Move Scout

A website concept dedicated to help people research, plan, and execute a relocation.

01 Overview

Background

Challenge

02 Discover

Research Methods & Insights

Personas

03 Define

Concept Ideation

Concept Selection

Project Goals

04 Design

Site structure

Task Flows

Wireframes

Branding

05 Validate

Prototype

Usability Testing

Findings

06 Reflection

Key Takeaways

Next Steps

01 Overview

This experience is often associated with a flood of negative associations.

  • 45% of Americans said that moving is more stressful than going through a breakup or having children

  • Nearly 50% of movers report feeling overwhelmed or anxious

BACKGROUND

Moving to a new place is an experience marked with high frequency.

  • On average, about 60-70% of people move at least once in their lifetime

  • In the United States, studies suggest that the average person moves approximately 11-12 times over the course of their life

CHALLENGE

When thinking about a relocation, what are some of the things people struggle with?

People moving have trouble:

  • coordinating all the aspects of a move (before, during, and after)

  • and accessing the appropriate resources to streamline the process.

RESEARCH METHODS & INSIGHTS

I wanted to understand more clearly people’s needs and pain points when approaching a relocation.

I conducted 8 interviews with people who had a variety of moving circumstances.

I reviewed the information that I gathered and looked for patterns in what participants experienced.

This revealed that users needed or wanted to:

02 Discover

PERSONAS

I summarized my findings into 2 representative personas.

CONCEPT IDEATION

In considering Lena & James’ personas, I started brainstorming ways to meet their needs and help them realize their goals.

03 Define

CONCEPT SELECTION

Now that I had a clear direction to address my research problem, I settled on the concept for a website.

My site would be dedicated to help people like Lena & James research, plan, and execute a relocation with the following key features:

  • Offer a wide range of moving related topics

  • Explore a move with research

  • Capture unique move info: MyMove Quiz (upon sign up)

  • Generate a personalized checklist

  • Suggest tasks and timelines

  • Organize and streamline a user’s relocation

PROJECT GOALS

I thought about what the projects goals should be in order to address both user needs and business needs.

Here are the top 6 project goals.

  • Creating a website that is easy for users to navigate

  • Providing research resources (local areas, schools, services)

  • Personalization (MyMove Quiz and generated checklist)

  • Organization (keeping track of tasks & timeline)

  • Integration related to the moving process (services, map out routes)

  • Networking (social recommendations)

04 Design

SITE STRUCTURE

I wanted to understand user’s mental models so I performed a card sort with people who had experienced a move with their children.

This activity informed my choices for the site structure. I found that the user’s goals could be grouped into three main categories for the main navigation: 

***Later on, “Blog”was added to the navigation menu to offer Lena & James another layer of support through articles on moving related topics.***

In addition to the main navigation, Lena would complete an intake form to capture information and enable personalization.

The MyMove Quiz is the entry point for her to Sign Up. She would provide the following information:

Once Lena is signed up and logged in, she could track her tasks through a Dashboard.

From the Dashboard she can access the following:

Interaction Design

I then identified 3 main tasks that Lena & James would want to accomplish informed by their goals and needs.

  • MyMove Quiz-Sign Up & generate personalized checklist

  • Compare-For example: Area statistics or Schools

  • Services-For example: Moving Companies or Realtors

Task Flows

After selecting the 3 most relevant tasks, I developed the task flows to transition into wireframing.

I assigned a division in content for when James is initially browsing the Move Scout site vs. after he signs up (or is logged in).

Wireframes

I started with a mobile first approach to prioritize most important information and features. I then developed the corresponding screens to navigate the 3 main task flows I’d developed.

  • Lena & James can either browse content or start capturing personalized recommendations by entering their details through the prominently featured CTA: MyMove Quiz.

  • More details on the navigation titles are outlined just below the hero section.

  • Lena & James can gain confidence in the Move Scout brand through client reviews.

  • How it Works section for guidance on what Move Scout has to offer.

  • Lena & James can access an additional layer of support through moving related blog articles.

***Additionally, I worked towards establishing a balance between the MyMove Quiz (call to action to convert users) and browsing content.***

Branding

05 Validation