves applicants and runs stock, deliveries, collections and condition checks.
Delivery (lighter role)Delivers and collects the pieces for each job.

The job flow

A job, end to end

  1. Account

    1. Apply
    2. Approved

  2. Booking

    1. Create jobAddress + dates
    2. Add piecesLive availability
    3. Pay deposit to confirmLocks the stock

  3. Hire

    1. Delivery
    2. On site
    3. Collection and condition check
    4. Job closes
A job from application to close. Stock is only locked when the deposit is paid.

The availability rule

An item is available for a job’s dates if the quantity on hand, minus the quantity already reserved by overlapping confirmed jobs, minus a cleaning and inspection buffer, covers what the designer has asked for. Only paying the deposit locks stock.

Core data

Designer accounts, jobs, inventory items, reservations, payments, delivery runs and hire agreements.

Working with engineering

The specification recommends building a lean custom reservation core rather than adopting off-the-shelf rental software. It also sets out an integration approach for payments, ABN validation, address and delivery zones, and notifications.

What AI will do

Alerts, flags, reminders, automation and reporting, for example utilisation per item, upcoming returns and condition issues.

Status and next steps

The Phase 1 specification is complete, and the build is next. Screens will follow when the work can be shared.