MoveMate
MoveMate is a website that simplifies the process of moving to a new house or apartment. It provides an all-in-one solution for all moving-related services, allowing users to book everything digitally. Users can find and book moving companies, schedule movers, and even rent moving trucks, all from within the app. MoveMate also creates a task list to help users stay organized.
With MoveMate, users can manage the stress and overwhelming nature of moving to a new home by streamlining the process. The app helps users save time and reduce anxiety by providing them with a tool that simplifies the process.
2023
Skills:
User Experience, UI Design, User Research, Competitive Analysis, User Testing, Branding
Partner:
DesignLab
The Challenge
The process of moving to a new house or apartment can be stressful and overwhelming. There are numerous tasks to complete, including packing, finding a moving company, and updating your address with various services. With so much to do, it can be challenging to keep track of everything and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.
Project goals:
Learning the most stressful parts of the process
Understand the priorities of people moving (movers vs DIY)
Learning from previous experiences what people could have done differently
Learning the supplies frequently bought and other overlooked items.
Research
Core User
Colin D. - The Recent Grad
Colin just graduated from college and is looking to move out of his family home for the first time. He considers himself fairly tech-savvy and prefers being able to book everything from his phone, rather than making too many calls for everything.
Goals
Making sure he’s not missing anything while moving to his new place
Have a checklist of things he needs to do to move
Figure out what supplies he needs and what his “essentials” will be
Challenges
Every site he tries requires making multiple calls or is confusing to use
He’s unsure of what he needs to have ready before moving (such as services)
Easily gets overwhelmed with all the new information
Needs
Colin is ready to go out and live by himself, his recent work raise is allowing him to do so
He wants to make sure he doesn’t go over budget
He wants moving day to go as easily as possible
Methodologies and Insights
Secondary Research
Secondary Research was executed in order to understand users’ current moving habits and the larger picture of what’s happening in the industry. These are some of the key facts:
“The main reason people move is for work (37.5%), followed by moving to be closer to their families (32%) and for retirement (20%).”
“59.7% of people moving are doing it within the same county, and only 17.3% of all people moving are leaving their states.”
“37.5% of movers move by themselves but rent a moving truck, while 22.7% hire moving professionals to assist.”
User Interviews
To gain deeper insights into the habits of people moving, the services they hire, and their pain points, 6 people with different recent experiences, ages 23-52, were interviewed. These are the key insights learned from them:
They had different budgets for their moves, but had common expenses such as supplies and help for load/unloading.
They all used different tools to stay organized.
The moves varied in distance, from under 5 miles to a cross-country move over 2,500 miles.
Affinity Mapping and Sitemap
Through affinity mapping, the following can be concluded:
People moving for work seem to experience the least amount of stress but still need a way to stay organized for reimbursement.
The people who described the process as very stressful did not use a proper way to stay organized during their move.
Most participants bought their moving supplies from local stores, often guesstimating what they needed
The most common unforeseen events throughout their moves include struggling with time constraints and issues with previous or new properties.
Affinity map based on user interviews
Sitemap
Wireframing and User Testing
Features and User Flows
The insights from the secondary research, interviews, and mapping allowed for the key functions of the project to be identified. The following flows were determined to be the best route for testing:
Create an account
Estimate required supplies
Key Features
Needs Survey
To-Do List
At-A-Glance View
Pro Finder
Supply Calculator
“Nice to Have” Features
Notifications
Detailed Tasks
Storage Management System
Supply Shop
Visual Design
Branding sketches
Low Fidelity Wireframe
Branding Guide
Mid Fidelity Wireframe
High Fidelity Wireframe
UI Elements
Prototype and Solution
Test users generally liked the cleanliness of the layouts and found the sign-up process very simple and quick to navigate. They also mentioned that they didn’t find the sign-up questionnaire too invasive. All 3 users were able to complete both flows and reported good outcomes from both of them.
The main opportunities found from testing feedback were:
Item descriptions were expanded for clarity.
Some UI elements and imagery were made more prominent.
Some items on selections were renamed to better reflect the featured service.
Before user testing
After implementing feedback
Create an account
Estimate required supplies
Reflection
Moving is generally described as stressful and overwhelming. Users look for ways to efficiently manage their moves regardless of the budget at hand.
What test users appreciated about MoveMate is that it creates a task list to help them stay organized throughout the moving process, from packing to unpacking. By booking services, creating a task list, and setting reminders, customers can ensure that everything is taken care of on time. MoveMate could help users manage the stress and overwhelming nature of moving to a new home by providing a tool that simplifies the process.
Removing the stress from a complicated and overwhelming process like moving isn’t easy, but basic organization can make a big difference for users. They seek solutions that assist and manage the process without overly complicating it.
