Move Mate
Packing and unpacking during a move is often stressful due to the logistics of tracking box contents and determining unpacking order. Many people decide to throw away or donate items, and may want certain essentials packed last or unpacked first. Additionally, issues with lost or damaged items can arise, especially when hiring movers.
Problem
An app that helps users stay organized during a move by allowing them to categorize belongings by room and box, print labels or QR codes, mark boxes as packed or unpacked, and sort items for disposal or donation.
Solution
My Role
UX/UI Designer
UX Researcher
Tools
Figma
Lyssna
FigJam
Optimal Sort
Timeline
150 hours
Research
Competitive Analysis
I performed a competitive analysis of moving, household organization, and inventory management apps, since they all had some features that would be useful in the app I was designing. I didn’t find any other apps that were specifically for moving, and were also intended for home organization after a move.
Interviews
I wanted to know what people find to be the most challenging aspects of the packing and unpacking process, so that I could understand what features would help them streamline the process. Specifically, I wanted to determine what app features would make the packing and unpacking process more streamlined and less stressful for people when they move; understand the different challenges of a residential move vs. an office building move; understand the challenges that come with the moving process when there are multiple people sharing a living space; and understand what tools or systems they used, if any, to help with the process. I asked them to walk me through their moving process, and about what tools or systems they used in the process.
Interview Findings
Overview
I interviewed 4 people who had relevant experience with moving residences or offices. One couple had just moved recently with a child, and had also moved several times in the past. Two interviewees had experienced frequent moves within the past decade (between 5 and 7 times), and one of them also had recent experience with an office move. One interviewee was a former event planner who was in charge of packing and moving large shipments for conferences.
Observations
All interviewees had at least some type of system for the packing and unpacking process, such as keeping an inventory of items, writing labels on boxes, or keeping track of items they were planning to sell or donate
Two interviewees expressed a desire for more detailed lists of items in their boxes, but also expressed that making such a list would be time consuming
All Interviewees generally found moving to be less stressful if they were able to plan ahead and pack a little at a time, and if they had some kind of list or inventory
Pain Points
It’s hard to fit everything into boxes, since they can be limiting in terms of shape. Some items are oddly shaped. Sometimes items that are not related to each other end up being put into the same box, just because there’s space. It’s also hard to find ways to store small items, like thumbtacks, rubber bands, etc.
Moving creates a massive amount of trash and leftover packing material, which can be hard to deal with
One interviewee made a pile of things she wanted to donate in the corner, which was there for a couple weeks and took up a lot of space
One couple said the movers they hired charged them by the box, which they didn’t know they would do ahead of time. It would have helped them to think about packing more strategically if they had known that they would charge by the box.
Interviewees had to make sure that the boxes they packed weren’t too heavy
Multiple interviewees had experience with losing items during a move, especially small items. One thought she had lost some jewelry for 6 months, but ended up finding it later. Another spent a week looking for an item for her home office after she thought she had unpacked everything
Analysis
Affinity Mapping
I used an affinity map to organize insights gleaned from interviews, with the goal of determining essential features for a moving organizer app and crafting well-informed user personas.
Click here to view affinity map.
While looking through all my data points and observations from my interviews, I found that all observations fit into one of four categories, which could be further broken down into sub-categories:
Systems that interviewees used (or didn’t use) during packing and/or unpacking to help make the process go more smoothly, including lists, inventories, labeling boxes, strategies for packing/unpacking, etc. It also included systems that the packers or movers used if they hired them.
Difficulties that interviewees encountered during the packing and/or unpacking process. This was the category with the largest number of observations, which tells me there is a lot of potential for creating solutions. It included things like losing items, having to dig through boxes to find specific items, trying to keep similar items together, being left with excess packing material after the move, etc.
Potential Solutions that might have helped them with the packing/unpacking process. This section included everything the interviewees mentioned as something they wish they had or wish they had done. For example, one person wished she had labelled all the boxes that go in the same room with the same number. Another mentioned that recording all the items in each box with her voice would have been helpful.
What went well for the interviewees during the packing/unpacking process. This was the smallest category of the affinity map, but all interviewees had at least one aspect that went well or that they liked about the process. Some enjoyed going through memories and/or purging their belongings. One person said her move went well because she planned ahead and packed a little at a time each day.
Personas
Based on my interviews and affinity mapping, I developed three personas that would all benefit from using the app: renters, homeowners, and event planners.
Problem Statements
Considering my persona, I created problem statements that highlighted the most significant user pain points. I then converted these statements into "How Might We?" questions.
Problem: Making an inventory of all items before a move is time-consuming, but many movers want an inventory to help them stay organized.
How might we help movers quickly make an inventory of all of their items?
Problem: Movers frequently have difficulty finding specific items after a move.
How might we help movers easily find specific items?
Exploration of Ideas
After determining the “How Might We?” questions I wanted to address, I explored specific solutions to each problem.
How might we help movers quickly make an inventory of all of their items?
Ability to take photos of items
Have AI identify objects in photos
A voice recorder to record items
Also have voice recorder transcribe items
A place to add photos of items
A place to list the condition of items before the move
A place to list estimated value of items
A place to add size of box
A place to add weight of box
A way to make list of rooms in current and new house
A way to create boxes and assign them to rooms
Click and drag boxes into different rooms
Click and drag items from one box to another
Highlight item in box and move to different box
Highlight whole box and move to different room
An ability to share the inventory with housemates
A way to print a QR code for box that shows all items when scanned
A way to print a label for box that lists all items
A place to move items to a “donate” or “throw out,” or "sell" category
Ability to delete items when they’re donated, thrown out or sold
Can organize list in different ways - by date packed, alphabetical, size, etc.
How might we help movers easily find specific items?
Search function
Ability to search specific boxes or rooms, or search the whole house
A way to indicate when item is unpacked
A way to indicate when item is put away
Unpacked items also stored and can be searched
Can search photos
Donated, thrown out, and sold items are still stored in app, and can be searched so you can see if you got rid of item
Feature Prioritization
From my list of ideas, I chose the solutions that seemed like they would best help the users with problems that they identified in the interviews.
Feature: A way to record items in a box by manually entering, voice, or taking photos and having app identify items
Who is it for? – People who want to remember exactly what they packed in each box and be able to search it later, but don’t necessarily have time to manually enter everything they packed
What does it accomplish for them? – It allows them to record all the items in a particular box quickly
How does it accomplish this? – It has a voice recording feature where they can say all the items in the box, and the app records them and also automatically transcribes the items. It also has a feature where they can take photos of the items in the box and the app automatically records what the photos are
Feature: A Search function that allows you to search by box, room, or whole house, and also search donated, thrown out, or sold items
Who is it for? – People who want to find particular items first after they move in to a new place
What does it accomplish for them? – It would help them find items they need right away without having to dig through boxes. It would also help them find small items that are easily misplaced
How does it accomplish this? – It searches all the items that have been manually entered, recorded by voice and automatically transcribed, or transcribed from photos. It also searches items that have been thrown out, donated, or sold, in case they forgot if they got rid of something or not. You can either search the whole inventory, or search by room or box
Storyboards
I then developed storyboards to show the user journeys of my renter and homeowner personas.
Card Sort
To help organize Move Mate’s information architecture, I did an card sort on OptimalSort with 32 cards and 4 participants. The cards included such phrases as “Pack,” “Estimated Value,” and “Record item manually.”
Participants created their own categories for the cards. There ended up being 20 categories total, including “Beginning of Move,” “Item Management,” and “Donating or getting rid of items.”
No two participants created the same category, but some categories were similar:
“Search Center” and “Search Filters”
“Moving Resources” and “Movers”
“Item Records,” “Item Management,” and “Items and Box Management”
“Boxes,” “Box management,” and “Items and Box Management”
The following cards were grouped together by all 4 participants:
Label / Items
Box size / Box weight / move box
Record item / record item with voice / record item manually / transcribe recording
Search / Search house
Takeaways
The participants organized the cards in a wider variety of ways than I expected. Most of the categories they created were different from the categories other participants created
The features that participants consistently grouped together the most were anything to do with recording items and search.
All four participants happened to create 5 categories, although they were all different
Sitemap
The card sort helped me figure out which items should be grouped together. Creating the sitemap helped me to clarify what the main categories should be, and which categories should be primary vs. secondary. The features that card sort participants consistently grouped together the most were anything to do with recording items and search.
User Flows
Based on my site map, I developed user flows for the various ways a user can add an item to a box, search for an item, and sort an item into a different category.
Legend
Adding an item to a box
Searching for an item
Sorting items into other categories
Task Flow
I reviewed my user flows and selected the task flow “Transcribe items in box with voice recording” for design. Visualizing the actions helped clarify tasks, leading me to adjust the user flows. Using the chosen task flow, I created low-fidelity wireframes, though the design evolved slightly. For instance, I initially considered giving users the option to transcribe their voice recording or not, but decided it would be simpler if it was automatically transcribed.
Legend
Design
UI and Branding
After finishing my mid-fidelity wireframes to illustrate the user journey through the app, I proceeded to develop branding. Starting with a mood board, I developed a color palette, font, and other UI and branding elements that fit with my brand values.
Mood Board
Color Palette
Font: Poppins
Icons
I designed a set of simple icons with thin lines and relatively few solid shapes. I wanted a light, airy feel
Initial Logo Exploration
Final Logo
Design System
After completing my branding, I developed a design system for the Move Mate app incorporating my branding elements. The design system included all buttons, drop-downs, headers, cards, and other design elements for use in the app.
High Fidelity Wireframes
I then applied my branding to my mid-fidelity wireframes to turn them into high-fidelity.
Click here to view all high-fidelity wireframes.
Testing
Usability Test Plan
Goal
The goal of the usability testing was to evaluate if users can successfully create a new room, add a box to the room, add an item to the box, transcribe the item with a voice recording, and edit the item details.
Task Flow
Creating a new room
Adding a box to the room
Adding an item to the box
Transcribing the item name with a voice recording
Editing item details
Measuring success
I would consider the test a success if users are able to complete all the tasks without confusion, and can get to the end goal of transcribing the item name with a voice recording and then editing item details.
Test Results
Summary
For my usability test, I wanted to test the task flow of “entering and transcribing an item using voice recording.” The user would have to add a new room, add a new box to the room, add items to the box, record the list of items with voice, edit item details, and save item details. I wanted to test if the user could get to the end of the flow with minimal confusion and without clicking in any of the wrong places.
Methodology
I tested 5 users on the user flow. I set up the user flow in Lyssna so that all the clicks would be recorded. I also had the users share their screen with me while they went through the test so I could see where they were, and I recorded the sessions. I had them all rate how easy the task was on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the hardest and 5 the easiest.
Results
Users took an average of 383 seconds to complete the task flow. They clicked an average of 38 times, with an average of 12% being mis-clicks. Three users rated the task a 4 in terms of ease, and two rated it a 5.
Several users thought the process of adding a photo to a box or room was confusing. Most of them thought the photo icon didn’t look like a button, that it should be centered instead of over to one side, and that the “skip” button should probably be just a link instead of a button. Several of them also weren’t sure if the “new photo” button was for a replacement photo or an additional photo.
Most users also thought it was confusing to have both “record manually” and “voice record” options to record items. They weren’t sure what “record manually” meant and thought it should be called something else, without the word “record” in it. A couple users suggested a microphone icon next to the “voice record” button. One user suggested a popup that said “your audio has been recorded” would be helpful.
When it was time to edit individual items, all the users said that the text “Select an item to add details” was too small. None of the users selected an item to edit first before clicking the Edit button.
Several users also suggested using words like “Save,” “Submit,” or “Update” on buttons instead of “Enter.”
Users also said that they liked the simplicity of the app, that most of the wording was terms that people use on an everyday basis, and that the orange color stood out well and helped them navigate the app easily.
Iterations
Text Changes
Change “new photo” button to “add photo”
Change “record manually” button to “enter text”
Change “Enter” buttons to “Save”
Make the text in the description box longer in the prototype
In the Item List, make “Select an item to add details” text much bigger/more noticeable
Visual Changes
Make the Items icon smaller
Add icons to all the buttons for the different options for recording items
Element Placement Changes
Move the back button to the left side of the nav bar
After items are recorded, move the Item List above the My Home Inventory box
Functionality Changes
Make the header and footer sticky
Instead of having the user click the photo icon to add a photo, change it to a button, and change “Skip” to a link instead of a button
Add a popup that says “your audio has been recorded” after voice recording is done
Add an option to edit items in the list right after they’ve been recorded
Sample Iterations
Before
After
Final Product
Reflection and Next Steps
One of the biggest discoveries I made during the research phase of this project is that movers in different circumstances (residential moves, office moves, with and without kids, alone or with other people) had similar frustrations and pain points. I learned during this project to think about what the potential users might actually need, instead of just going with what they say would help them.
It was surprisingly challenging to figure out the information architecture of the app, and I found during my card sort that participants grouped items in ways I wouldn't have thought of.
Looking back, it might have been a good idea to watch the card sort live, so I could ask the participants why they chose the categories they did. I also might have done a closed card sort, because I ended up with all the participants creating different categories. A closed card sort would have made developing the sitemap easier.
I liked having the opportunity to really think about how the site is going to be organized. It was especially useful to see which cards were most often grouped together by the card sort participants, even though they were put in different categories.
Next Steps
Expand on ways to record items, such as an AI that can identify objects in photos
Build out Search function, and include the ability to search in specific boxes or rooms, or search the whole house
Build out the Create Label function, with the ability to create either a label that lists all the items in a box or a QR code label that links to the list of items
Add the ability to move items to Donate, Sell, or Throw Out categories
