Project Overview
Problem Statement
People often face stress and uncertainty when planning a move to a new city. They struggle to gather reliable information about potential destinations and prioritize their packing efforts. This project aimed to alleviate these challenges by creating an app that assists users in the initial stages of the moving process. Over the course of 14 weeks, my team members and I played both the roles of UX researcher and designer to ultimately learn how we can simplify the moving experience.
People need help with the moving process.
Research Phase
In order to learn more about the problem space, our first step of the project was to create and send out a survey asking participants their thoughts on the most anxiety-inducing parts of the moving process. We know that moving can be stressful -- but in what ways? We also conducted a competitive analysis to explore what other design solutions exist in this problem space and address concerns that arise in the moving process. finally, interviews were conducted with participants recruited from the previously sent-out survey.
To narrow down the project focus, our team aimed to answer the following questions during our research phase to see how we could design something to support the needs of people who are moving:
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What are the main concerns of someone moving to a new city?
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How do people meet new friends in a new city?
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How do people find mentorship in a new city?
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How do people learn about public resources in a new city?
Competitive Analysis Findings
To familiarize ourselves with existing solutions in this problem space, we conducted a competitive analysis of the following platforms: Bumble BFF, NextDoor, ADPList, Patch, and Livability. ​​These are platforms that are typically accessed when someone has moved or is going to move. Our analysis revealed that many that these platforms were being challenged with poor user retention, limited scope, maintaining limited value due to user engagement, and challenges to building a community.
Survey Findings
Our team developed a survey using Qualtrics that received 30+ responses. The insights we analzsed using both quantitative methods of analysis are outlined below.
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Varying Comfortability with Moving
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50% of participants were comfortable and 50% were uncomfortable with the moving process, with those with more experience being more comfortable.
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Unaware of Public Resources
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A majority of participants (54.55%) were at least somewhat unaware of the public resources within their area, even though most of the participants were not concerned about learning more.
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Concerns Over Community
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​Participants were most concerned about finding a community over discovering public resources and building a professional network, with 75% of participants being fairly or very concerned.
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Interview Findings
After analyzing the results of the survey, we reached out to interview 7 survey participants to get a deeper understanding of their moving experiences. To evaluate our insights, we used affinity mapping to summarize our key findings and trends discovered.
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Assist with the General Moving Process
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Generally, people have negative feelings regarding the moving process. It's intimidating, scary, and often difficult. The moving process may take longer than anticipated because of packing, and the associated costs of moving can pose a barrier to one’s willingness and ability to move.
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“What did I like about the moving process? Nothing, to be honest”​ — Interviewee M7
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Learn about Public Transportation and Resources in a City
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Outdated information and not user-friendly websites make it difficult to find and trust information found online regarding public resources, leaving people with unanswered questions, and adding stress to the moving experience.
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​“Biggest issue was determining what information was most up to date…
Don’t know if the information is up to date or written 10 years ago.”
— Interviewee M3
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Facilitate Building a Community & Connections with New People
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Oftentimes, little or no people are known in the new city prior to moving. However, having a community appears to be less important than public resources and job satisfaction. Online resources based on commonalities provide the opportunity to meet similar people, but time and resources may hinder this.
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"It takes time to make this new city feel like home.” — Interviewee M6
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​Provide Guidance on Professionalism & Mentorship in a New Role
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As young professionals, starting a new full-time job for the first time can be intimidating. Having a mentor is valuable to provide guidance as someone navigates through their new role, especially in a new city.
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Affinity Wall
To evaluate our interview data and draw the conclusions mentioned above, we used the affinity wall mapping exercise to create varying levels of summarizing for similar quotes, insights, and opinions from all seven of our interviewees.
Research Takeaway
Based on our research, our team agreed to revise our problem statement from "People moving to a new area need help with getting settled in" to "People need help with the moving process." Below are our main takeaways from all three research methods.
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Mental and Physical Toll
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Packing takes longer than expected and has unforeseen costs and can require extensive planning and physical labor.
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Unreliable Information is an Added Stressor
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Outdated information, not user-friendly, lack of knowledge of available resources.
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First-Hand Experience and Word-of-Mouth Play a Major Role
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Reliance on other people for advice and answers, and visiting the location for yourself is the most helpful way to get your questions answered.
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Design & Prototype
Based on the research findings, the team proceeded to create a mid-fidelity prototype utilizing an existing design system, available on Figma. Given our tight deadlines and the thoroughness of our research phase, we felt comfortable skipping the creation of lo-fi wireframes. Each team member was assigned specific sections of the app to work on, including signup/sign-in, survey, city exploration, and the moving helper. The prototype underwent iterative improvements based on team feedback. Subsequently, a high-fidelity prototype was developed, incorporating a chosen style guide and adding interactions and final design elements.
User Flow Map
To ensure the team could effectively divide design tasks amongst one another, we created a user flow map that outlines the main interactions and screens our minimal viable product would include. Our design features thirteen primary actions, including processes for onboarding, exploring cities and neighborhoods, bookmarking your favorites and revisiting them, and general preferences. A major challenge of this project was determining the range of functionalities we could design for, given our limited time. This exercise allowed us to visually work through this, and and determine what our most concerning user needs were and how we will design for them.
Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
In order to maintain consistency across our wireframes, our team used a Microsoft-style inspired design system.
This accelerated our design process and allowed us to focus more on the functional aspects our platform would provide, rather than using valuable time on establishing our own guide.
High-Fidelity Wireframes
After several rounds of revisions from team feedback, our team moved forward with establishing a cohesive user interface design that addresses our primary user needs. Collectively, we agreed the look and feel of the app needed to be friendly, and adventurous, and promote the feelings of exploration and the possibility of a new beginning.
Key Features & Solutions
Introducing CityScout
Looking for a new place to call home? Let CityScout scout ahead for you! CityScout is a mobile application designed to help you find cities and neighborhoods to move to based on your needs and preferences. Take our CityMatch quiz to receive a curated list of cities, along with the valuable information you need to make a decision on your next move.
CityMatch Preference Quiz
If you don’t have a city in mind, you can take a quiz on your preferences and receive recommendations accordingly. This tool will allow a user to have a personalized app experience by receiving curated recommendations of cities and neighborhoods based on their needs. Taking the quiz is not a requirement, however, since some users already have a city or neighborhood in mind, so they have the option to skip the quiz and go directly to exploring!
Explore Cities and Neighborhoods
​Discover various cities and neighborhoods and use the filter to find the best option for you. Browse detailed descriptions and get the insider scoop about each area so you can decide where you want to live with greater ease. In addition, users can save time and only view cities that are relevant to them by applying filters such as political ideology, common careers, access to healthcare, etc.
Customize your Preferences
Update your preferences for what you’re looking for in a city to consider new options to call home. The app can accommodate changing needs, allowing users to receive new recommendations and curated lists based on what they value in a city and in their lives, and how those factors may evolve with time and experience. It also allows users to go back and edit their quiz answers,
or retake the quiz if they'd like.
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Moving Helper
Choose from a curated packing list and customize it to your needs or create your own. The Moving Helper allows you to add categories and alter others to your specifications.
While most users might prefer a recommended packing list, they are still given the option to make changes to their list or create a custom one. It also reminds users of their moving date, keeping track of the expected moving day so the user has everything packed on time.
Future Iterations
Extend Research
If our team had more time, we would have liked to explore more about the pre-moving process and gain more insight into how else we could support the needs of individuals who are starting their move or considering moving.
Expanded Functionality
As a team, we envision CityScout expanding its functionality to incorporate word-of-mouth insights. As uncovered in our surveys and interviews, reading about first-hand experiences offers practical insight and assistance on how to prepare for moving. adding a feature to share tips and tricks with one another would provide greater value to users.
Final Thoughts
This project ignited my passion for intuitive interfaces and reinforced the value of user-centric design. Collaborating with talented team members enriched the process by sharing diverse design and research expertise. Our collective efforts pushed the boundaries of our assumptions, resulting in a valuable and impactful solution. Despite a tight timeline, effective collaboration was crucial and allowed us to exceed expectations. Thorough research and user feedback challenged our assumptions, leading to meaningful design decisions. This experience emphasized the power of a user-centered approach in product success. Working with an exceptional team deepened my understanding of UX design and highlighted the importance of collaboration. I look forward to applying these lessons to future endeavors, creating more user-centric experiences.