Timeline
11 Weeks
My Role
Product Manager
UX/UI Designer
User Researcher
Data Analyst
Team
Hanh Binh Nguyen
Daliana Solis Solis
Aaron Luevano
Letsy Cahue-Flores
Disciplines
UX Design
User Research
User Testing
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Prototyping
Tools
Figma
Google Sheets
Google Forms
Miro
My Role
As the team leader and project manager, I analyzed project requirements, organized group meetings, delegated tasks, and wrote documentation. Additionally, I conducted a comparative analysis, sketched user interface pages, and directed usability testing.
The Problem
UC Irvine's Housing Crisis: Addressing Student Housing Stress
A University of California study found that food and housing insecurity significantly impacts a student's academic achievement and mental well-being.
In Fall 2021, the University of California, Irvine (UCI) faced a housing availability challenge that left students to find off-campus housing solutions weeks before instructions began.
In the weeks leading to the start of the school year, our university platforms were flooded with UCI students posting questions about their housing application, payments, waitlist status, move-in date information, and more.
Proposed Solution
Enhancing UC Irvine Housing with a Centralized App Solution
Objective
Mobile application serving as a central hub for UCI Students and American Campus Community on-campus Apartments, easing housing-related stress for students.
Features
Access current housing information
Pay rent
Enter maintenance orders
Report issues
Communicate with housing office
Design Question
How can we improve communication efficiency between UCI on-campus student residents and their on-campus housing communities?
Research Questions
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What factors do UCI students take into consideration when looking for on-campus housing?
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What are UCI students’ experiences with their housing community?
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How does housing impact the mental health of students?
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How do UCI students become informed about their housing community?
UX Research
Surveying UCI Students About Their Housing Challenges
To obtain a better understanding of the on-campus housing challenges UCI students faced, the team decided to create a survey. This approach was chosen due to time constraints and to collect more data.
Methods: An online survey via Google Forms.
Data Collection Procedures: The team distributed the survey across UCI's forum, and approached students on campus to participate. Data was analyzed via Google Sheets and Miro.
Questions Asked:
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Stress levels and feelings when applying for housing
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Experience communicating with their housing community
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How they discover housing community events and news
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Barriers to accessing housing information (if any)
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Housing issues encountered (if any)
Data Analysis
Key Insights: More Than Half of Residents Experience High Stress Around Housing Issues
The team analyzed data from all 21 survey respondents.
We found that a significant number of UCI students experience high stress during the housing application process. Common stressors include a lack of housing information, the absence of a centralized information hub, and conflicting information.
Application Stress
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58% - experienced high-to-extremely high levels of stress when applying to housing
Common Issues
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Roommates
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Lease
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Maintenance concerns
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Lack of information
Information Challenge
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66% - Lack of housing information
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52% - No one location of information
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19% - Conflicting information
Unknown Information
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Move-in information
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Roommates, unit plan, email
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Community amenities
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Event information
Competitive Analysis
UCI's Lack of Centralized Housing Information Hub
Due to high stress and inadequate housing information, we analyzed competitors to understand how others manage housing details. We then translated our insights into sketches.
Objective
Conduct a comparative analysis of housing platforms, both direct and indirect competitors, to see their features.
Key Findings
Unlike other UC schools, UCI utilizes multiple websites and applications to pay rent, request maintenance orders, housing information, and find roommates.
Sketches
Designing a UCI Housing Management: Final Sketches
Based on our data and competitive analysis, the team thought about the idea of enhancing the current housing portal into a mobile application and adding new features to create a centralized information hub.
I assigned each team member to study competitor designs and similar applications for references when creating their sketches. We identified common patterns to shape the final sketches shown below.
Work Order Submission
Survey participants had issues with roommates or maintenance. The team thought about a page where users can make these reports to their housing community. Users can place a maintenance or report order, and access their current and previous order history. When clicking on an order, a copy will be displayed.
Housing Management Features
Participants had issues with finding information about their own community. We decided to integrate the current housing portal features to create a central hub. Users can apply for housing, check their waitlist status, and view their application. They can review their lease contract and make rent payments, similar to the current housing portal.
Community Information Section
Participants stated they had issues with finding current and relevant information about the communities. The team made a sketch integrating the current housing websites into the app, with a FAQ section. Users can find current information regarding the community's floor plans, amenities, events, and contact information. They have the option to live chat with the housing office for questions.
Notification System
Residents, oftentimes, had no knowledge of Wi-Fi or electricity and relied on word of mouth for information. To address the issue, we designed a notification page where all housing emails can be found. Users can access their community events, receive package reminders, and check for order/rent confirmation messages. This allows residents to be notified of current events.
Wireframes
Creating Wireframes from Our Final Sketches
We used the final sketches as a reference when creating our wireframes. After conducting a task analysis, we used feedback from the users to make changes to our design.
Usability Testing
Design Changed Based on Task Analysis Data and Feedback
The team conducted 3 online, moderated usability tests with randomly selected UCI students residing on campus. The purpose of the usability test was to gather feedback on the design and the overall project goal. We added the feedback to the final design iteration of low-fidelity mockups.
Three tasks were observed during the tests:
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Submitting a work order and verifying its submission
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Paying rent and verifying its submission
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Viewing a specific floor plan to discover its price
These changes included:
Removing the Hamburger Bar
3 of 3 participants did not know they could find more information by clicking the hamburger icon.
Rephrasing Confirmation Messages
2 of 3 participants were unsure of where to locate a submission confirmation. We thought about adding the location within the confirmation messages.
Adjusting Information Placement
By removing the hamburger icon, we had to move the housing information sections on the main page. This would allow users to access the information more quickly.
Enhancing the Notification Alert
2 of 3 participants did not notice the red dot indicating they had a new message after submitting a form.
Before
After
Change: Expanded the buttons to fill the page and separated each option by placing them vertically.
Before
After
Change: Removed the hamburger icon. We added the sections on the main community information page and made the live chat icon smaller.
Change: Added the location where confirmation messages are located.
Some comments made by UCI students regarding ZotHills
I would use it. It's pretty easy to use. The layout is simple and you can get to places easily
I wish UCI had this for ACC (American Campus Communities)
This is a really good idea! You guys should take this to the entrepreneur center
Prototype
High-Fidelity Wirefram After Usability Testing
We incorporated user feedback into the final iterations of our low-fidelity mockups, as seen here.
Conclusion
ZotHills: A Solution to UCI's Housing Challenges
In response to UCI's housing challenges, our team developed ZotHills, a centralized housing information app. The app addresses the stress UCI students face during housing applications by providing features such as work order submission, housing management, community information, and a notification system.
Through surveys and usability testing, we identified key stressors, refined our design, and received feedback on the app's usability. ZotHills aims to simplify the housing process and enhance communication between UCI on-campus residents and their housing communities.
Limitations and Challenges
Time Constraints and Small Sample Size
Time
Time constraints prevented the team from conducting a second round of usability testing and transforming the wireframes into high-fidelity mockups.
Data
The team collected data from only 20 UCI on-campus students which is a limited sample size. Obtaining data from 50 or more UCI on-campus students would have provided a more in-depth understanding of their housing concerns and needs.
Reflection
What I Learned: Effective Questions, Moderating, Incorporating User Feedback
Creating Effective Questions
I learned to structure questions to maximize the information collected from participants. This involves avoiding close-ended questions, asking 2-4 open-ended questions, and integrating questions into a survey to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data.
Becoming a Usability Test Moderator
A new role I took on was a usability testing moderator. This required me to closely observe users as they completed tasks, documenting their steps and challenges, and coming up with questions to understand their actions. This helped me understand the importance of user feedback in the early design iterations to refine designs.
Figma and User-Centric Design
Actively seeking user feedback and integrating their recommendations has helped me understand the importance of creating a user-centered design. Not only does this enhance the overall user experience, but also ensures the final product aligns with their needs. This method helps the team determine whether we are on the right track in addressing the problem and building a useful solution.