Enhancing roommate selection through gamified engagement through the Roomies Quest.
Finding the right roommate is essential for a student's well-being but often overlooked. To improve this process, I designed Roomies Quest, a gamified solution that makes finding a roommate fun and engaging. Through interactive elements, residents can better understand potential roommates, leading to more thoughtful and informed interview choices, ensuring a more enjoyable and beneficial experience for everyone involved.
UX/UI
6/30/2022
Client : Autonomous Target : Current residents & Potential roommates Duration : 3 Months
For this project, I addressed the challenge of finding the right roommate, a choice affecting both current residents and potential roommates. Currently, residents get a list of 2 to 200 potential roommates, making selection difficult. I aimed to create a solution to streamline this process.
The challenge
Roommate selection often relies on gut feelings and first impressions. While social media offers initial personality insights, it can be superficial. Interviews are influenced by social media and may miss critical negative signs. Concerns include intrusive social media scrutiny and disadvantages for those without a social media presence. Lifestyle compatibility is key, with many preferring roommates who share similar traits and preferences.
The goal
The goal is to improve roommate selection by ensuring perceptions are based on facts, not assumptions. Communication between residents and potential roommates should be transparent, preventing adjustments to fit residents' expectations. Quick-to-implement solutions should provide insights into both parties' personalities, aiding informed decisions based on characteristics.
Design Guidelines
Fact-Based Perception
Ensure that the profile presented to the resident is based on verifiable facts rather than assumptions.
Personality Sketching
Provide sufficient information about potential roommates to create a clear personality profile during the application filtering process.
Unbiased Communication
Facilitate communication that is free from online influence and assumptions.
Revealing Lifestyles
Design mechanisms to reveal the lifestyles of both potential roommates and landlords.
Drawing from thorough research, I identified four key themes: filter, communication, lifestyle, and assumptions. These themes underpin my approach to design guidelines, allowing me to prioritize clear communication, meaningful results, aligned goals, and effective interaction. These guidelines will serve as the steadfast foundation of the project, ensuring that every step forward is rooted in these essential principles.
Introducing Roomies Quest
Roomies Quest is an engaging game designed for assessing potential roommates in a group setting, revealing their character through situational reactions. This approach streamlines the process of reviewing numerous applications for a roommate ad, ensuring you can filter candidates effectively. By evaluating their responses in a dynamic and enjoyable manner, Roomies Quest empowers you to make informed decisions and invite the most suitable candidates to your selection events based on their demonstrated qualities rather than assumptions alone.
"Through Roomies Quest, we will all have the opportunity to have our say, without prejudices."
- Potential Roommate
"You will quickly learn the characteristics of potential roommates, making the filtering process quicker."
- Current resident
The Effect
Through prototype testing with our target audience, I observed and identified the following impactful effects of the product.
Deployment Post-Response Collection
Implemented after collecting responses, Roomies Quest swiftly reveals the potential roommate's personality, aiding landlords in making informed decisions on whom to invite.
Realistic Assessment
Roomies Quest assesses potential roommates based on their provided answers, offering a realistic picture of their personality, substantiated and stored in the app for future reference.
Anonymity Maintained
During the response filtering phase, potential roommates remain unaware of the landlord's identity and preferences until the game concludes. This approach ensures fairness and prevents applicants from tailoring their responses.
Let's grab a coffee and chat!
If you see potential for collaboration, have questions about my work, or just want to chat, I’d love to hear from you. I'm always open to discussing new ideas and exploring creative opportunities. Don’t hesitate to reach out—let’s see how we can work together. I look forward to connecting!
