UX Designer | Leading with Empathy | Enabling Transformative User Experiences

dribbble

Devika Mallik  • Peerlist

<h3 class="rich-heading">The Project</h3><h4 class="rich-heading">Creating a tailored solution for the Indian market to facilitate finding and cohabitating with a flatmate:</h4>This was a personal project that I executed within a span of 4 months. The inspiration for this project stemmed from informal conversations with colleagues and friends, aiming to address a persistent issue in the Indian housing market. My role encompassed the entire design lifecycle, from research to prototyping.<h3 class="rich-heading">The Problem</h3><h4 class="rich-heading">Recent graduates or individuals relocating to cities in search of job opportunities often encounter a significant challenge—</h4>The absence of a unified and streamlined platform for finding compatible flatmates. This challenge is aggravated by the uncertainties associated with independent living, commonly referred to as "adulting."<h3 class="rich-heading">Primary and Secondary research</h3>To comprehensively address the problem at hand, I carried out primary and secondary research through live interviews and competitor analysis. This strategic approach allowed me to delve into the details of the challenge and gain a profound understanding of the user's perspective.<ul><li>Conducting a total of 10 one-on-one interviews remotely, I engaged with both familiar and unfamiliar individuals. These interviews, conducted over Zoom with the interviewees' consent, were carefully planned. To prepare for the interviews I followed a lengthy process from:User Journey Mapping -&gt; Affinity Mapping -&gt; Writing all possible questions -&gt; Preparing a reference questionnaire</li></ul><h3 class="rich-heading">Empathize and Discover</h3>The research findings highlighted several pain points in the current scenario:<ul><li>The single existing app attempting to address this issue in India faced dissatisfaction due to poor UX, UI, and negative reviews, rendering it ineffective in tapping into the market.</li><li>People resorted to hit-and-trial methods, such as putting up Instagram stories, seeking recommendations from colleagues or family members, and posting on open Facebook groups, illustrating the lack of a streamlined solution.</li><li>Utilizing existing Facebook groups for flatmate searches resulted in issues like spam, privacy concerns, unfiltered content, and an overall stressful experience for users seeking flatmates.</li><li>Apart from difficulties in finding flatmates, users also faced problems once they started living together, indicating a need for a holistic solution that extends beyond the initial connection.</li><li>4 Categories emerged during the process of: finding a flatmate -&gt; living with a flatmate:<h3 class="rich-heading">1. Personality Aspects, 2. Behavioural Aspects, 3. Household Chores, and 4. Financial Aspects</h3></li></ul>...The final outcome was a unified linear platform - a mobile app - that not only connected people with potential flatmates, but also guided them on living together once a match was made.