Improving Shared Living with Streamlined Communication for Roommates and Suitemates
UI/UX Designer + researcher
Fiona Liu, Emily Lin, Natalie Zhu, Ivy Zhang
March 2023 - May 2023
Young adults living with roommates and suitemates struggle with effective communication and management of shared space, often resulting in misunderstandings and tension. Our app addresses the issue by providing a communication platform that streamlines requests and task management between roommates / suitemates.
We interviewed 10 people, currently living with roommates / suitemates. We also sent out a Google Form survey, and summarized responses as as outlined below.
Learning from the key insights, I sketched 3 versions of store editors and product editors, After conducting user research and analyzing user personas, I evaluated two potential information architecture structures for our app. The first structure emphasizes a list of tasks and requests (Main Page, Notification Page, Task Page, Schedule Page), while the second focuses on the functionality of adding tasks or requests (Dashboard, Actions, Profile.)
We chose to implement the first structure, as our app aims to streamline communication between roommates. The list/conversation format will provide users with a more efficient and accessible way to process all the information.
Based on our preliminary sketches, we created a storyboard that featured both of our personas, Non-confrontational Nala and Busy Beatrix, but focused mainly on Nala’s motivations.
This storyboard helped us imagine the user flow while using our app, and what the most important features of our app might be.
Each of our group members created an initial sketch of pages in order to brainstorm all the different possibilities for our screens. Our sketch shared a lot of similarity, and after brainstorming together, we organized our sketches into the final sketch. (My sketch on the right)
I was responsible for the request page and its interactions. To distinguish it from the Task page, I designed the Request page with a more conversational style, resembling speech bubbles. This approach transforms impersonal requests into something akin to direct communication with one's roommate.
We developed a style guide to maintain a uniform aesthetic across various pages and enhance collaboration among team members.
I was responsible for the high-fidelity design and interaction of the request page. I devised the user flow for adding a request to the reminder and declining a task. Additionally, I designed the interaction for creating a new request initiated by the user.
We conducted usability testing with four participants, asking them to use the think-aloud method while testing various pages of the app and performing specific tasks related to receiving and sending tasks.
Key Insights from Usability Testing (Request Page):
Following our usability testing and design iteration, we finished our final high-fidelity prototype. We incorporated interaction animations and diligently ensured design consistency across all pages.
