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Harmony

An app I designed from end-to-end that help those who share a living space with others have productive and positive conversations.

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Social App

Roles

Founder
UX & UI Designer
Founder
UX & UI Designer
Founder
UX & UI Designer

Category

Student Project
Student Project

Background

According to various real estate sources, living with someone, whether roommates, living in a multi-generational home (with family) or a partner, is on the rise in America amongst adults. One source says in particular that there is a 167% increase in roommates for homeowners from January 2021 to January 2024 ("167% increase homeowners taking in roommates", SpareRoom).

With real estate prices higher than ever, people are looking to cut down on costs by cohabitating with someone else and splitting up the rent prices. The question is, once people find their roommate(s), how will they share the space together? To further explore this question, I propose to create an end-to-end product that improves coliving experiences.

Background

According to various real estate sources, living with someone, whether roommates, living in a multi-generational home (with family) or a partner, is on the rise in America amongst adults. One source says in particular that there is a 167% increase in roommates for homeowners from January 2021 to January 2024 ("167% increase homeowners taking in roommates", SpareRoom).

With real estate prices higher than ever, people are looking to cut down on costs by cohabitating with someone else and splitting up the rent prices. The question is, once people find their roommate(s), how will they share the space together? To further explore this question, I propose to create an end-to-end product that improves coliving experiences.

Background

According to various real estate sources, living with someone, whether roommates, living in a multi-generational home (with family) or a partner, is on the rise in America amongst adults. One source says in particular that there is a 167% increase in roommates for homeowners from January 2021 to January 2024 ("167% increase homeowners taking in roommates", SpareRoom).

With real estate prices higher than ever, people are looking to cut down on costs by cohabitating with someone else and splitting up the rent prices. The question is, once people find their roommate(s), how will they share the space together? To further explore this question, I propose to create an end-to-end product that improves coliving experiences.

Process

Process

01

Research

• Pulse Check

• Competitive Analysis

• Interviews

02

Synthesis

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

03

Product Definition

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

04

Architecture

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

05

Prototype

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

01

Research

• Pulse Check

• Competitive Analysis

• Interviews

02

Synthesis

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

03

Product Definition

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

04

Architecture

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

05

Prototype

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

01 Research & Analysis

01 Research & Analysis

01 Research & Analysis

Pulse Check

I did a quick pulse check on my social media account to see what people thought were the hardest aspects of living with someone.


Takeaway:

  • The top two issues (tied) were living with someone with a different lifestyle and dividing up chores

Competitive Analysis

Competitors:

  • Paired: an app to help couples feel closer to each other and improve on the various aspects of a relationship

  • Listonic: collaborative, multi-user app for creating lists

  • Tody: an app to help split up chores with others and cleaning

  • Cozi: an app for family management

Takeaways:

Competitors:

  • Paired: an app to help couples feel closer to each other and improve on the various aspects of a relationship

  • Listonic: collaborative, multi-user app for creating lists

  • Tody: an app to help split up chores with others and cleaning

  • Cozi: an app for family management

Takeaways:

  • When it comes to apps for people who share a space, being able to share and have multiple users is vital (like their own eco-system)

  • Most of these apps focus on one aspect of co-living. There can be an opportunity to sort of bring more aspects together into one app (making lists, calendar/schedule, engaging activities to better improve relationships)

User Interviews

5 user interviewees

  • All interviewees answered "yes" to the screening question: have you lived with someone during the past 5 years (family, partner, roommates, etc.)?

Takeaways:

  • Willingness to communicate and compromise were everyone’s top traits for a good roommate

    • Communication should be honest, respectful and prompt

  • All interviewees had issues in the past with other roommates bringing people over and that had to be discussed (quiet hours, not hosting parties in the space…)

  • Only one interviewee considered themselves an “extrovert” or more “chatty” while the others considered themselves more “introverts” 

    • ⅗ interviewees would talk in-person when they want to bring up something whereas the other 2 interviewees opted for texting

5 user interviewees

  • All interviewees answered "yes" to the screening question: have you lived with someone during the past 5 years (family, partner, roommates, etc.)?

Takeaways:

  • Willingness to communicate and compromise were everyone’s top traits for a good roommate

  • All interviewees had issues in the past with other roommates bringing people over and that had to be discussed (quiet hours, not hosting parties in the space…)

  • Only one interviewee considered themselves an “extrovert” or more “chatty” while the others considered themselves more “introverts” 

    • ⅗ interviewees would talk in-person when they want to bring up something whereas the other 2 interviewees opted for texting

02 Synthesis

Affinity Mapping

Takeaways:


  • All 5 Interviewees

    • Eating helps break the ice/ facilitate a communal environment

    • Most important values of a good roommate:

      • willingness to compromise and improve

      • direct and prompt communication

      • Cleanliness

    • Everyone has their own responsibilities and is responsible for themselves

    • Finds discussing having people over and setting up quiet hours is an important discussion to create a harmonious living space

    • Important to respect privacy and their own room

    • Would like to be friends with roommates but is not totally necessary

  • 3-4 out of 5 Interviewees (majority)

    • Smoking indoors is a deal breaker (3 out of 5)
      Is an introvert (4 out of 5)
      Has experiences living with roommates (4 out of 5)

Competitors:

  • Paired: an app to help couples feel closer to each other and improve on the various aspects of a relationship

  • Listonic: collaborative, multi-user app for creating lists

  • Tody: an app to help split up chores with others and cleaning

  • Cozi: an app for family management

Takeaways:

  • When it comes to apps for people who share a space, being able to share and have multiple users is vital (like their own eco-system)

  • Most of these apps focus on one aspect of co-living. There can be an opportunity to sort of bring more aspects together into one app (making lists, calendar/schedule, engaging activities to better improve relationships)

Personas

Based on the interviews, I was able to break down the personas two two archetypes:

  • The Introvert/Ambivert:

    • Has difficulty speaking-up, especially in-person

    • Needs personal space and may not socialize too much

    • Less likely to bring large groups of people over to the space

    • Needs quiet hours

  • The Extrovert:

    • Communicates in a direct and respectful way, is comfortable talking in-person

    • Often likes to host get-togethers with friends

    • Will sometimes have her girlfriend over

    • Likes to have small talk when she gets home from work

    • Is often out due to work and social events

Based on the interviews, I was able to break down the personas two two archetypes:

03 Product Definition

Project Goals

Takeaways:

  • Positive co-living experiences

  • Good UX design that is effortless to use multiple times

  • Being able to have multiple users under one account

Problem Statements

  • Point of View (POV):

    • I wish to explore ways to help people who have different lifestyles, different relationships with one another and various lengths of stay (long term & short term lease, homeownership...) share a space together harmoniously.


  • How-Might-We's (HMW's):

    • How might we facilitate healthier conversations in regards to a shared space in a way that is productive and clearly communicated?

    • How might we help roommates divvy up responsibilities in regards to a shared spaced?

Feature Set


Takeaways:

  • I began with a thought web first. The driving question for this exercise was: what are some important things you should know about someone you share a space with?

  • From the thought web, I then generated three features:

    • A user profile, which your roommates can also view

    • A sort of Roommate Agreement where users can talk about how they would like to share and use the space

    • A shared calendar (this feature ended up being a nice-to-have feature, as it was not as high priority as the other two features)

04 Architecture

User & Task Flows

Takeaways:

  • There were 3 iterations of the flows. It took me a couple of tries to figure out how exactly I was going to map out the chats with Harmony, the chatbot/ mascot of the app. After making the low-fidelity wireframes, I was able to articulate the flow better for the User Flow

  • After some feedback from the first low-fidelity wireframe tests, I changed the Roommate Agreement feature to the Our Household feature. This was because the Roommate Agreement felt too rigid for a social app

Low-Fidelity Wireframes & Testing

Process:

  • Moderated testing over Zoom (same 5 interviewees)

    • Task 1: Sign-up and create your profile

      • Debrief

    • Task 2: Add your roommate

      • Task 2.1: Accept a roommate request

      • Debrief

    • Task 3: Get started on your living preferences in Our Household

      • Debrief


Results & Feedback:

05 Prototype

Usability Testing & Results

Process:

  • Unmoderated testing using Maze.co

    • Task 1: Sign-up and create your profile

      • Debrief (written answer)

    • Task 2: Add your roommate

      • Task 2.1: Accept a roommate request

      • Debrief (written answer)

    • Task 3: Get started on your living preferences in Our Household

      • Debrief (written answer)

High-Fidelity Wireframes & Prototype V1

Results & Feedback

Branding

Core Values

  • Cohabitation

  • Communication

  • Collaboration

Final Product

Next Steps

  • Prototype Shared Calendar feature

  • Daily question for each household, where all members can view each other's answers and get to know each other more

  • More for Our Household:

    • Customize household name

    • App-wide household competitions and rankings (how in sync are you and your roommates?)

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