FRAMING
TO create a service for property investors/managers to accept and review applicants with fewer steps, and FOR tenants to apply for an apartment more easily and affordably.
https://www.loom.com/share/9e83c303e0f34553a132002bedf38305?sid=cc34b805-e3d3-4abf-8f9c-0a2e30de4b92
GOALS
- Problem - We needed to understand the current application process for both landlords selecting tenants and tenants applying for apartments. We needed to integrate the application process into an existing application framework and which utilized a 3rd party background checking service.
- Whom to speak with - Working with the client we decided to speak with seasoned Freelancers with 7+ years experience whose sole income was from Freelancing, AND the businesses that directly relied on the Freelancer services as part of their business.
- Landlords who’ve found new tenants within last 60 days
- Tenants who’ve applied for apartment in last year.
- Data gathering:
- We recruited and scheduled audio interviews and transcripts initially to analyze and frame the goals
- We concept and re-interviewed Landlords with a functioning prototype. We made adjustments throughout the research process.
DISCOVERY
This the tenant journey map (above) created from interviews with tenants and their recent experiences (last 12 months) applying for apartments.
From the interviews and gaps in our understanding of the application process we defined some key goals we tried to focus on areas that would have a bigger impact on workflow.
We uncovered some enlightening challenges for both types of customers.
- For Tenants the challenge, more often than not, was having to pay for multiple application for each apartment.
- For landlords/managers they would have to go through many steps to review and approve each applicant and self-select from their own screening criteria.
