Understanding the Problem

After the return to in person classes after covid, student housing has been a seller’s market, with students having little recourse to illegal or unethical management practices.

In a new report from Waterloo Undergraduate Students' Association:

• Only 15% of companies were reported to use the Ontario standard lease, as required by the provincial government
• 80% of students experience at least one major maintenance issue per term

In order to better understand the challenges that users were facing, additional context was collected through primary and secondary research.

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Research Methods

WUSA Student surveys

Recognizing that finding housing was a prevalent issue for students, WUSA, a student-run university organization, has created a survey to gather data and understand the issues students experience. 

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Existing Housing Feedback and Concerns

There are many existing forum threads, such as the ones found here or here, that have attempted to record housing feedback. However, most are inactive as the forum gives priority to more recent threads. I analyzed the structure and writing patterns to create a form to accommodate the reviews, as well as recording the most frequently mentioned topics.

The most frequently mentioned topics included:

• Maintenance
• Hygiene/Cleanliness
• Building quality
• Location
• Cockroaches

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Personas

From my research, I identified two types of personas that have a distinct set of circumstances and needs.

Persona 1: Amy, fall/winter term student

User Need: As a fall/winter term student, I need to ensure that building I am leasing is of a livable standard with basic amenities so that I can make my decision and secure housing as soon as possible.

Persona 2: John, summer term student

User Need: As a summer term student, I want to browse and compare housing options so that I can choose the best accommodation for me within my budget.

Research Insights

Some research insights include:

• Students take what they can get. If a students have issue with illegal clauses, “they would just move on to the line of people behind you who would sign the lease as is”. In more competitive fall or winter terms, posts offering to sublet rooms are “flooded with responses within minutes”. 
• ‍Location and cost are top priorities. Cost is self explanatory, but students place higher value in precise location than other demographics- the majority of students do not own vehicles and walk on foot to campus. 
• ‍Summer term is a different ballgame. The housing market in the summer term is far less competitive than fall or winter terms due to less students on campus. Students in the summer have far more options available and can be more selective.
• Students value each other's opinions. It's common for students to search online to find accounts on how living there is like, or try asking around their social circle.

Turning Insights into Design ideas:

• Support both users needing to explore options, or those with a location already in mind.
• In the filter, sorting, and listing page, highlight factors that users care about most.
• Allow students to share their experiences, and give their approval to reviews they agree with.
• Have metrics on the most important factors to students, so different buildings can be compared at a glance.
• Have filters on reviews and when browsing, so users can easily find information on topics they are concerned about.

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Competitive Analysis

Flows from many other products such as Airbnb, Etsy, and Google Maps were studied, with a focus on listing and review formats.

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Low Fidelity Prototypes

Next, I decided what user flows that I would be fleshing out, and the rough layout of the pages.

Solution

High Fidelity Prototypes

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Easily Search and Filter

Information on the cost of housing is front and center, as it is the #1 metric students consider when searching for housing. Location to campus is also exposed, for convenient sorting and comparison.

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Comparisons with map view

Again, this allows for convenient exploration and comparison of housing within a similar location. Students are usually familiar with the area near campus, and may find it more intuitive to navigate.

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Submission flow

Pricing information is collected here- this is invaluable as it exposes pricing inflation and collects historic data found nowhere else. Three primary metrics identified to allow quick, objective comparisons.

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