Overview
As the world adapts to the new virtual reality of COVID-19, people face challenges in finding compatible roommates and suitable living spaces as they embark on new life stages. Particularly, college marks the first foray into the housing and roommate market. However, there's a lack of a centralized platform or guide for students as they commence their search.
Keep reading to discover how my team and I crafted an integrated platform for UC Davis housing and roommates through design exploration, awarding our project Best User Research
Design Interactive, a UI/UX Consultancy at UC Davis, selects students to develop a range of projects, from passion-driven endeavors to client work. My team focused on the housing prompt and narrowed down the project scope to 3 key areas:
1. Compatibility: issues with possible housemates
2. Inexperience: many students are searching for apartments for the first time
3. Transparency: no transparency of information for housing and housemates
Solution Preview
User Research
We surveyed 71 students and conducted 10 interviews to identify common struggles in the housing search among Davis students. Through qualitative synthesis, we categorized findings into themes. Notably, over 2/3 of respondents emphasized good living habits as "very important" when selecting housemates.
Why streamline the housing process?
Students primarily utilize social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, or rely on word-of-mouth connections to find housing. Developing a streamlined platform for housing is essential, as it saves time, enhances communication, and ensures clear documentation.
How difficult is the house & housemate process ...
What does our data mean?
The biggest problem is finding housemates with similar living styles and accommodations with renting housing. Students have little experience renting housing or apartments but find housing more accessible when they’ve secured a compatible housemate.
Synthesis
Using the collected learnings from our research, I categorized our findings into similar themes that we discovered and prioritized the following categories:
1. Compatibility: issues with possible housemates
2. Inexperience: many students are searching for apartments for the first time
3. Transparency: no transparency of information for housing and housemates
Enhancing User Experience
through Flow Mapping
Finding Housemates
Online Resources for Housing
Touring Apartments
Mid-fidelity Prototpyes
We conducted eight usability tests with undergraduates to gauge prototype navigation and feature preferences. Prioritizing findings on a scale from 1 to 5, we determined areas for immediate improvement in our next iteration.
Final Designs
Using simple and easy-to-implement UI/UX techniques influences users to engage with the homepage and encourage them to subscribe—increasing user conversion rates and accessible download trails using low-effort but highly impactful design decisions!
A verification process to assure students that the users on this app are verified students.
Users complete a survey to craft their profile and preferences for housemates, with the option to save progress and resume later for a personalized and manageable experience.
In matched profiles, users can explore candidates' lifestyles and habits, initiating connections through messaging.
Students can streamline their housing search by first taking a brief quiz to tailor their preferences. This customizes the available housing options to match their specific criteria, enhancing efficiency.
Users can view housing options on a map or as a list, saving choices for comparison later. They can also adjust preferences conveniently using the filter tab while browsing.
Access virtual tours via housing profiles, offering floor plans and street views for a comprehensive housing search experience.
Challenges
The COVID-19 pandemic: Our restriction of working remotely led to difficulties with team coordination and maintaining design consistency.
Divergent Perspectives: I found it challenging to advocate for prioritizing the housemate aspect of the problem when there was a strong inclination to developing multiple features.
These constraints taught me how to work remotely and improve my communication skills to ensure everyone did their designated tasks!
Next Steps
I aim to conduct a competitive analysis on other online platforms to gain deeper insights into our target audience.
Ideally, our prototype should emphasize housemate dynamics, as we initially focused on numerous features within a limited timeframe.
Additionally, our team intends to integrate social media platforms into our app to foster increased student interaction when seeking new housemates.