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Project Background
Conceptual Case Study
(Google UX Design Certificate)
Duration
3 months
The Company
The client is a real estate agency that is looking to expand their initiatives. They would like to create a sub-set of rentals geared towards a younger generation of renters.
Roles
User Experience Design | User Research | Brand Design | Information Architecture | Product Management
The rental market for Generation Z shows great potential as research has shown that they will be spending more on rent than previous generations. Attitudinal studies indicate that Generation Z. expect to move out later than previous generations due to rent prices rising, but have incentives to be independent. FindHome. is looking to convert reluctant renters and give renters who are already in the process of looking for an apartment the confidence to use their platform as the ‘go-to’ solution for rentals.
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How do we know when our solutions are impactful? KPIs (Key performance indicators) are defined to quantitatively measure performance regarding business goals.
The KPIs for FindHome. may be:
1. Having a vacancy rate of only 5%-8%.
2. Obtaining a conversion rate of 1.7%.
3. Maintaining a tenant turn-over rate of less than 50%.
10 participants were interviewed and given surveys to pin-point consumer attitudes and behaviours. To start on a smaller scale, FindHome. will be geared towards young adults (Generation Z) located in north America. In North America, Generation Z. moves out earlier compared to other countries, and Generation Z tends to value individualism and independence.
Ethnographic studies were conducted to understand the target group.
Interview Questions
Some examples of interview questions are written below:
1. Have you ever tried using a rental application, and if so, what were your previous experiences with trying to rent a place to stay?
2. If you had or want to try renting using an app, what would your main concerns be?
3. On which occasions have you rented, or see yourself renting an apartment?
Summary of Feedback
"Someday, I'll be able to get my own place. I'd have to get at least a part-time job to be able to pay for it." - Interviewee response
"I'm kind of scared to get out there on my own. I had a friend with a pretty bad landlord and he had to stay there for months before his contract was over." - Interviewee response
"What are the chances they would give the apartment to me? I've never rented before." - Interviewee response
One of the most commonly-stated reasons that users don't want to rent is due to a lack of experience. This reason discouraged the majority of users from apply for an apartment due to seeing competing tenants.
The second concern that further discourages users after the initial commitment is being able to consistently pay for the apartment, possible conflict with the landlord of the apartment, and the fear of not being able to fully understand a rental contract due to hidden or confusing clauses.
From interviews, archetypes are established to inform the goals, characteristics, and needs of the demographic that show some interest in renting an apartment.
The demographic of users ranges from users who have a high level of commitment to rent, to those who are doubtful about finding an apartment that may be suitable for them.
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Principles were defined as guidelines and offer constraints in order to allow creative solutions to be conducive in meeting user needs.
The user journey maps out the path a user takes to make a purchase.
The user needs, emotions, and opportunities for improvement were categorised into broader epics in order to begin to create solutions for each problem.
User touch points are addressed to understand each step of the conversion lifecycle and provides clarity into what problems may block usability at each point of the customer journey.
”Most users spend their time on other sites. This means that users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know.” - Jakob Nielsen
Services that offer online rentals already exist on the market.
The competition analyzed ranged from region-specific rental applications (like SpareRoom UK) to popular platforms like AirBnB.
A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis had been conducted to understand the difference between these platforms.
Several commonalities are found between users as well as subtle differences that form key insights to provide a foundation for defining features that will be included in the mobile app. The insights found are as follows:
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The insights are addressed matched to solutions below.
1. Advertising the variety of apartments that are offered, as "having their own space" has different meanings to different users.
2. The app gives users a brief description of the apartment's origins in the offering.
1. Offering a 3D tour of the apartment before giving the option to pre-book a viewing or apartment.
1. An integrated map function showcases the everyday needs (University, shopping, hospitals) to familiarize users.
5. The app advertises itself as a tool to help inexperienced renters get off their feet.
6. The direct messaging tool appeals to the communication style of Generation Z and helps users gauge compatibility.
FindHome can aim to offer a collection of cost efficient, secure apartments initially through a web application as secondary research has shown that most of Generation Z. use search engines on their PC to find rental flats, or turn to well-known mobile apps like AirBnB.
The website will behave as a funnel to introduce the mobile application that has the same brand and tone to promote the use of the mobile app.
The happy path was defined for users as the optimal end-to-end experience. For FindHome., this is defined as the process of signing up for the app to succesfully pre-booking an apartment or booking a viewing.
The information architecture of the app was designed to accomodate the happy path.
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Low fidelity prototypes were first created on paper using the Crazy 8s method. Then, transferred onto Figma and improved upon iteratively to define the screens.
The high fidelity prototype is finalized from a series of iterations using Figma. An interactive prototype that emulates user flow is then developed to understand usability at a greater level of granularity.
Each feature below addresses the insights discovered to rectify user pain points.
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After the iteration of the first high fidelity prototypes, a usablity test was conducted to cover potential usability problems. A table covering users' understanding of the app (e.g. call-to-action buttons, users' ability to understand how to book a rental, etc) was created and given a 5 point scale.
The overall average of each category was a 4.1, indicating that the app is easy to understand and use.
A style guide had also been created to maintain consistency in the UI.
Cross compatibility with different platforms (iOS and Android) has also been implemented.
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Takeaways
1. Low adoption rates from users may be due to the users' perception of whether or not the application suits them rather than the value the features may offer.
2. Thinking of solving a design problem as a holistic process rather than a series fo isolated problems may lead to unexpected, workable solutions.
Outcomes
1. 90% participants remarked that they felt more secure to rent an apartment.
2. 70% of users said that they could see themselves using the app to rent apartments for the long term.
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