The tool you need to find your ideal match!
Case study carried out between May to Sep./2022, by Amanda Oliveira.
THE PROBLEM
People who want to share a house turn to services like Facebook or rely on 'word of mouth' to find someone, and often nothing is known about the other person, which can result in incompatibility when sharing a space, or, worst case scenario, even physical and emotional danger.
HYPOTHESIS
A tool that checks important personal documents and that, through a detailed questionnaire checked by real people, has an algorithm that matches compatible people.
Why?
Young people at the beginning of their professional life, or who study far from home, generally do not have the financial means to live alone. The method most used today to find people to share a house with is done by the person who is looking for or offering housing, through Facebook groups, or by word of mouth. Although messages and conversations are exchanged before the move, time and money are factors that make it difficult to delve into the process, and people who are very different find themselves living together amid conflict and stress.
BUSINESS OPORTUNITIES
Real estate builders and co-living property managers can use the tool as a guarantee that the user will have a good experience when sharing housing. I highlight some advantages:
RESEARCH
I created a questionnaire answered by 18 people who have already had to find people to share a house, or are currently looking, between 18 and 29 years old, of which 14 are women and 4 are men.
I interviewed 4 people to delve deeper into the issues, and find out more details about what they would like to know before deciding to live with an stranger.
I asked about:
information they would like to know before moving in with someone
the process of finding someone to share a home with
difficulties sharing a house with strangers
DISCOVERIES
People are willing to answer a more detailed questionnaire
People would pay a small monthly fee to have a service more curated to their goals
People would upload personal documents to ensure users safety
People would rather live with a compatible stranger than an incompatible person they know.
Phrase said by a research participant.
IDEALIZATION
WIREFRAMES
PROTOTYPING
COLORS
TYPOGRAPHY
ICONS
The Homepage will have several options to complete the user registration; Furthermore, the user will be able to go directly to the search pages for people and houses, or access pages with tips related to the app.
To complete the registration, the user will have to answer a questionnaire with 12 standard questions (9 of which are multiple choice) and will have the option to ask 1 question of his own if he wants, which will be sent to all users with whom he makes contact.
The submission of documents is also mandatory; the information will be checked, and the registration cleared within 48 hours.
The user will be encouraged to write a short text talking a little more about themselves, but without obligation.
After completing the registration, the user will be able to browse the profiles of other users. The compatibility filter will automatically be enabled, showing profiles from the most compatible to the least compatible, but the user will be able to filter other categories of the profile, such as gender, age, etc.
When accessing a profile, the user can check the compatibility of the questionnaire question-by-question, in addition to basic information. The first contact between users will be made through the platform, first by messages, then by video calls, if both parties wish to do so.
HOMEPAGE
REGISTRATION
PROFILE AND CONTACT
DESIGN
TESTING
WHAT I LEARNED
I tested the main functionalities of the prototype with the same users with whom I interviewed. It is necessary to take into account that all of them have good or excellent familiarity with technology. They completed the Register, Profile Search, Home Search, and Document Submit flows.
Registration
”O cadastro é simples e curto, consegui completar sem problemas.”
”Fácil de completar, não tem segredo.”
Profile search
”Having the compatibility percentage helps a lot.”
”Easy but I thought it lacked details about the person.”
Houses search
”I thought it was easy, if there was a video it would be better.”
”I wanted more details about the apartment and the room, the description is not very complete.”
Sending documents
”Very easy, I'm already used to this format for sending documents.”
”Easy to complete, but I would like confirmation that the photo is good just in case.”
THE FUTURE
User research with people less familiar with technology; research with a larger number of people.
#now
#next
Research and testing of new features such as apartment videos, interviews with app users, references, connection to social networks, etc.
#later
Implement features; track metrics like the number of matches and how many users actually find a roommate through the app.