MatchBox
An end-to-end mobile website, designed to streamline the process of finding compatible roommates
Responsibilities
User Research
UI Design & Prototyping
User Testing & Iterations
Role
UX/ UI Designer
Timeline
Aug - Nov 2023
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Discord, Miro
Background on the housing industry
According to Flex., about 79 million people in the U.S. live in shared households. Around 14.4 million people share households with non-family members. Living with a roommate helps to share the rent and reduce financial expenses. It also reduces feelings of loneliness and social isolation.
While some roommate situations can be a wonderful arrangement with no problems, others can be an absolute nightmare. Different cleaning habits, borrowing things without asking, having guests over all the time, different sleep schedules, and paying bills are some of the most commonly seen problems that cause conflict between roommates.
Thus, people are looking for different ways to streamline the complete experience of finding and sharing space with a roommate.
Why MatchBox?
Finding a roommate using current tools like social media and word of mouth could be tedious and slow. These tools also do not assure the users that the roommate shares similar preferences and expectations, thus making it a scary and anxious process. MatchBox is an innovative platform designed to simplify and help users find compatible roommates.
It streamlines the process of finding a compatible roommate. MatchBox connects users with individuals who share similar living habits, values, and preferences, ensuring a harmonious coliving experience. Users can specify their requirements, such as cleanliness levels, sleep schedule, interests, etc. creating a personalized and efficient way to find the ideal roommate.
Thus, by addressing common pain points, MatchBox transforms the daunting task of finding a roommate into an enjoyable and reliable journey, fostering connections that make shared living comfortable.
Business Goal
Create a mobile website to streamline the process of finding compatible roommates
Key Features
Ask for user preferences
This is one of the registration screens. After logging in, users go through a registration process where they are asked multiple questions about their preferences.
Some benefits of this feature are -
Knowing preferences allows for the consideration of shared values, lifestyle, and habits
It contributes to fostering a harmonious living space, reducing the likelihood of disputes
Roommates with similar interests and expectations would find it easier to connect over shared activities
Matching users with similar preferences
After the user completes registration, the system will generate a list of matches based on the user preferences added in the registration process
Some benefits of this feature are -
Eliminates the need for manual screening and filtering commonly associated with finding roommates through word of mouth or social media
Helps to streamline the process of finding compatible roommates based on user preferences
Connect with the matches
Users can browse through their list of matches and connect with those they are interested in via messaging.
Some benefits of this feature are -
Connecting with matches through messages or a call helps to prevent conflicts in the future
Helps to foster a sense of safety and assurance before sharing the space
Handy tool to ask any questions or set house rules before taking the next big step which is signing the lease
Design Thinking Steps
Empathy
Research
To understand the current challenges and opportunities with finding a compatible roommate, I performed primary (user interviews) and secondary (competitor analysis) research.
As part of primary research, I conducted user interviews, to understand user pain points and expectations when finding a compatible roommate.
As part of competitor analysis, I looked into apps trying to solve similar problems. I then analyzed their strengths and areas of improvement.
Competitor Analysis
I performed competitor analysis on 3 direct competitors. I gathered great insights on how these websites are helping users find roommates. I worked on creating a detailed report on their strengths and areas of improvement. Analyzing my competitors gave me a clear understanding of similar features my website would benefit from and features I would like to improve or avoid.
Direct competitors - roomies, diggz, roomster
Key Insights
User Interviews
I interviewed 4 people who currently or in the past have lived with a roommate. All of them were young professionals in the age group of 25-30 years.
The main focus of the interview was to understand
The different tools/apps/websites people use when moving to a new place
How users feel mentally, physically and financially when moving to a new place
Understand why people live with a roommate
Understand the challenges for finding a compatible roommate
Key Insights
Define
Research Synthesis
After completing the research, I worked on creating 2 personas. These personas are fictional characters that represent two user groups. One group represents young professionals with busy schedules living in metropolitan cities looking to reduce housing expenses, and the other group represents users wanting to experience co-living with a completely new person to learn and create long-lasting friendships.
Personas
I created two personas, Javier and Sita, to represent two key user groups of MatchBox.
Javier represents individuals residing in expensive cities who seek roommates to reduce housing costs and overall financial expenses
Sita represents individuals eager to explore and immerse themselves in new cultures and lifestyles by co-living with someone unfamiliar.
I am here to create something great and impactful
Javier Tellezen (he/ him)
Javier is a 26 year old bachelor living in New Jersey. He works as a data engineer at a luxury brand company. This being his first job and New Jersey being an expensive place to live at, he shares his apartment with a roommate. Prior to this he has lived with roommates in his university time. He loves to maintain clean and comfortable places. He has a busy schedule with work and managing his fitness routine. He is accountable and takes responsibility of maintaining the apartment but often complains lack of the same from his roommate.
Motivations
1. Help him to share financial and household responsibilities so he can focus on his work.
2. He wants to avoid the tedious and slows process of finding a roommate through word of mouth or social media groups.
Needs and Expectations
1. A platform that matches him with compatible roommates.
2. He expects the platform should background verify the registered users on the website.
3. He needs to connect with the roommate to know him better.
Goals
1. To find a compatible roommate that matches his preferences.
2. To connect and get to know potential roommate before moving in with them
3. To feel safe sharing space with the new roommate
Challenges
1. He finds searching for roommates through word of mouth or social media groups to be time-consuming and frustrating. It requires constant follow-up, as many people often stop responding.
2. In the past, he struggled with sharing a living space due to compatibility issues with his roommate. Conflicts often arose from differing cleanliness standards and an unequal distribution of chores
I love connecting with new people and learning from them
Sita Raman (she/her)
Sita is a 30 years old single female living in Boston with a roommate. She works as a software engineer for around 4 years now. She is social and likes to make new friends. She is curios and enjoys learning new skills. She has always been interested in living with people of varied backgrounds and learning their life-styles. When it comes to her own life-style, she is organized and loves to maintain cleanliness on a daily basis. She enjoys having friends over occasionally.
Motivations
1. She is motivated by the prospect of being able to find a compatible roommate to build a meaningful connection with whom she can share her values and interests.
2. Being organized by nature, she is also motivated to find a compatible roommate who can maintain similar level of orderliness and cleanliness.
Needs and Expectations
1. She needs a platform that would match her with potential roommates having similar preferences
2. She wants to feel safe sharing space with her roommate
3. She wants the website to send her notifications whenever there's a match, as she can't check the site regularly.
Goals
1. Her primary goal is to find a compatible roommate she can connect with
2. She also wants to be able to find a roommate promptly without having to go through the delays with the current tools available to her
Challenges
1. She feels finding roommates through social media is tedious and frustrating, with intense interviews, frequent ghosting, and unreliable rent agreements.
2. Through her prior experience, she realized she values cleanliness and order but struggles to communicate concerns, fearing it might strain their bond.
Affinity Mapping
I worked on affinity mapping using FigJam to understand common patterns and themes in user pain points, challenges and preferences.
It consists of 2 steps -
1. I gathered insights and information from the user interviews
2. I identified common patterns in user pain points, challenges, preferences etc. and clustered them into different themes
Problem Statement
After listing around 7 POVs, I selected the following 2 POVs which were most crucial to the core functionality of the website
POV 1
As a user, I am looking for a website to find a compatible roommate, so that we can share space in harmony
HMWs
1. How might we streamline the roommate-finding process?
2. How might we match users with compatible roommates?
POV 2
As a user, I want an opportunity to know my potential roommate prior to finalizing them, so that I feel confident sharing space with them
HMWs
How might we help the user make an informed decision about finalizing their roommate?
Feature Set
I then worked on listing down various features needed for the first MVP. Using the MoSCoW prioritization technique, I grouped the features into different levels of priority. Some of the factors I considered while deciding the priority on the features are user requirements, the overall impact on the business, and the time and efforts needed to develop these features.
MUST HAVE
Search roommate
Login/ Logout
Register profile
List of matches
Chat/ Message
COULD HAVE
Paid plans
Feedback workflow
Mobile app
Localization support
Internationalization support
SHOULD HAVE
In-app audio call
Filter
Sort
Profile verification
About us
WILL NOT HAVE
File upload
Video upload
Notifications
Ideate
Storyboard
I then created a simple storyboard to narrate the user’s journey and make it easier for the stakeholders to understand the context, emotions, and needs of the user. I was exploring two approaches to solve the problem.
Approach A - In an existing social media website, add another tab that lets you browse through a list of roommates. You can contact them through the website itself.
Using this approach, we see how Kelly hopes that she has a good experience sharing the space with her roommate which she found using a social media website
Approach B - Design a mobile website that generates system-generated roommate matches based on given preferences and criteria. The website lets users contact matches to get to know them better before finalizing them.
In the second experience, we see how Kelly feels confident about her new roommate which she found using Approach B i.e. system-generated roommate matches based on her preferences. She is excited to share the space with her new roommate.
Site Map
Organizing the content hierarchy and navigation through a site map helped me get a clear understanding of how the different components of MatchBox would be integrated to give a uniform seamless experience. It helped to lay the foundation for a logical information architecture.
User Flow
In this step, I worked on creating user flow diagrams for two core functionalities, namely generating matches on the basis of user preferences and connecting with these matches for further communication. It helped to get a good understanding of the different scenarios and screens I would need to design to handle all use cases.
Style Guide
When deciding on the brand color, I considered orange, yellow, and purple. All of them feel warm, friendly, and inviting.
After further research, I decided to select yellow as the primary color. It invokes feelings of optimism, cheerfulness, and joy. Yellow is also associated with social connections and has been successfully used in apps like Snapchat and Bumble.
I thought a complementary color scheme would work well for the overall concept and selected blue as the secondary color. It represents trust, safety, and honesty.
When brainstorming the website name, I compiled a list of about eight options. Some of the shortlisted names included Roomie Connect, FutureHomy, Spacemate, and MatchBox. Ultimately, I chose MatchBox as the website name.
Lastly, for the brand logo, I explored and designed multiple logo options to align with the brand's identity.
High Fidelity Wireframes
After creating the style guide and UI kit for the website I worked on the first iteration of high fidelity wireframes, followed by usability testing.
The high-fidelity wireframes were crafted to provide a polished and visually accurate representation of the final design, incorporating both user feedback and branding guidelines for a seamless user experience.
Testing
Usability Testing Findings
I conducted usability testing on the high-fidelity wireframes with four participants. Three participants were completely new to the app, and 1 had previously participated in user interviews in the research phase.
The participants were assigned two primary tasks. The first involved completing the onboarding process, aiming for minimal time and reduced ambiguity in understanding the onboarding questions. The second task focused on examining the workflow users follow to connect with potential roommates of interest.
Overall, participants completed all the tasks with or without some guidance.
Key Insights
Priority Revisions
Final Prototype
Next Steps
For my next steps, I plan to focus on developing the profile verification feature. Participants expressed significant interest in this feature, as it would save users the time and effort required to perform background checks themselves—either by asking relevant questions or through a professional service.
Additionally, I aim to explore the potential of a chore-scheduling feature. Research findings highlighted that conflicts often stem from unequal chore distribution and cleanliness issues. I intend to delve deeper into this area to understand the impact such a feature could have on improving roommate relationships.
