Case Study

Name(s): Santosh N Rao, Pratul Jena, Gautam Jain

Email id(s): rao.santosh@hotmail.com, pratul.jena@gmail.com, gjain1569@gmail.com

Submission Date: 16-Aug-21

Part 1: User Research

Question 1: Identify the target audience for the roommate/flatmate finding service. (Word
Target limit: 100 words)
Audience

People who are in search for flatmate(s)/roommate(s) and are

1. Between the age of 18 to 32 years
2. Living in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities of India,
Response 3. Early age professionals
4. College / University Students
5. Use Smartphones and Internet Connection.

Total Population – 1300 million

Tier 1 Tier 2 Population - 27% of the total = 351 million
Age Group of 18 to 32 - 30% of the Tier1 & Tier2 population = 105
million
Sample Size – 69 (Confidence level 90%, Margin of error 10%)

Question 2: Prepare an interview questionnaire (write down the questions here) suiting

Interview your objectives & hypothesis. (Word limit: 500 words)
Questionnaire

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 Objective: - Build an application/service to help users find a shared
accommodation and suitable roommate/ flatmate at ease as per his/her
preferences.

Hypothesis -

Primary – Working Professionals / Students between the age group of 18 - 32

away from home and are in need of rental homes but are also open to the idea
of sharing the house/apartment to save on cost.
Response
Secondary -
● There is enough shared accommodation facility available in the city.
● Shared accommodation will be cheaper.
● People would search for accomodation proximity to offices or colleges.
● There is a high demand for such shared accommodations.
● People would like to use amenities available in the property, e.g
Swimming pool, Parking and Club house.

Questionnaire
1. Would you be able to give a quick introduction about yourself, Age,
Marital Status and the city you live in?
2. In what profession are you currently in or are pursuing your studies?
3. What is your mode of accommodation?
4. How did you find your current accommodation?
5. What are the challenges you faced in finding your accommodation?
6. What criteria (Amenities, Budget, Proximity) do you have in mind to
find a suitable room?
7. Would you mind sharing your income range?
a. Between 3 Lakhs – 5 Lakhs
b. Between 5 Lakhs – 10 Lakhs
c. Above 10 Lakhs.
8. Would you prefer sharing your accommodations?
9. What may be the constraints on sharing a room/flat?
10. How did you get your current roommate/flatmate?
11. What are your preferences you look for to find a room / flat mate?
12. What do you like in the process of finding a shared accommodation &
roommate?
13. How do you spend your free time?
14. Which devices do you use?
15. What are the 5 apps that you use the most?

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Question 3: Analyse the data you gathered from interviews. Draw insights out of the
Insights from collected data. You can segregate your insights based on the objectives of
User Research conducting user research: users pain points, motivations, personality, goals,
demographics.  (Word Limit: 600 Words)

Analysis:

Our primary hypothesis has been validated during the course of our research
Response through interviews. It was found that working professionals/students between
the age group of 18-32 years preferred staying in shared accommodation with
the topmost reason being to reduce the cost of living.

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On asking about the User Pain points on the shared accommodation, people
hardly complains about the availability of shared accommodation in the Tier 1
and Tier 2 cities, which proves our #1 of Secondary hypothesis.

Refer to the Bar Graph below showing the numbers about it.

Other Pain Points which people highlighted are :

1. Landlord Interference in the property and some hard restrictions

imposed on the tenants.
2. Proximity Issues - People love to stay closer to their workplaces/colleges
to reduce travelling time.
3. Tenants are unpredictable about the lifestyle, nature of the roommate
and hence, don’t want to take the chance of shared space.

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Majority of the people (~40%) are currently staying in shared accommodation
and approx ~40% are open to the idea of sharing their living space.
Hence it validates the #4 of the secondary hypothesis which states the high
demand of sharing accommodation.

Following chart clearly states that the majority of people willing to choose the
shared accommodation proximity to their workplaces/Universities/Colleges.

Moreover, Tenants also prefer to have amenities in place.

Hence it validates the #3 and #5 of Secondary hypothesis.

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Another Points which comes during the interviews which might favour our
idea of developing platform for shared accommodation are -

1. People prefer to search Online on App/website about the

accommodation.

2. People are open to both Android and iOS operating systems. The need
of the hour is to develop the App supported on both OS.

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 3. People don’t want to spend much on shared accommodation. The
primary reason for users to switch to shared space is to reduce the
financial stress.

Part 2: Product Artifacts

Question 4: Create a persona from the user research data. Use the template given below.

Response:
NAME:    Amber Kapoor  

AGE: 28 MOTIVATIONS PERSONALITY

LOCATION: Delhi-NCR ● Reduce the financial stress ● Fun Loving
OCCUPATION: ● Great Company of a ● Extrovert
Software Engineer roommate to avoid Boredom
● Supportive and caring
MARITAL STATUS: ● Accommodation as per
wish list. ● Needs Value for Money
Single

INCOME: 5 Lakhs to 10
Lakhs

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  GOALS
● Would like to find a
comfortable accommodation
suiting lifestyle
● Find a suitable flat / room
mate
● Make new and connections
● Would like to reduce the
financial burden by sharing
living space.
TECHNOLOGY
● Primarily Mobile User.
● Open to both iOS and Android
● Active on WhatsApp and
Facebook Social Apps
● Prefer to Shop online and use
digital mode of payments
Other Apps – Money Control,
YouTube.

  PAIN POINTS  
● Interference of Landlords
● Difficult to predict
compatibility with potential
roommate
● Lack of Connectivity to
marketplace.
● Actual Description different
than described online
● Search results are inaccurate
and irrelevant.

  BIO BRANDS
Amber is a single working Apple phone, Xiaomi phone, and a
software professional staying in personal Dell laptop.
Delhi-NCR for his job. He is
looking to share his living space
with known and trusted friends
and feels uncomfortable to stay
with strangers. He loves to
explore new places over the
weekend and attend social
gatherings with his friends.

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QUOTE: “I would like to    
share my room with
such people whose
interests, lifestyle
matches with me”

Questions 5: Create a user journey map for the given user goals:

        (a) Find a shared accommodation space that satisfies my logistical constraints

● Proximity to Workplace, Recreation, Utilities

● Amenities e.g. Gym, Swimming Pool, Parking

● Support ecosystem e.g. Cook/Maid, furniture, laundry etc.

● Cost

(b) Find roommates with whom I share preferences in terms of:

● Food habit

● Timings

● Visitors

Use the templates given below.

Response:

User Journey Map 1

User Goal (a) Find a shared accommodation space that satisfies my logistical
constraints

● Proximity to Workplace, Recreation, Utilities

● Amenities e.g. Gym, Swimming Pool, Parking

● Support ecosystem e.g. Cook/Maid, furniture, laundry etc

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 ● Cost

User Expectations ● To search for an accommodation in a locality which has basic

amenities like Gym, Parking space, Clubhouse to support
lifestyle.
● To find a fully furnished room near the office space, market
place and cook in place.
● To find the best place in the expected budget.

Process ● Search accommodation through multiple channels considering the

preferences.
● Visit the shortlisted accommodation to explore the facilities
provided, amenities availability, cleanliness of rooms and costs
involved.
● Finalise the room which matches my expectations and deposit the
token money to book the slot.
● Occupy house and enquire and engage the support ecosystem e.g.
Maid, Cook, Laundry
● Pay monthly rent.

Experience Good Experience

● Found the accommodation quickly
● Reduced travel time to work location by finding accommodation in
proximity
● Reduced expenses on basic amenities e.g Crockery, Kitchen
appliances & Home appliances.

Experience which could have been better

● Inaccurate Information provided on the websites.
● Mismatch between the Information provided and reality w.r.t to
amenities provided or specification.
● Difficulty in finding accommodation within the budget and
preferences
● Time taking process in coordination and scheduling visits on the
availability of tenants and owners.

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Touchpoints ● Friends/Colleagues
● Flat & Flatmates Group on Social Apps
● Local Brokers of Nearby Places
● Online Searching on Various Websites like OLX, 99 acres, Google
● Advertisements

Pain-points ● Budget Issue, High deposit money.

● Incorrect Information listed on the Ads and websites.
● Non-availability of Market place, laundry services nearby.
● Accuracy of inventory on available accommodation.

Ideas Build an application to give the users the benefit of goals considering the
below
● Central Repository for the available accommodations verified by
Owner and with actual pictures listed.
● Filtering of properties based on furnished type, budget, Diet, locality,
amenities etc.
● Proper information of Owner with contact info and Maps location.
● Facility to schedule Visit to property from the App/website itself.
● Notifications on new properties listing and showing only vacant
spaces.

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 User Journey Map 2

User Goal (b) Find roommates with whom I share preferences in terms of:
● Food habit

● Timings

● Visitors

User Expectations ● Food preferences matches with the roommate

● Working Schedule of the roommate/flatmate should align with
my schedule.
● Room/flatmate should have no objection to friends visiting my
room.

Process ● Post on different channels like Digital platform, friends and

advertisements about the searching of roommate with all
required criterions.
● Talk to the room seekers, fix appointments and have F2F
conversation.
● Discuss about the agreement, rent, security deposit,
maintenance and any other additional costs.
● Finalise the roommate and close the agreement.
● Manage the daily needs like cooking, shopping, sharing the
expenses.

Experience Positive Experience

● Finding a roommate is much easier because of digital platforms

● Plenty of Options to choose a suitable roommate.
● We can find the flat/room mate matching our preferences, and
hence less conflict.
● Common expenses are shared and hence, saves money.

Negative Experience

● Difference in behaviour during the initial conversation and after

occupancy.
● Irrelevant calls for enquiry of rooms.

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Touchpoints ● Friends/Colleagues
● Flat & Flatmates Group on Social Apps
● Online Searching on Various Websites like Magicbricks, 99 acres,
Nestaway etc
● Advertisements

Pain-points ● Difference in choice of products leading to increased monthly

budgets
● Difference in behaviour post occupancy
● Inadequate information provided in the adds or posts

Ideas Build an application to give the users the benefit of goals considering -
● Central Repository of verified room / flat seekers with details of the
tenant and his/her preferences.
● High Definition photos of the property.
● Facility to schedule Visit to property from the App/website itself.
● Facility to schedule face to face meetings or web based video calls
with the prospect room / flat mate.
● Notifications on availability of vacant shared rooms / flats based on
preferences of the user.

● Facility for a detailed filter on the profile of the room / flat seeker or
lender.

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