CLIENT
Dwella
MY ROLE
UX Designer & Researcher
DURATION
9 months
Discovery
Dwella is establishing its home rental services and wanted our assistance to launch and cultivate its brand's omnichannel experience. The decision was pre-defined to go in the direction of a mobile app and responsive website as their primary customer-facing channel. An application would allow the customer to control and interact with the whole Dwella ecosystem, all from the customer’s smartphone.
Dwella App Available Now
Project Goals
Become an established brand in the residential renting market
Create a loyal customer base
Use technology to complement the in-store experience
Establish trust and credibility through excellent service
Differentiate from competitors through innovation
Research Methods
Customer interviews
Market research analysis
Prototype testing
Customer journey
Persona
Information Architecture
Without an established presence yet, we weren't able to recruit existing Dwella customers, so reached out to 25 residential rental shoppers to gain insights into their needs, motivations, and frustrations to help shape the app solution.
Competition
Competitors Zillow and Airbnb benefit from the power of network effects. By developing the most popular means of searching for real estate, they attract buyers and sellers in a virtuous cycle. It has cemented an incredibly strong position with a near-impenetrable moat from the competition. This is Zillow and Airbnb’s key strength.
Persona: Kelvin Roberts
GOALS
Find a rental home in North Carolina.
View accurate high-quality photos.
Bigger buttons and improved placement of icons.
FRUSTRATIONS
Too many websites have low-quality photos and too many ads.
Discouraged by buttons on the layout.
Age: 42 Education: Doctorate Hometown: Compton, CA Family: Married, four kids. Occupation: Physician
Problem Statement: Kelvin is a busy practicing physician from Oakland, CA. He is married with four kids. He wants to purchase a rental home in North Carolina and spends his lunchtime browsing his phone for homes but is frustrated with the icons, misleading information, and low-quality photos.
Key focus areas
What are the challenges or barriers with app use and adoption?
What’s important for a great app experience?
What are residential home renter needs and unmet needs, both online and off?
How are customers interacting with their smartphones at work, with family?
Lo-fi prototype feedback.
Core customer needs
Finding the right home for me
Personalization is an important feature for users with specific styles and amenities.
By verifying your profile, you are eliminating the worries of potential scams. They know that you are a real person and they have someone to address if any problems arise with their information. Verifying your ID helps build trust with prospective agents.
I need assistance
It needs to be easy for users to find and access information they may not be able to see in person.
It better be worth the space
Customers are protective of their storage space and regularly cull apps they don’t use often.
Product is key
Whether exploring most viewed rentals or looking for something specific, inventory browsing is the key goal of any shopping experience, and as such it must be well-thought-out and intuitive to use.
Customer Journey
The data below represent the number of users.
Task List
Feel Adjective
Wireframe
The data from graphs and insights proved how important photo placement, quality, and profile security are to the user which can be found in the illustrations below.
HI-FI Mockup
Hi-res photos, clean and easy-flow inventory browsing. Contact property owners direct.
Original style guide using Adobe XD
Update
There was an update in the brands’ style guide. Based on research home renters, owners, and sellers respond better to hues of blue which can conjure up a range of emotions. Light hues create a feel of tranquility. “Spa blues are reminiscent of the ocean and water in general, which are both relaxing and peaceful.”
- By Angela Colley
Mar 9, 2015 REALTOR.COM
Thank You.
Learnings
With the pressure of a frugal budget and deadlines, it was difficult to redirect the client’s focus from the next feature and onto the customer. We were able to get regular updates from customer support and analytics but weren’t able to gather important qualitative feedback. This made it difficult to help our client make evidence-based decisions with ongoing features. This isn't an uncommon issue and wasn't solved by simply raising these issues in meetings. Running small workshops to discuss the feature desirability of customers could have been an effective way to expose important unknowns and encourage directional research.