Design a product that improves the experience of moving to a new city

The process of shifting to a different city is daunting. It becomes even more hectic when one has to shift to an entirely new city with no acquaintance to help her out. There are a lot of moving parts in the entire activity, which starts with searching for flats on different platforms like Facebook and various apartment booking websites, shortlisting a few, visiting each of the shortlisted places to determine if it is a good fit based on several parameters like the neighbourhood, amenities, rooms, easy and quick accessibility of important services like hospital, clinics, malls etc., and finally selecting one that she would be calling her “home” in the unknown city. Unfortunately, the process does not end here. Physically moving to the selected place with all that luggage and setting it up is a different ball game altogether. There are a few apps that are available in the market which try to streamline the shifting process up to a certain extent, however, it would be super helpful if there was a product that could take care of the entire end-to-end journey, including helping the user settle in. In this case study, I have attempted to answer a product design question wherein the interviewer has asked to design a product that would help the user move to a new city in a holistic manner. As always, I will be applying the CIRCLE approach to design this app.

A. Clarification:

i) Is this a mobile app or a web app?

Assumption: Currently the product will be launched as a mobile app due to the convenience and ease of use that come along with it

ii) Is there any specific location for which this app will be designed initially or will it be launched pan-India?

Assumption: Pan-India

iii) In addition to the app, will there be a website version too?

Assumption: A website version might be built in the future, but currently the main source of revenue is the mobile app

iv) Is this a new launch of an existing company, or is it a new company altogether?

Assumption: This is a new company, however for the sake of simplicity I will ignore any resource-wise constraint for the time being

v) What is the goal behind this product design?

Assumption: As I have considered the company launching this app is relatively new, the product goal during the initial days would be to acquire more users and get them to interact with the app. Once the acquired users start checking out the app, the next major goal is to activate these users by quickly guiding them to their “Aha” moment, where they see the real value of the product. Finally, ensuring that the active users stay engaged with the app so that they keep coming back and start using different features up and above the core functionality is the final objective for this product design, and also the source of its north star metric.

B. Identify the Target User segments of the app and prioritize based on goal:

i) Target User Segments of the App:

1. College students, who want to shift to a new city to pursue higher studies

2. Young professionals (white-collared) who have just started in their career and have to relocate to their base location

3. Senior professionals with families, who might want to move to a new city after getting a transfer or after switching jobs

4. Often families who have patients suffering from some long-term illness need to temporarily shift to new places that have state-of-the-art medical facilities and better doctors (than the ones who are available in their hometown) to avail better treatment

5. Senior Citizens who are empty nesters can also be a potential target segment, who might want to move to a new place post-retirement

ii) Which User Segment to select for this case study?

The first goal of this nascent company is to expand fast and establish a strong market share by acquiring as many customers as possible. Keeping this objective in mind, I believe that the first user segment, ie college students should be targeted since this is potentially a large customer base. Also, this segment usually networks a lot, and the probability that users of this segment will refer the service (provided they’ve had a good experience themselves) to their friends is also the highest. And word of mouth is always the fastest and cheapest way for new products to build credibility and gain more users.

C: Potential User Journey on the app:

1. The potential user- let us consider that her name is Neha and that she is going to start college soon- learns about the app either through word of mouth or via social media channels and decides to give it a try

2. She downloads and installs the app on her phone

3. She registers herself and sets up an account

4. After setting up her profile, Neha navigates through the app and learns about all the features that the product offers

5. She enters her date of travel and the city that she is travelling to

6. She checks all the services that she wants to avail of on the day of her travel, like cab service from the airport to her accommodation, assistance with finding a suitable place to stay etc. before proceeding with the booking

7. Based on all the services that Neha wishes to avail of, an estimated amount is shown to her within the app itself

8. If she is okay with the price, Neha goes ahead and confirms the booking, makes an advanced payment or decides to pay once the entire process of shifting is complete, and exits the app

D: Record current pain points:

A few of the most common challenges that people like Neha have to face while shifting to a new place are-

1. Information about the locality of the flat or the apartment where the user wishes to move into is usually not provided in booking apps. To get this data, one has to either personally visit the flat or has to ask the current residents of the place

2. Often, the photos/ videos of the rooms do not match with reality

3. In case someone is travelling with her family, accommodating the family members within the flat becomes very difficult (because the other rooms might be occupied by the other tenants). Usually, the family members either have to book a separate hotel and stay there, or they have to sleep uncomfortably in the hall couches

4. Carrying all the luggage from the airport to the destination is another hectic task

E: Prioritize the pain points:

I would prioritize the above user challenges by taking into consideration the following parameters:

1. Whether addressing the pain point would help the product achieve its goal

2. The amount of hindrance that it creates for the user during her entire shifting journey

3. The availability of alternatives which the user can avail to solve the problem by herself

4. Whether the company has enough resources to address a particularly challenging pain-point

Based on the above parameters, I think the mentioned pain points can be prioritized as 1, 4, 2 and 3

F: List of potential solutions that can be implemented within the MVP:

1. A “Pick me up from the airport” option can be built within the app. Neha can simply enter her flight number, and based on the flight’s status (whether it is on time or delayed), the cab can wait for her at the airport. The app should also have an in-built GPS which can be used in real-time both by the user and the cab driver (like in Ola/ Uber) to track each other’s location. Special care should be taken that the cab reaches Neha’s exact arrival gate before she has to go through the hassle of calling up the driver. And of course, some type of checkpoint such as an OTP verification should be in place before the ride starts.

2. In scenarios wherein the user searches for her accommodation within the app itself, she should have an option to choose the kind of neighbourhood that she wants to move into. Since Neha is a college student, she might want to have a quiet environment so that she can study in peace. By availing this option, Neha can avoid the uncomfortable process of connecting with strangers and learning about the locality (which of course she can do voluntarily if she wants to cross-check)

3. The app should have a feature that will allow Neha to book rooms for her family members who might be accompanying her. This can either be within the same building (in case there are fully-furnished, well-maintained empty rooms available), or this can be in a nearby hotel so that they can come to visit Neha and help her out any time that they want. This service will make the user journey much more streamlined since now Neha does not have to hunt for hotels at the last minute on some other hotel-booking platform.

4. An in-built itinerary planner: Shifting to a new city is much more than finding a place to stay and moving in the luggage. Besides going to college and working on her academics, now Neha also has to take care of household chores like buying groceries, giving clothes for laundry, taking out the garbage, cleaning the room and so on. The app can have an in-built planner or a scheduler using which she can plan out her entire day and also set reminders. Although this is more of a good to have feature, building this feature will ensure that the product can help the user in settling in her new life, besides just shifting. This is a feature that will demonstrate empathy.

5. A budgeting app to help her plan her finances well: Living all alone in a new city is intimidating not only because of the additional duties that come along with it, but also for the financial responsibilities. Neha now has to plan her entire month’s budget carefully, something that she might not have done while staying with her parents. A Budget Tracking feature can be built within the app, using which Neha can avoid overspending and can manage her finances well. This app can also send reminders regarding monthly rent payments, utility bill payments etc.

6. Help with furnishing the apartment: Another big task- irrespective of whether the apartment is already furnished or is half furnished- is decorating the room as per one’s preferences. The app can help Neha in this respect in the following ways:

i) In-Built AR technologies, using which the user can check if a particular couch or a table will look good/ fit into her room.

ii) Or maybe Neha can simply click a photo of her room and upload it within the app, and an AI-powered bot can suggest how the room should be decorated. Once she decides on a piece of furniture, the app can redirect her to the corresponding marketplace/ shopping page (Pepperfry or Amazon or the local furniture store) where she can place an order directly.

7. A ratings and reviews section like TripAdvisor: While browsing through the accommodation option, in addition to other basic details, there should also be a ratings and reviews section for each flat wherein the current or previous residents of a particular apartment can share their honest opinions. They should also be able to upload photos of the rooms. Since this is user-generated, it will eliminate the scepticism regarding whether or not the pictures that have been uploaded on the app match the real rooms. Data mentioning the frequency of cleaning and pest-control activities that are performed, and the availability of plumbers and electricians should also be available.

8. Details about commute and time to commute to her college: Since it is a new place, providing these details right on her app will make her life a tad easier.

9. Help to build a social life: Moving to a new city not only drains one physically, but it is mentally draining too. Not knowing anyone results in zero social life, which can adversely impact one’s productivity. The app can take care of this pain point by helping Neha connect with other people who might be in a similar situation as she is. There can be an “Online Community” section within the app, wherein Neha can talk to other new movers, who are either present in the same city or some other cities and learn about their experience. Additionally, the app can also connect to her WhatsApp or social media accounts (After taking her permission) and display all the friends who stay nearby, and with whom she might want to hang out during her off days or after college. These features will again allow the product to emotionally connect with the user, thereby gaining a loyal customer.

G: Prioritization of the solutions:

I will evaluate each of the above solutions based on effort vs impact analysis, following which I will decide whether the feature is a must-have, should have, could have or will not have (Using MoSCoW framework)-

Therefore, for the MVP, solutions 1,6,7 and 9 can be considered, whereas the “Should Haves” can be taken up in the next sprint followed by the “Could Haves” after analyzing their feasibility

H: Evaluate trade-offs:

ü Solution 9: Helping the users connect with other users- While this is an innovative feature, it has the potential risk (like every other social networking app) of exposing the user to possible creeps. Strict validations need to be in place for this feature to work successfully. Additionally, if the app wants to connect with her other social media accounts, care should be taken that the user’s data privacy is protected.

I: Product Success Metrics:

I will be tracking 1 north star metric and a few L1 metrics (Distributed across each stage of the customer’s journey on the app) to evaluate the performance of the product:

i) North Star Metric- Daily active users and Monthly active users

ii) Metrics for Acquisition- Number of app downloads and installs (Though this metric is often considered to be Vanity Metric and is not really useful in assessing a product’s true performance)

iii) Metrics for Activation- No of users who used the app to avail its core functionality to book accommodation for herself

iv) Metrics for Engagement- Number of users who have used other features of the app like the “Pick me up from the Airport”, the feature that helps the user to decorate and furnish her flat, the “Budget Planner” feature and so on

v) Metrics for Retention- Number of times the app has been opened and used to book an apartment

vi) Metrics for Revenue- Customer Acquisition Cost, Customer Lifetime Value, Monthly Recurring Revenue

vii) Metrics for Product Performance- App Load Time, App Crashes, App Latency