Interviews & Survey
During the research phase of the project, I performed five interviews and a survey to better understand the user challenges and motivations.
Survey Insights
A total of 27 responses were received and the first two questions were used to separate the participants into two categories: homeowners and renters.
50%
of owners use apps/software for property management
75%
of owners have long term rentals
62%
of owners use online property advertisement
76%
of renters would very likely use an app for their rental
100%
of renters have long term rentals
100%
of renters found their home through online advertisement
Interview Insights
The five participants were interviewed to understand more deeply if the objective or the project was clear and what are the main features/goals user are looking for. Three of the participants are defined as an owner type of user and the other two as renters. Here are a few relevant quotes from the interview process.
I would say the biggest challenge is finding a good tenant.
Owner
The hardest part is finding the right place with no hidden issues.
Renter
The hardest part is to maintain the property in a good state.
Owner
The hardest part is finding the right place for your needs within your budget.
Renter
Affinity Mapping
Goals
Confirming types of users previously identified (owner & renter)
Identify general attitudes when looking for an app to manage and organize users’ property information
Identify existing issues / problems when managing residential properties
Identify main tasks to be performed by both type of users
Identify main needs described by potential users
Identify potential missing features in existing apps already in the market
Click to enlarge
Takeaways
Users that don’t currently use any software and find it hard to compile all legal docs and establish rent value
Hiring a property manager or an agency to manage owner’s property seems to not be their first option
Even if many options are available for online payments, most owner users do not use them
Having a written proof of communication is preferable in case of any legal issues
Finding a good tenant is one of the biggest challenges, it tells us that deeper screening or a different way of screening might be needed
Being able to match the needs of the renters with how much they can afford and the quality of life they are looking for is one of the hardest things
It has been identified as important the introduction of a way to track expenses and income to be able to compare and define profit
It seems that for renters a way of communicating with the surrounding community is important
User Personas & Journeys
With the information gathered through the interviews and the affinity mapping, I envisioned four user personas and one porto-persona to give direction to the design.They helped guide the project to prioritize the functionality of the project based on the audience.
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User Flows
After analyzing the user personas and journeys, I selected three tasks to be the main focus of the project. Two tasks for the owner type user and one task for the renter user. The owner user tasks were generated by a user in line with Raymond Martin and the renters for a user similar to Paula Mendoza.
Click to see user flows
Click to see user flow
Informing the design
Below are the takeaways from the research that informed the design decisions:
Keep owner app just "owner oriented" without property manager
Owner app to track expenses and income
Ability to do online advertisement of property
Ability to track property conditions over time
Allow for in-app payments
Ability to do tenant screenings directly through the app
Allow tenants to choose between short and long term rentals
Include community/neighborhood on tenant app
Be mindfull of UI assets to match the feeling of the app
Simple and intuitive is always best
