Homemate
Home and roommate finder
Overview
Homemate is an application that allows users to find roommates and housing options all on one platform
Role
Product Designer
User Research, Interaction, Visual design, Prototyping & Testing
September 2021 - October 2021
Problem
People need a better way to find a roommate they can feel comfortable with and a more convenient way to connect with those potential roommates and look for a rental in one location.
How to connect and match potential roommates?
How to make people feel secure while looking for a roommate?
How can people find a roommate and potential rental in one location?
Solution
Homemate is a roommate seeker app that allows people to find and communicate with future roommates by matching them based on their bios and preferences. Homemate also makes it easier for potential roommates to find a rental by allowing an in-app search of available listings. In addition, each rental search has the option of providing information about surrounding recreations and directions to and from them.
Vision
App service that allows users to find roommates and listings by comparing user search criteria and radius, then providing a list of user matches and listings
What:
an app that allows people to communicate with one another to find listings they can rent together
a way to connect people with the same home criteria searching for listings in the same area
Why:
users need an easy and secure way to find a new home
users should feel safe and comfortable when finding others to live with
Value:
A safer, more secure way of meeting potential roommates (no bots)
A more efficient way of finding a home that fits you and your roommate(s) needs
Competitive Research
App service that allows users to find roommates and listings by comparing user search criteria and radius, then providing a list of user matches and listings
Competition:
Zillow
Roomster
Roommates
Customers:
new or previous homeowners/renter/sellers
Anyone looking for a single room to rent
Anyone looking for a roommate
Differences:
Coordinate your search with a partner or roommate by tagging home features and sharing your favorites
Rooms for rent (long or short term) of houses already owned and lived in by others
A communication site for people to look for potential roommates
Missing Opportunities:
Syncing users with other users searching for rentals with similar requirements in the same area
No opportunities for people to communicate together to find a whole house or apartment to rent together
You must pay to view messages, a major loss since people do not want to upgrade when there are other free applications
Personas
As a rentee, I want to find an apartment close to campus, so I can make it to class on time.
Jason
Age: 22
Income: $15,000
Lifestyle: College student, athlete
Jason is a current student and athlete living in a dorm at Michigan State University. He wants to move out of the dorm and find a rental near campus and a close-of-age roommate who preferably also attends the same college. He is looking for someone who also likes to have fun and does not mind late nights and having people over.
Obstacles:
He does not have a car, so the location cannot be too far from campus
No significant source of income/must be affordable for a college student
Hard to know more details about the potential roommates and their lifestyle
As a renter, I want access to criminal records, so I can be sure that my daughter’s safety is guaranteed.
Carly
Age: 27
Income: $45,000
Lifestyle: Single mother, full-time employee
Carly is a single mother working from home full-time while also taking care of her 8-year-old daughter. Her roommate is moving out, and she is now looking for someone to move in and pick up their rent. She is looking for someone comfortable with kids and who will get along with her daughter.
Obstacles:
Roommate must be someone she can trust around her daughter (not a criminal)
Does not want a roommate who has a drug issue (smoking, etc.)
Looking for a roommate who will not stay up too late and party on weekdays (school nights)
As a rentee, I want to find an apartment close to campus, so I can make it to class on time.
Gabriel
Age: 54
Income: $70,000
Lifestyle: Recently divorced, full-time employee
Gabriel is a recently divorced man looking to move to New York City for a fresh start. He is looking for a new home close to the city to go out and explore and quickly get back home. Gabriel wants a roommate with a similar lifestyle, preferably close to his age, that can also show him around and help him get accustomed to city life.
Obstacles:
Is currently working from home, so needs space/will be on conference calls, so may be loud
Is allergic to cats
Wants a roommate who does not mind if he parties and has people over
Designing
After finalizing the personas and the user stories, the flows for each scenario were mapped out and then constructed the wireframes.
Usability Research
The completed wireframes were made into a clickable prototype and then used for usability testing. Four interviews were conducted: three individual interviews and one pair interview.
Interviews:
round of questions
users testing out prototype and giving feedback along the way
Findings:
Roommate horror stories are highly prominent and almost always caused by incompatibilities such as considerable differences in personalities and lifestyles
Those who did have successful roommate experiences had similar lifestyles (work/life schedule), personalities, and habits
Next Steps:
Include more options for filling out personal bio (sleep habits, music volume, etc.)
update map search to make it easier to zoom in and out
Findings
User Scenario 1
Based on the User 1 flow feedback, I expanded on the employee profile builder to include more information. I then added an extra page to initiate the search option for roommates and rentals to make a more apparent distinction.
User Scenario 2
Based on the User 2 flow feedback, the layout of the “Background Check” section was changed. It is now located at the beginning of the profile to make it more easily identifiable and draw immediate attention.
User Scenario 3
Based on the User 3 flow feedback, I expanded on the rental options by including more information in the bios, such as amenities (dishwasher, washer and dryer in unit, etc.) and house rules. In addition, I separated the amenities and the bio paragraphs to make them easily identifiable.
Prototype Walkthrough
Results and Takeaways
Based on my findings, Homemate will assist in helping users to find roommates they are compatible with, making the process of looking for a roommate easier and less stressful, which will cut back on future roommate horror stories.
Some potential new features would be to add a group chat feature for users looking for more than one roommate and the option to send rentals to other users through the chat.