Rent it!
Your place is a click away!
Rent it! is a mobile app that lets the users find accommodation. It allows the tenants to schedule a meeting with the property manager without visiting the property.
Role:
Team Facilitator,
UI/UX Designer
Design Researcher
Duration:
4 weeks
Tools:
Figma,
FigJam
Teams
Team
4 Designers
PROJECT BACKGROUND
As immigrants in Canada, we have faced the challenge of finding a proper accommodation. To find an apartment, one has to book an appointment with the property manager for which one has to visit the property. The process is tiresome and time intensive.
PROBLEM ADDRESSED
To get an appointment with the property manager, one has to fill up the webform on the company’s website and wait for the call back. Also, there is no two-way communication between the manager and the tenant.
OUTCOME
The team designed an app, Rent it!, which lets the users schedule a meeting with the property manager. It is helpful for individuals looking for an apartment to schedule a meeting with the property manager at several properties and plan their time more effectively.
The app is tested with 10 users with the same experience.
"
Now, I can check multiple properties at once and rent it! will save me a lot of time in managing those appointments.
Jessica, Illustrator
DESIGN CHALLENGE
How might we design an app for managing appointments with a property manager to save time while looking for an apartment?
SOLUTION
Rent it! is a mobile app that lets the tenant find an apartment, book an appointment and communicate with the property manager.
Rent it! will be used by people who are new to the region and have no knowledge about the place. It will allow users to book appointments with multiple property managers at a time. Tenants can have two-way communication with the property managers, allowing both parties to save their time.
On Rent it! users can look for various types of accommodations based on their location.
Tenants will be able to look for the details of the property they are interested in.
Users can book an appointment with the property manager. They will also be able to reschedule the appointment.
When there are updates from property manager, tenants will see and can reschedule the meeting. This feature will save the time for both parties.
Users will be able to book/ reschedule an appointment based on their availability.
Process
Introduction
In this project, we worked in sprints, following agile methodology. During the first week, we identified a design challenge and proposed it to the stakeholders. We defined our roles and responsibilities and I was assigned as a team leader. My main responsibilities were to keep the team aligned with the project goals within the timeline.
Research
We followed agile methodology in this project and had weekly sprints where we would assign work and have stand offs. We did secondary research and audited our competitors. We looked for various features and user flows, it helped us in the initial ideation.
Competitive analyis
As we audited the websites and apps of competitors we found that there isn't one that allows users to contact property managers directly. So we figured that scheduling meetings with property managers is an important factor. These realizations led to the must-haves in our design solution.
Business considerations
BUSINESS GOALS
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Get the new users
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Offer unique value proposition
CONSTRAINTS
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Competitors have an existing client base
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Penetrating in the market is costly
Potential stakeholders
RESEARCH GOALS AND HYPOTHESES
Students coming from far wants to feel like home.
How can we help them affordable and safe home?
Professional workers have limited time to hunt a house.
How can we save their time?
Property managers often have to deal with a multiple clients at a time.
How can we manage appointments better?
DESIGN CHALLENGE
User story
A person looking to rent an apartment wants to meet the property manager so that they can get a tour of the apartment and know the details of the property
Problem Statement
To rent an apartment, one has to book an appointment with the property manager, which can only be done by visiting the property. The substitute option is to fill out an inquiry form on the property’s website and wait for the callback.
The process is time-consuming and can be exhausting for the person who is not much aware of the process and region.
Ideation
Quick sketches and brainstorming helped us visualize the idea
Wireframes- Lo-fi, Mid fi
Home screen will have all the available properties
Properties will have a brief overview so that the users can get a quick idea of what to expect
Detailed discription of property and a 'meet the manager' button to schedule a meeting
details for scheduling an appointment
appointment confirmation
appointment details
Usability Testing
After creating a mid-fidelity prototype, we worked to create a test plan for usability testing. We followed a structured flow approach to focus on specific flows. We presented the users with an online form with a short brief about the project, confidentiality, and consent forms.
Questions for participants
Tests were unmoderated, and participants were asked to book an appointment using the app.
Some of the questions asked during the tests were:
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Were you able to book an appointment with the property manager?
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Were you able to check for any updates and re-schedule your meeting with the property manager?
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Do you find yourself using Rent It!? Why?
Test results
Other valuable insights
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Users were not sure if the appointment was in-person or online.
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Upcoming appointments were highlighted in two places: Under notifications and profile, which was confusing for some.
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Categorizing & listing properties on the home page.
Finalizing hi-fi wireframes
Once users search for desired properties, they will be able to look for results. They can also save the properties with one tap so that they can review them later.
Once users are looking at the details of the property, they can see the button for meeting the manager.
Under 'Meet the Manager,' users can book a meeting with the property manager.
Final confirmation of the booking
Users can re-arrange a meeting. Also, they can receive notifications from the property manager in case of any change.
Prototype: user flow
A user flow of looking for accomodation and booking an appointment with the property manager. It is as easy as it looks.
Final sprint: conclusion
On the last day of our sprint, we showcased our prototype to the faculty and peers. Despite the project's time constraints, the final design was a noteworthy outcome. With more time, we'd incorporate extra enhancements, like adding a 'Discover' screen to list all properties.
This project taught us about both user and manager scheduling needs, broadening our design perspective to accommodate all stakeholders.
Key takeaways
BIGGEST CHALLENGE I FACED DURING THE PROJECT
Our primary challenge was the tight project deadline. Balancing this with three other end-of-semester projects added to the complexity.
HOW I ADDRESSED THE PROBLEM?
Instead of meeting online, we met in person to work together faster. We split tasks and organized them one after the other. As the team leader, I arranged meetings and made sure we finished everything on time.
WHAT DID I LEARN?
I found out that we can't always do every task very carefully when time is short. We must decide what's most important for the project.
It's also really useful to know what each team member is good at and where they might need help. This way, we can use everyone's strengths to our advantage.