Design Sprint: UniLodge
I wanted to design a new feature for UniLodge which matched users with compatible roommates increasing their chances of having an enjoyable roommate experience. The challenge was students are often left to search through thousands of profiles themselves often ending up with incompatible roommates. Wouldn’t it be better to only be presented with roommate matches tailored to your own unique wants and needs?
To build up a foundation and a core focus for my design sprint I began mapping. I defined the problem at hand; students ending up with incompatible roommates and determined the final goal; students easily finding compatible roommates. To define the primary target area of my prototype I created a user journey map and placed the ‘how might we questions’ (HMW) created during the mapping phase into their relevant areas of the users journey. I isolated the most important areas to target by narrowing down the top three HMW questions; how we might ensure high success rates of roommate matches, match users on the app and ensure the user feels comfortable and safe using the app. From the cluster of HMW questions it was apparent the target of my prototype was the users profile setup.
After determining the target area, it was time to turn my ideas from mapping into solutions. Before beginning my wireframes sketches, I undertook some research into apps which have already solved the problem. Flatmate Finder allows users to set up a profile which filters through all the profiles in the app only presenting the users with roommates who match the specific criteria they selected in their profile setup. I took this concept into the sketching phase as I felt it was a strong solution related to my target. I jotted down my best eight wireframe ideas in the crazy eight exercise allowing me to gain an insight into the direction the new app feature was heading in. I then selected the strongest ideas and created a solution sketch of wireframe which ran through a user flow I felt focused on my target area and solved my final goal.
I began phase two of storyboarding, where I selected my most promising ideas and refined my wireframes ready to be prototyped and tested. I created a user test flow of six steps I felt were crucial for the user to complete in order to find a compatible roommate. Under each step I drew a detailed wireframe of the user flow. I ensured I met the brief in the first wireframe by presented the user with the options of ‘looking for a roommate’ as well as ‘looking for a home’. The target of my design solution was my profile set up, where users enter their personal information, their house preferences/facilities and roommate preferences. This step is where all the core data is entered which will be used to narrow down the user’s potential roommate matches, making it a critical step in ensuring the final goal of the flow is achieved. To ensure the user does not have to scroll through thousands of roommate profiles, I created a tinder like system where the user is presented with one profile at a time and given the option to click thumbs up or down allowing the user to carefully go through their matches and not be overwhelmed by thousands of profiles at once. The user is given the option to view a more extensive profile and message the user when they match, allowing them to organize a call, video chat or meet up in person.
I began phase three of the sprint; prototyping in Figma and quickly learnt more frames were needed for the profile set up as a long scrolling interface felt like there was too much information to fill out. I broke the interface into three frames one for personal details, one for location and the last for house preferences/facilities and roommate preferences. The final roommates home screen is the users profile followed by two other areas labelled browse and matches. I ensured the final profile interface was detailed and easy to comprehend. The browsing screen leveraged interface design familiar to dating apps which majority of students are familiar with meaning the design was easy to navigate and ensured the users flow was effortless. I leverage a messenger interface like Facebooks messenger so again users didn’t waste time figuring out how to use the app and could rely on past UX design knowledge.
I finally conducted phrase four, user testing where five people tested the flow of my prototype allowing patterns of difficulty to quickly emerge. Majority of users stated that buttons instead of drop-down options would be more effective in the profile setup, especially on a mobile device. It was also pointed out that instead of the three mains sections of the roommate’s feature being profile, browse and matches, matches should be swapped to messages to allow users to easily find past conversations. I implemented this feedback for the final prototype which I feel now leverages familiar UX design allowing users journeys through the app to be simple and straightforward.
During my four-day design sprint it was highlighted during the user test that students using the UniLodge roommates feature felt as though they are more likely to find compatible roommates. Users felt the roommate feature saved them an immense amount of time, allowing them to quickly swipe through potential matches and find a roommate in a safe and easy environment. I learnt during this sprint that leveraging successful interface design from other popular apps and incorporating feedback found during user’s test is the key to ensuring you have a successful user flow. If I were given more time and resources to spend on this project, I would make the profile setup more detailed and add in a filter option in the browsing section to further ensure the matches provided in the app address the users specific, unique needs and wants and can be adjusted easily at any given time.
