Case Study

Name(s): Rohan Kher, Surendra Reddy, Shrenik Salguna

Email id(s): rohankher27@gmail.com, surennn@hotmail.com, shrenikss@gmail.com

Submission Date: 13/05/20

Part 1: User Research

Question 1: Identify the target audience for the roommate/flatmate finding service. (Word
Target limit: 100 words)
Audience

Target Audience

Response Audience size - 62,000,000 people (FB ads)

(Considering – Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kolkata,
Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Thane)

Demographics
Age - 18-35
Male & Female
College students
Bachelors or working married individual

Education: Graduates & above

Employment: Students and working bachelors
Monthly income (if employed) - 25K onwards
Relationship Status: Singles (mostly)

Behavioural
Tier 1 & tier 2
Mobile heavy users

Question 2: Prepare an interview questionnaire (write down the questions here) suiting your
Interview objectives & hypothesis. (Word limit: 500 words)
Questionnaire

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

 Objectives:
User demographics
Hypothesis
Response • Singles are more likely to opt for shared accommodation over staying
alone
• Singles won’t mind sharing the room in the accommodation.
• Students and Salaried people living in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities prefer
staying in shared accommodation
• People relocating to Tier 1/Tier 2 cities with respect to work or studies
prefer staying in shared accommodation as it provides a sense of
security and helps in saving time spent on daily household work by
sharing the chores

Objective:
User motivations and personality
To understand the reasons or factors which motivates them to stay in shared
accommodation
Hypothesis:
• People are more likely to prefer shared accommodation to save money
on rent, support ecosystem, and household expenses
• People mostly opt to live in shared accommodation to build their
professional and personal networks
Personality
• People have an affinity to share accommodation with people they can
connect with on a personal level
• People with similar interests/hobbies stay together in shared
accommodation.

Goals:
Objective:
Identify the goals which the users want to achieve
Hypothesis:
• People want to live near office and secure place
• People would prefer to find a furnished apartment
• People are keen on finding a parking facility and with close proximity to
public transport facilities.

Pain Points:
Objective:
Understand the pain points of the users
To understand the pain points while searching for a flatmate or a roommate
Hypothesis
• It is unlikely to understand someone’s behaviour and character traits
from few conversations e.g. willingness to adjust, empathy and spend
appetite to name a few
• Finding a flatmate or a roommate is a time-consuming process
• Mismatches between the information provided and reality
• Incomplete information about the potential listings is a major problem

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Technology
Objective:
Technology which they use
Hypothesis
• Tech-savvy people tend to use more mobile apps
• People use Facebook groups to find accommodations
• People check with friends and colleagues when looking for
accommodation
• The majority of users are android users.

Interview Questionnaire

1. What is your Name?

2. What is your age?
3. What is your marital status?
4. What is your Educational level?
5. What is your professional status?
6. What is your Annual income?
7. Where is your city of origin?
8. Which city do you stay in?
9. What is your room type preference?
10. How do you travel to work?
11. Whom do you prefer to stay with?
12. How do you manage food with roommates?
13. How do you spend your weekend?
14. What kind of property type do you look for?
15. What type of Furnishing do you look for?
16. What kind of parking facility do you need?
17. What all Amenities/Facilities would you prefer?
18. Why do you prefer to stay with flatmates?
19. What is your food preference? And your preference for flatmates food
habits
20. Would you be comfortable having visitors through your roommates?
21. What are the challenges for finding roommates?
22. What are the challenges for finding an accommodation?
23. Do you have any issue if some of your flatmate friends come to stay for
a couple of days at regular intervals of time?
24. How would you go about searching for a place to stay?
25. Which are the top 5 apps you use?
26. Which mobile platform do you use?
27. What internet access options do you have?
28. Which OS do you use?

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Question 3: Analyse the data you gathered from interviews. Draw insights out of the
Insights from collected data. You can segregate your insights basis the objectives of
User conducting user research: users pain points, motivations, personality, goals,
Research demographics. (Word Limit: 600 Words)

User demographics
Hypothesis
• Singles are more likely to opt for shared accommodation over staying
alone
• Singles won’t mind sharing the room in the accommodation.
• Students and Salaried people living in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities prefer
staying in shared accommodation
• People relocating to Tier 1/Tier 2 cities with respect to work or studies
prefer staying in shared accommodation as it provides a sense of
security and helps in saving time spent on daily household work by
sharing the chores

Response Analysis:

It was observed that most people who prefer to opt for shared accommodation
are mostly single and in the age group of 18-35. All of the interviewees were
unmarried.

7 individuals have mentioned that they would prefer to stay with their friends in
shared accommodation

People would prefer to stay in a separate/private space as per the interview

responses, which negates our 2nd hypothesis for this section.

Almost all of our interviewees were from Tier 1 cities, and all of them were
working professionals who relocated from their city of origin, for work tend to
stay in shared accommodation to save on expenses and sense of security.

Hypothesis:
Motivation
• People are more likely to prefer shared accommodation to save money
on rent, support ecosystem, and household expenses
• People mostly opt to live in shared accommodation to build their
professional and personal networks?

Personality
• People have an affinity to share accommodation with people they can
connect with on a personal level
• People with similar interests/hobbies stay together in shared
accommodation.

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis
Nearly, 11 people preferred to stay in shared accommodation to save money
and household expenses which proves our first hypothesis of this section.
Most people preferred to stay with friends and avoid colleagues as per the
interview analysis, hence it negates our 2nd hypothesis of this section.

Mostly, everyone prefers to stay with like minded people, which proves our
hypothesis.

Goals:
Hypothesis:
• People want to live near office and secure place
• People would prefer to find a furnished apartment
• People are keen on finding a parking facility and with close proximity to
public transport facilities.

Analysis
People prefer to look for a property near the office and would prefer to stay
with friends and in a gated community for safety, which proves our first
hypothesis
People prefer to look for at least a semi-furnished flat where they can get other
required furniture, this partly validates our 2nd hypothesis
People prefer to stay in apartments where they have proper parking facilities if
they have means of commute, else would prefer a place where they can get
access to public transport quickly.

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pain Points:
Hypothesis
• It is unlikely to understand someone’s behaviour and character traits
from few conversations e.g. willingness to adjust, empathy and spend
appetite to name a few
• Finding a flatmate or a roommate is a time-consuming process
• Mismatches between the information provided and reality
• Incomplete information about the potential listings is a major problem

Analysis
We observed that 10 people mentioned about the roommate character traits
are important factors and it is the major paint point for them identifying the
right roommate who can match their attitude and behaviour.
8 respondents mentioned finding a replacement also challenging and time-
consuming activity, however no one mentioned about the wrong or incomplete
information provided by owners

Technology
Hypothesis
• Tech-savvy people tend to use more mobile apps
• People use Facebook groups to find accommodations
• People check with friends and colleagues when looking for
accommodation
• The majority of users are android users.

Analysis
We observed that 100% respondents were tech savvy most of them are using
WhatsApp and Facebook for checking out property listings or leads, YouTube
and other E commerce platforms.

As per responses, Higher number of respondents mentioned Facebook groups

are the primary source to rely on followed by friends & family

10 out of 12 uses android mobiles which clearly proves the majority.

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Part 2: Product Artifacts

Question 4: Create a persona for from the user research data. Use the template given below.

Response:

Name Aditya Makode

Motivations Personality
• Save on expenses • Extrovert likes to go
• Security out
• Individual Room • Ambitious
• Having a maid for food • Fun and Curious
• Proximity to workplace
• Society amenities

Age:27 Goals Technology

Location: Mumbai • Reduce the cost of living • Avid internet user
Gender: Male • Security • Android user
Occupation: IT professional • Living with a like-minded • Switches between
Marital Status: Single person laptop and mobile
Income: 14 lakh • Parking facility for communication,
• Access to public transport entertainment, and
social media access

Pain Points

• Brokerage charges
• Limitation to the availability of
flats for bachelors
• The attitude of the flatmate
• Time issues in some society
• Flatmate replacement
• Lock-in period for flats
• High deposit amounts and
heavy deduction on that.

Quote BIO Brands

I would love to have a cozy
place to live, with my private
space & close to my
workplace.
Aditya is an unmarried working • Google
professional who is from a tier 2 city • Oneplus
but lives and works in a metro city. He • Netflix
is looking for a place to stay that is in • Gaana
good, high-level society for comfort, • Amazon
has basic amenities (4-wheeler and 2-
wheeler), and saves on travel time to
work. He prefers to live with known
and trusted friends.

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Questions 5: Create a user journey map for the given user goals:

(a) Find a shared accommodation space that satisfies my logistical constraints

• Proximity to Workplace, Recreation, Utilities

• Amenities e.g. Gym, Swimming Pool, Parking

• Support ecosystem e.g. Cook/Maid, furniture, laundry etc.

• Cost

(b) Find roommates with whom I share preferences in terms of:

• Food habit

• Timings

• Visitors

Use the templates given below.

Response:

User Journey Map 1

User Goal (a) Find a shared accommodation space that satisfies my logistical
constraints

• Proximity to Workplace, Recreation, Utilities

• Amenities e.g. Gym, Swimming Pool, Parking

• Support ecosystem e.g. Cook/Maid, furniture, laundry etc

• Cost

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

 Furnished place in the budget
User Expectations
Near to workplace and essentials stores nearby

To find a place with amenities like parking and gym

Search on FB groups based on preferred areas.

Process
Ask friends/family for accommodation in their locality.

Filter/Shortlist flats based on expectations or choice.

Speak to the owner and visit the flat to checkout on amenities and
furnishing provided

Understanding the like-mindedness of the prospective flatmate, who is

staying already.

Experience Calling and availability issues.

Time consumed to travel to these places to visit.

Not finding a like-minded person

Flats not as per shown in the pictures shared or posted on FB groups

Issues with parking facility like not finding closed parking

Touchpoints Facebook groups

Google search

Talking to friends/family

Apps like Nobroker.com

A listing website like Sulekha.com

Flat visits

Pain-points Brokerage Amount

Budget issues
Hidden terms and conditions (Gates closing timing and access to
amenities)
Lock-in period for a flat registration
The quality of the furniture provided.

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ideas Develop a flat search application with verified flat information,
amenities, and other terms and conditions.

Also, a subscription model that gets your needs fulfilled until you get a
flat of your desire.

Feature and filters like:

• Visit timing
• Rent range
• Furniture type
• Room type
• Amenities
• Property type
• Distance range

User Journey Map 2

(b) Find roommates with whom I share preferences in terms of:

User Goal
• Food habit

• Timings

• Visitors

To find roommates with similar food habits

User Expectations
To find roommate who are open to flexible timings

To find a roommate who has no issue with visitors coming to the flat
occasionally.

Find a place where roommates are from the same locality.

Process
Search/find a roommate through reference from friends/contacts

Find a flatmate who has an open-minded approach in terms of timing

and visitors

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

 Proper documentation was not available
Experience
Inconsistency of flatmates - in terms of commitment to rent agreement
tenure and expenses

Whilst staying with unknown person - Brokerage issue

Facebook group and apps to find people of same age group

Touchpoints
Prefer to have people in same age group

Prefer people of same diet/food habits

People that are referred by friends

Attitude of the person.

Pain-points
Personal Hygiene

Budget issues with the person

Develop a Mobile (Android and iOS) application

Ideas
This application will have a central repository of information, verified by
the owner

Features

• Visitor allowed/or not

• Flexible timings

• Filter for diet/food habits

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer

All content and material on the UpGrad website is copyrighted material, either belonging to Upgrade
or its bonafide contributors and is purely for the dissemination of education. You are permitted to
access print and download extracts from this site purely for your own education only and on the
following basis:-
• You can download this document from the website for self use only.
• Any copies of this document, in part or full, saved to disc or to any other storage medium
may only be used for subsequent, self viewing purposes or to print an individual extract or
copy for non commercial personal use only.
• Any further dissemination, distribution, reproduction, copying of the content of the
document herein or the uploading thereof on other websites or use of content for any other
commercial/unauthorized purposes in any way which could infringe the intellectual property
rights of UpGrad or its contributors, is strictly prohibited.
• No graphics, images or photographs from any accompanying text in this document will be
used separately for unauthorised purposes.
• No material in this document will be modified, adapted or altered in any way.
• No part of this document or UpGrad content may be reproduced or stored in any other web
site or included in any public or private electronic retrieval system or service without
UpGrad’s prior written permission.
• Any rights not expressly granted in these terms are reserved.

© Copyright UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

5/20/2020 OneNote

Feedback | upGrad
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 11:27 AM

Clipped from:
https://grade.upgrad.com/v/course/669/feedback/score/688647/quiz/43201
7

https://alamarfoods-my.sharepoint.com/personal/shrenik_salguna_alamarfoods_com/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={9e45ddad-5c0f-4012-a7… 1/6
5/20/2020 OneNote

https://alamarfoods-my.sharepoint.com/personal/shrenik_salguna_alamarfoods_com/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={9e45ddad-5c0f-4012-a7… 2/6
5/20/2020 OneNote

https://alamarfoods-my.sharepoint.com/personal/shrenik_salguna_alamarfoods_com/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={9e45ddad-5c0f-4012-a7… 3/6
5/20/2020 OneNote

https://alamarfoods-my.sharepoint.com/personal/shrenik_salguna_alamarfoods_com/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={9e45ddad-5c0f-4012-a7… 4/6
5/20/2020 OneNote

https://alamarfoods-my.sharepoint.com/personal/shrenik_salguna_alamarfoods_com/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={9e45ddad-5c0f-4012-a7… 5/6
5/20/2020 OneNote

https://alamarfoods-my.sharepoint.com/personal/shrenik_salguna_alamarfoods_com/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc={9e45ddad-5c0f-4012-a7… 6/6