I led the research and pushed our thinking to discover meaningful insights on improving the moving experience.
I designed and prototyped a new task manager that helps couples support each other during a move.
Overview
Use research to identify
an opportunity to improve some part of the moving experience.
Key Skills
Project Team
Tools
UX Research
Validation Research
Prototyping
UI Design
Sagarika Jayawant
Jack Love
Prachi Garg
Optimal Workshop, Miro
Zoom, Figma, Adobe Suite
Google Suite
Project Length
Mentor
Fall 2021 // 12 weeks
11 weeks [research]
1 week [prototyping]
Rebecca Blum
Moving is the third most stressful event you can endure, following death and divorce.
BUT DID YOU KNOW
Source Link
The Challenge
47.8%
of the moving companies employ less than 5 people
42%
rent a moving truck
But what if moving was... meditative
11.7
times the average American moves within their lifetime.
63%
said their move
in 2022
was unexpected
We have all had to move at some point in our lives. Although exciting it is also
a stressful ordeal. There are multiple barriers to overcome during a move.
1. Sheer labor: myriad details and decisions
2. Estimation of time: last minute
delays and surprises.
They often impact the
person
moving’s wellbeing
The Solution
Netbox
A task manager that helps
you pause.
Because calmness comes with being organized while taking care of others and yourself.
This was a research-intensive project. We sat and discussed our biases and mapped our existing knowledge on the process of moving.
Our Research Process
What is the moving
experience like?
Learning about the mover’s experience through moderated qualitative interviews.
QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS
- what causes a move?
- the experience of moving
- the different types of moves
- it’s impact on life?
- underlying reasons for difficulties
faced during it
How can we improve
their experience?
Rich with all the knowledge, we synthesized the information to discover broad themes
FRAMEWORK AND OPPORTUNITY
Rich with all the knowledge, we
started mapping out and synthesizing
the information collected and through
that discovered broader themes that
recurred in many stories.
Frameworks used:
1. Card sorting
2. Affinity Mapping
3. Journey Mapping
Link to Affinity Mapping
, Journey Map
“Each move is progressively more difficult. You accumulate things over time.”
Shashank (33, Married)
“We were disappointed. It had been a long and tiring
day but
by then we were
used to disappointments.”
Sonal (27, Married)
What we discovered
KEY THEMES
Pre-Move was the most stressful part of the moving process.
Isn't this obvious?
Are we missing something?
BUT, WAIT A MINUTE
So we went back.
We conducted new interviews
and resynthesized all the
information again and
sought out patterns.
“People are moving everything they have and giving it to an unknown agent.
There is always a fear along
with uncertainty and worry
about meeting the target day.”
James (38, In a relationship)
“Moving is the most stressful thing we have faced as a couple. You get into fights. It’s physically draining.”
Kanika (31, Married)
“My husband and I, we constantly remind each other- we have been through so much hell in the past. It's just about getting perspective in the end. It's just a move!”
Anahat (37, Married)
New Insights
Most people don’t equate that a practical task like moving could trigger a strong emotional response.
But moving happens to humans and
humans have emotions.
Moving strains relationships
Recentering our focus
REITERATING OPPORTUNITY
Mindset:
to develop a moving mindset that helps deal with sudden delays and believes change is an opportunity for new possibilities.
Connection:
to support one another as moving
strains relationships.
Uncertainty:
knowing what to expect helps prepare for the stress-inducing unknowns that occur during moving
Deep diving into our
new insights
SECONDARY RESEARCH
We continued our research
seeking existing products that
cater to providing solutions for
our problem space.
Frameworks used:
1. Persona
2. Literature Review
3. Competitive Analysis
4. Analogous Research
Link to Persona
Moving triggers our deepest issues around control and loss
Moving forces us out of our familiar and comfortable habitat
NEW FOCUS
How might we help couples grow closer through the moving process?
STORYBOARDING
Validating our ideas
Location: Moved to, within and from California
Age: 18 - 55
[Remote + In person] Moderated | 30 mins
VALIDATION RESEARCH
WINNER
A task manager
that also helps
you pause.
MEET NETBOX
But why?
because calmness comes with being organized and remembering to celebrate
Reflections & Takeaways
Recruitment and deep listening are key to defining your future project scope
Whom you recruit plays a big role in driving the direction of your findings and the opportunities you discover. It is equally important to be an active listener. Less you, more them. That is the only way you'd be able to discover the emotional drivers within the set time. Also, be mindful of your participant's time and energy. Longer interviews don't necessarily translate to more insights.
Trusting the ambiguity in the research process as it is truly an iterative process
We questioned our understanding of the topic and our abilities as researchers throughout the journey of this project. It's important to realize that it's all part of the process and only by going back and forth while digging deeper do you find something you don't already know. That is where research shines and leads to better interventions.
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