MateMingle
Match, connect, and thrive on an algorithm-based student roommate-matching app


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Team Members:
Regina Wang 
Amber Zhou
Runqi Yang 
Stephanie Chen 
Si Ran Pang

Tools:
Figma, Google Form
My Role: 
Team Lead, Researcher, 
Designer
 
Duration: 
Oct - Dec 2023


Context
The post-Covid era has made housing costs notably high and unaffordable for students. Housing prices in Toronto have surged by 16% compared to the previous year, and the city has witnessed the second-highest annual rent growth at 22.8%.

MateMingle, assists Canadian students with this financial challenge by matching them 
with compatible roommates through secure and trustworthy steps.

This project was completed as part of the Fundamentals of User Experience class at UofT
Problem

1. Limited personality compatibility in current roommate matching apps
Simplistic algorithms and inadequate personality assessments fail to capture the full complexity of individual traits.

2. Roommate searching is too time-consuming 
Each Facebook Housing Group in Toronto boasts a membership of at least 1k
individuals with multiple daily posts, making searching inefficient

3. Lack of student authentication in existing roommate matching apps in Canada
Existing roommate matching apps are not securely designed for students 
How do we create the most secure and compatible roommate-finding app for students? 
Research 

Through primary and secondary research, I gained an initial understanding of the student housing challenges in Canada and the student's roommate preferences.
Determining 
the User 

In our first recruitment screener, we asked 2 screener questions to 60 participants
47/60 participants met our inclusive criteria. 37 answered survey questions while 
10 were interviewed 

Q1.   Are you a current university student in Toronto?
Q2. Do you have a willingness to share housing with others?

30/37
students expressed negative impressions on their roommate(s)

9/10  
participants spend more than three weeks finding a roommate
Meet Eric
When conducting user research, we wanted to understand what problems students struggled with when using an online roommate-finding platform.
Journey Map ​​​​​​​
The journey map below outlines Eric's current roommate-finding experiences.
Big Ideas
We conducted 2 ​​​​​​​ideation sessions and had 12 ideas in total. In the first session, 
we dreamed big, but in the later session, two ideas were selected based on impact 
and feasibility. 
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Competitive 
Analysis
Aside from the results and possible home-run solutions collected from our users, 
It was important to understand how student roommate matching app performed
in the current market. To see what they are lacking and to target areas for
improvements.
Insights
 
• Inactive profiles and a non-functional UI are reasons leading to low user engagement and satisfaction.

• Privacy concerns, scams, and fraud are problems concerning users to use an app for roommate finding.

• Lack of information on diverse preferences and needs makes the platform inefficient to use
Brainstorming
Scope
Summarizing my insights from the user interviews and market research, 
I brainstormed several features that were simple and useful to the user. 

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User Flow 
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Wireframes
After creating the user flow, I led the group to visualize each section. I then  created the sketches, which transformed to wireframes
Usability Testing
5 participates
4 evaluation tasks  

Task 1: This is your first time in the app; how would you walk through the
onboarding process?
Task 2: How would you send a matching request?
Task 3: Where would you go to find more information on housing?

Lastly, we observed users' behaviours while navigating the app and collected insights on any challenges they encountered
Before vs After
Our team used the lean evaluation feedback to inform our design decisions and based 
on these task results, I made key changes to four screens
1. Home Screen 
Layout
Before
After
2. Personality Quiz
Format
ge 2: 
Before
After
3. Match Icon 







Before
After
4. Chat History 
Search Filter
Before
After
Brand 
Identity
The name MateMingle signifies making friends with people on the platform, represented by the high-five icon—a gesture often shared among friends.

The Scandinavian color palette was chosen for the app because it features muted tones inspired by the natural elements found in Nordic landscapes. This palette works well for a roommate-matching app, contributing to a stress-free environment. Additionally, it boasts a lean, uncluttered, and harmonious aesthetic, especially when paired with the approachable font Nunito Sans, achieving a cohesive visual appeal.

Solution
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1. Sign In

Student Security System
Mandatory student sign using student ID # and student email to receive verification code 
2. Personality Quizzes

Algorithm Run Results 
8 personality quizzes to calculate personality traits for compatible matching 
3. Finding your perfect roommate

Send matching request 
Browse 5 algorithm-matched roommates options and choose one roommate to send a match request
4. Housing Community

Foster Growth and exchange 
Access housing information under Suggested Group and My groups
Next Step







Reflection




1. Conduct in-depth user research on the personality test. 
I would want to see how different questions could yield the best results
for compatibility.

2. Further iterate on the high-fidelity prototypes 
Address usability pain points discovered during the usability test. 



Getting user's feedback during the low and mid-fidelity stages made me realize that usability testing is a crucial stage to understanding what works and what doesn't work in the eyes of a user and not a designer. Based on the usability testing result, I added a directory note to introduce the "match" icon on the chat screen, emphasizing it's crucial role in our design. This taught me that the
process is never linear, and we should always be ready to iterate.