Roommate Finder - Design Challenge
"Create a mobile app (low-fidelity screens only) that solves the problem of finding a reliable roommate and targets those currently searching for a roommate."
ROLE
Product Designer
User Research, Data Collection & Persona,
Mid-fidelity wireframes & Prototyping,
DURATION
2 days challenge
TOOLS USED
Adobe XD
THE PROBLEM
Toronto is a big city and it is harder to find a roommate that matches with your personality and is trustworthy. Some people end up living with roommates who they don’t know about, their habits or lifestyles. This happens because they don’t have complete information about them.
THE SOLUTION
A mobile app experience that provides a convenient and quick way to find the ideal roommate. Design the experience from the perspective of the user who is looking for a roommate who is reliable and trustworthy and matches a criteria.
MY PROCESS
Keeping the time duration and the deadline of this challenge, I tried my best to use the user-centric approach.
Research & Analyze
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Identify users
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Create persona & user journey
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Identify user goals & pain points
Conceptualize
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Look at other roommate apps
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Take inspirations
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Create a concept
Design
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Create a task flow
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Create low-fi wireframes
USER RESEARCH
To begin the design process I had to do some user research with the target audience. My research included some user interviews and feedback. To understand the target audience I also went through different mobile apps that offer a similar solution.
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Some of the apps that I looked at were: Roomi, Roomster, and Roomi Match.
There were some pain points that I identified with these apps.
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The filters system was not very thorough
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There were a lot of listings that had fake details or images
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Did not have a matching criteria
PAIN POINTS
5
I conducted a total of five user interviews which were enough to develop a user persona & identify the pain points
USER PERSONA
CAITLIN BAY, 23
Master's student in Toronto
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An easy and convenient way to find people looking for roommates in the local area
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An easy way to filter them out based on her needs
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A way to connect or view their social platforms and understand their personal habits i.e their schedules, who their friends are, how wild their social life is
Finding a roommate is really like dating, it is hard to know the person unless you start living together.
MOTIVATIONS
BIO
Caitlin has recently enrolled herself in a Masters's program in Toronto. She is currently living with her parents and will be moving out for the first time in her life. She is currently on a budget and needs to share a place with a roommate, though she is very hesitant due to the horror stories she’s heard from her friends.
Since her program is very competitive she wants to be able to concentrate on her studies peacefully. Moving away, she wants to make sure she finds a new friend in the form of a roommate as well. She is unsure of how to go through the process of finding a reliable roommate.
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Safety: she will be alone in a new city and wants to make sure the roommate doesn’t have have a criminal history
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Understanding someone’s living habits just by virtual conversation
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A rigorous process of searching for ads and talking to everyone only to find out they don’t fit the criteria
FRUSTRATIONS
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Caring and understanding - being new to the city she wants to make sure she finds a friend in the form of a roommate
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Doesn’t t party too much at home - as she needs to concentrate on her studies which is her top priority right now
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Cleanliness and hygiene is very important
IDEAL ROOMMATE
CAITLIN'S USER JOURNEY MAP
SCENARIO
Caitlin is moving out and wants to find a roommate who is trustworthy, clean and doesn’t party too much or bring guys over.
STAGES OF
JOURNEY
Look for a suitable
roommate
Review the roommate based
on the requirements
Message the roommate
for more details
Start a conversation
with the Roommate
& decide
Search a roommate by adding filters
APP PROCESS
Look for a roommate who cleans the apartment frequently,
studies & parties less
Click on the message button
to message the roommate
Start a conversation and ask for more details
THOUGHTS
& FEELINGS
How to look for someone who is not messy?
How will I find the perfect Roommate?
How to find a Roommate who is reliable?
Feeling unsure & overwhelmed
Will we become friends?
Is this the person I can trust?
Can we be good roommates?
Feeling eager
Should I trust her?
What details should I ask her?
Should I ask her about her friends?
Feeling excited &
nervous
She is exactly the roommate I want!
She seems nice, she can be my roommate!
She seems trustworthy!
Feeling confident
& calm
TASK FLOW
The user persona and the user journey made it easier for me to determine a solution and create a simple task flow of the app.
WIREFRAMES
As the challenge only asked for low-fidelity wireframes, I sketched some solutions on paper and digitized them in Adobe XD for clear visualization.
CONCLUSION
Due to the time constraint, I was not able to conduct user testing session. Had there been more time, I would have conducted some testing to validate the solution and made the required changes to make it more smooth and usable.