NEW HOME
NEW HOME is a relocation app that helps eliminate the guesswork of picking a new home by providing users with the ability to view their target city's virtual walk-throughs and available properties, an editable moving checklist, and a savings feature.
SUMMARY
My Role: UX Designer.
Performed UX process from research to delivering iterated hi-fi prototype
Interviewed users, Wrote test scripts, and conducted usability testing
Created design system for NEW HOME to maintain consistency of design across each persona
PROJECT TYPE
Masterclass project
TOOLS
Adobe XD
Invision
Sketch
Zoom
LET'S GO A LITTLE DEEPER...
USER INTERVIEWS
I knew what my struggles would be and what I wanted out of the experience of relocating to another state. However, I knew this might not be everyone's experience, so I conducted user interviews to find out more details about the experiences of others.
In the interviews, I cataloged people's experiences in the process of relocating or who had migrated in the past three years to find opportunities for improvement.
After conducting the first two interviews, I adjusted some questions to invoke the interviewees to provide more details in their answers.
Common trends in the user interviews:
Relocating brought up emotions of frustration, stress, and anxiety.
Traveling to a target city for multiple rounds of interviews is expensive.
Inability to make side-by-side neighborhood comparisons caused additional research.
Ability to track their relocation progress is ideal.
Reviews and photos that are representative of current or past tenants.
Ability to compare moving company prices without aggressive sales calls is desired.
If they plan their move entirely online, users feel that they are guessing and taking chances.
All users feel like a move should take 3-6 months.
Virtual house/ apartment viewing should be the norm.
Questions I focused on:
Describe some obstacles you faced while planning to relocate.
Describe your relocation experience.
How long did your relocation take?
How many times did you travel to the new city prior to relocating?
USER PERSONAS
Based on the interviews I conducted, I created four user personas in the age range of 18- 35-year-olds. Each persona is a representation of different life stages.
These personas were created in Sketch.
USER JOURNEY MAP
I visualized the users' journey from the beginning stages of planning their move to transitioning into their new place. I outlined key events, customer motivations, emotions, and areas of friction using Mural.
CONTENT STRATEGY
Using Coogle, I planned the content strategy for the New Home app.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Reviewing the research and interviews I completed, I focused on current pain points that users experienced and areas in the relocation process that worked well. I began with the list of opportunities I found in creating the user journey maps and downloaded applications that specialized in moving planning for features that worked well, especially applications and websites that the interviewees specifically mentioned.
I came to the following list of goals for this hypothetical best relocation app:
•.Clear and concise information about city neighborhoods.
• Reviews, videos, and photos from current or past tenants.
• A favorites system that would allow you to save a shortlist of apartments or homes while browsing.
• A savings system would allow users to track their savings in real time and allocate their budget to specific moving tasks.
• The ability to create a profile that would save personalized filters.
• A countdown calendar system allows users to track their relocation and suggests tasks to be completed within a specific time frame.
• Integration of software already in use on apartment websites (Zillow is one example) to recommend other homes based on users' personalized filters and search history
• A feature that allows users to compare homes, amenities, neighborhoods, and moving companies.
• An overall user interface that was friendly and felt that by joining & reviewing, you were connected to a community & contributing to future migrants.
WIREFRAME SKETCHES
Once features were determined, I sketched the blueprint for the app.
LOFI WIREFRAME
After sketching prototypes, I moved to create lo-fi wireframes for the New Home app in InVision Studio.
LOGIN PAGE.
Existing users can log in and new users can create an account.
HOME PAGE.
House Icon: Users can search for available rentals or homes for sale and set filters based on their preferences.
Checklist icon: This checklist is editable. This feature can assist users in organizing tasks needed to help in a smooth transition into their new home.
Piggy bank icon: Users can track their savings.
Calendar icon: Countdown for tasks or moving deadlines.
APARTMENT SEARCH WITH NOTES SECTION.
Users can add notes about their likes and dislikes of a property they saved to their favorites
BUDGET AND SAVINGS.
Cash Icon: Budget- Users will have the ability to use a preset budget template that will help them ensure that they will have the appropriate amount of money to fund their move.
Savings Piggy Bank Icon: Users will have the ability to connect their savings account to the app to keep track of their savings.
STYLE TILE
Iteration of the style guide for the new home app created in Adobe XD.
I created the logo and call-to-action buttons and chose the font and color palette.
USABILITY TESTING
After sketches and paper prototypes, I moved to create digital iterations of New Home in Adobe XD.
Then I moved to usability testing. I tested the hifi prototypes with 2-3 users during each iteration.
TEST 1.
During this usability test, users could complete their profile and continue to the home page.
During testing, users commented that they enjoyed how the profile sign-up was quick, concise, and relevant to the app's purpose. A user mentioned that they would have wanted to continue the profile set up that would allow users to flow into the savings account set up.
Another user stated that they would like the option to complete setup for tasks along with a skip button.
TEST 2.
I created the home screen and user sign-up flow.
During testing, users found the design appealing and the flow intuitive. Users commented that the buttons and text fields were easy to click.
TEST 3.
In the third version, users are able to search for homes that meet their search criteria and view more details of selected homes.
A user mentioned that it would be ideal to add more options to the search criteria that would allow users to filter what type of home style they were looking seeking to personalize their search. In addition, some users stated that the next buttons were too small thus making it hard to flow to the next picture.