Roo-Me

Project Overview

App Name: Roo-Me
Objective: To create a seamless and secure platform for finding roommates in bustling urban environments. Roo-Me leverages swipe-based interactions similar to dating apps, allowing users to match with potential roommates based on shared interests, preferences, and location.

Introduction:

Finding a reliable roommate in large cities like Gurgaon, Bangalore, or Mumbai can be an overwhelming experience. Many platforms like Facebook groups are cluttered with outdated listings, fake profiles, and safety concerns. Roo-Me aims to solve these issues by offering a verified, user-friendly experience that ensures trust and security while making the process fun and engaging.

The mission was to redesign the app experience, focusing on improving usability, trust-building, and filtering features to ensure users find the perfect match without compromising on safety.

Research Plan:

Research Goals:

• Understand the pain points users face in the current roommate search ecosystem.
• Evaluate Roo-Me’s usability for onboarding, profile verification, and search filtering.
• Identify trust-building features to increase app retention and user engagement.

Research Method:

• Data Collection: Conducted qualitative interviews and usability testing with new urban dwellers.
• Participant Profile: 12 participants from the target audience, including professionals and students aged 22-35 who recently moved to urban cities.

User Persona:

Name: Amit Yadav
Age: 26
Occupation: Python Developer, newly relocated to Gurgaon
Personality: Introvert, tech-savvy, budget-conscious, with a focus on safety and reliability
Frustrations:

• Difficulty finding safe and trustworthy roommate platforms.
• Cluttered options on existing platforms (outdated listings, fake profiles).
• High rent in urban cities requiring a roommate to share expenses.

User Journey:

1. Awareness: Amit realizes his rent is too high and starts looking for a roommate.
2. Discovery: He joins Facebook groups but finds them cluttered with fake profiles and irrelevant listings.
3. Onboarding: Amit discovers Roo-Me, reads positive reviews online, and downloads the app.
4. Search and Exploration: He uses Roo-Me’s clean interface, filters by rent range, and matches with potential roommates.
5. Decision: Amit chats with potential roommates using Roo-Me’s in-app communication tool.
6. Match & Move-in: After a video call with his preferred match, Amit finalizes the arrangement and moves in.
7. Post-Match Support: Roo-Me sends reminders to review the roommate, offers tools to manage rent splitting and house rules.

Pain Points Identified:

• Outdated and unclear roommate listings on other platforms.
• Risk of privacy invasion and lack of verification on common roommate search tools.
• Difficulty in trusting new apps that claim to offer safe experiences.

Our Solution:

The Roo-Me Experience:

1. Onboarding & Verification: Roo-Me offers a smooth onboarding process with simple profile creation and ID verification through social media or mobile OTP to build trust. Users can filter profiles by rent range, lifestyle preferences, and profession.
2. Swipe to Match: The app uses swipe-based functionality, allowing users to browse potential roommates’ profiles easily. The UI is minimal, offering a clean, categorized view based on user preferences, including lifestyle habits and location filters.
3. In-App Communication: Once a match is made, users can chat within the app without revealing personal information until they are comfortable. A safety checklist and conversation starters are provided to ease the initial interaction.
4. Post-Match Support: Roo-Me offers users post-match features such as rent management tools, house rule agreements, and a move-in checklist to ensure a smooth transition. Notifications remind users to review their experience and provide feedback on the app.

Key Features Introduced:

• Verified Profiles: Users can verify their profiles with government IDs, ensuring trust and reliability.
• Filtering & Search: Enhanced filters allow users to search for roommates by profession, lifestyle habits (smoking, sleeping schedules), and proximity to work or study locations.
• In-App Safety Features: Roo-Me includes safety tools such as in-app ID verification, a safety checklist for first meetings, and secure messaging options to protect users’ privacy.

Outcomes:

• Improved User Retention: 80% of new users completed onboarding and actively engaged with the app, thanks to the simplified, secure sign-up process.
• Higher Match Rate: The swipe-to-match system increased engagement, and 65% of users found compatible roommates within the first 30 days of using the app.
• User Trust: Roo-Me saw a 40% increase in trust ratings after the implementation of verified profiles and safety tools.

Conclusion:

Roo-Me has redefined the roommate search process in urban cities by making it safer, simpler, and more engaging. By blending intuitive swipe-based interactions with verified profiles and in-app safety tools, Roo-Me ensures that users can find reliable roommates while protecting their personal information. This project successfully positioned Roo-Me as a trusted, go-to platform for urban dwellers.