Trusted Movers
Helping people find reliable moving companies quickly and easily
Project Overview
The Problem
Moving is commonly ranked as one of the top 10 most stressful life events. (Source: OnePoll) For many people, finding the right moving company is a big part of the stress – especially when they’re on a tight budget.
For this project, I wanted to design a solution that would help people find the right moving company quickly and easily, to help reduce the stress associated with the moving process.
The Solution
A responsive website where users can:
- Find local moving company options all in 1 place
- Compare companies side-by-side
- See which movers are recommended by their friends and network by importing their contacts from social media
Timeline:
- 5 Weeks
My Roles:
- UX Research
- UX Design
- Branding
- UI Design
- Usability Testing
Challenges:
- Short Timeframe
- Lack of personal experience with hiring movers
- Being the sole UX/UI designer on this project
Tools:
- Figma
- Optimal Sort
Research
Research Goal
I wanted to find out:
- How are people currently trying to find movers?
- What difficulties do people encounter when trying to find a moving company?
- What are the key factors people consider when deciding which movers to hire?
…So that I could design a solution that will help people quickly and easily find a moving company they will be happy with.
RESEARCH METHOD #1
Competitive Analysis
To begin, I googled “moving companies in New York” to see what would happen if I were trying to find moving companies online.
Key Findings:
- Most sites seemed very cluttered and highly confusing to navigate
- Most sites did not feel easy, clear, and simple to use
- Many sites required log in before showing price quotes, which can be frustrating to users who want to get a quick sense of which movers are affordable
RESEARCH METHOD #2
User Interviews
I conducted 6 user interviews to better empathize with my audience and identify their key pain points.
After conducting interviews, I organized the data into an affinity map to identify the main paint points and any other common themes.
Main Findings
1. Overwhelmed with Options
People tend to feel very overwhelmed with so many options of moving companies to choose from, and so much information to compare and keep track of.
2. Financial Concerns
Many people feel stressed about the high costs associated with moving – especially when they’re worried about hidden or unpredictable fees they’ll be forced to pay later.
3. Safety and Reliability
Some people are hesitant to hire movers they found on Google because it’s hard to know if the movers are really safe and reliable and if the online reviews are real.
4. Recommendations from Friends
From the people I interviewed, the ones who seemed the happiest with their move were the ones who found movers by getting recommendations from friends.
Ideate
"How Might We" Questions
To begin ideating potential solutions, I focused on 2 of the main pain points and wrote “How Might We” questions to start brainstorming solutions.
Brainstorming
Based on the insights from my research and referencing my user persona, I brainstormed potential solutions to these HMW questions using 3 techniques:
- Playing with opposites
- Creative constraints
- Analogous inspiration
Next, I plotted the best of these ideas on an idea prioritization matrix of User Value vs. Effort.
Top 2 Ideas to Test
After evaluating all my ideas, I concluded that the idea which made most sense to move forward with would be a website that allows users to import their contacts from social media to see which movers their friends recommend.
The website would present all information in a very clear, simple, and uncluttered way, and offer a side-by-side comparison chart so users can easily compare whichever movers they are considering.
As my idea began to take shape, I designed a Business Goals Venn Diagram to identify which goals would be shared between the business, user, and technical side – because prioritizing these goals will provide the most value.
Next, I created a product roadmap with all the features I’d like to include, sorted by impact (high vs. low) and effort (high vs. low).
Storyboards
I drew 2 storyboards to better empathize with my target user and understand the context in which my product would be used.
#1: Overwhelmed Oliver
#2: Suspicious Sally
Information Architecture
Next, I conducted a card sorting activity with 6 participants to understand if any terms related to moving companies were unclear, and how people naturally group the terms.
Key Takeaways:
- Added “Edit profile” page for moving companies
- Added “Verification Process” link under “For Movers” category
- Clarified by using “moving company” terminology consistently
User Flow Diagrams
When diagramming the user flows, it brought up several issues I realized I hadn’t addressed, so I had to brainstorm solutions before designing the prototype.
For example:
- How can I help users get a price quote right away, without having to wait for the moving company to respond? (Solution: Use an algorithm to calculate the price quote.)
- When a user wants to check if the movers are available on a certain date and time, how will we confirm availability? (Solution: Require the movers to confirm the request to book within 24-48 hours)
Prototype
Mobile Wireframes
Over the course of 8 days, I created low-fi wireframes, then mid-fi wireframes, then finally a high-fidelity prototype.
Compare Moving Companies
Import Contacts
Write a Review
Branding
When designing the brand, I chose to use clear, simple fonts to offset the overwhelmed feeling people tend to experience while trying to find movers.
I chose blue as the primary brand color to represent trust and calm.
Test
Usability Testing
I conducted 6 moderated usability tests via Zoom screenshare, using a Figma prototype.
5 tasks were tested:
- Import Contacts
- Find a Moving Company
- Compare Movers
- Book a Mover
- Leave a Review
Summarizing the Results
I reviewed the recordings from the usability tests and took detailed notes on a Observation Sheet.
Next, I organized all the notes and feedback onto an Affinity Map to identify which issues and types of feedback were mentioned by the highest number of users.
Key Findings: What Went Well
Task Completion
In general, participants were able to complete their tasks, fill out forms and find and click on buttons easily and without errors.
Easy to Find Information
Participants appreciated that they were able to find information about all the moving companies in 1 place without having to google each company directly.
All-in-One
Participants appreciated that they were able to take care of the finding and booking process all on one site - getting it done from start to finish “without leaving my couch.”
Trust
Some participants appreciated that they could find recommendations from people they trust - not just from random reviewers online.
“It’s very helpful to have all this information on 1 platform and get quick access to all the information from all the movers.
It’s helpful to see reviews from people I trust - not just random strangers online.”
It’s helpful to see reviews from people I trust - not just random strangers online.”
Usability Test Participant
Key Findings: Issues
1. Unclear Pricing Terms
Some participants were unclear about what “fixed price” means, how it is calculated, and how it compares to movers who offer hourly rates.
2. Importing Contacts
A few participants were hesitant about importing contacts or didn’t find this feature valuable enough.
3. Booking
Some participants were concerned about booking a moving company through a third party service.
Iterate
Prioritizing Iterations
Before making any changes, I organized all the issues into a spreadsheet based on frequency and severity. Here are some of the things I changed:
ISSUE #1
Filter Button
Issue:
2/6 participants did not realize that you can tap on “6 Filter Applied” to open the filters menu and select more filters.
Fixes:
Changed the button to say “Filters (6)” (showing how many filters were already applied).
ISSUE #2
Hesitant to Import Contacts
Issue:
- 3/6 participants were hesitant to import their contacts from social media before seeing the value or need to do so.
Fixes:
- Altered the flow so that users are not asked to import anything until after they have seen the Search Results page (and started to see value).
- Added a disclaimer to the Import page explaining that only their contacts will be imported from social media (but no other data).
ISSUE #3
Fixed Price vs. Hourly Price
Issue:
4/6 participants were unsure what “fixed price” means. (How is the fixed price calculated, and how does it compare to the hourly rates?)
2/6 participants were unclear about what “lower” “average” or “higher” price means because they felt these are subjective terms.
Fixes:
Added an information icon (i) next to “Fixed Price” so users can tap on the icon to read about how each mover’s Fixed Price is calculated.
Added a price range under “Fixed Price” so users can get a general idea of the estimated cost.
Added an explanatory copy under the terms (“Higher fixed rates compared to other movers” and “Lower hourly rate compared to other movers.”)
Removed “Average Price” so the only options are High or Low.
Final Design
Find a Moving Company
Users can filter the list of moving companies so that they will see only the moving companies that best suit their needs, and can sort the list based on price or ratings.
See Reviews From Your Network
Users can import their contacts from social media to quickly see which movers are recommended by their friends.
Compare Moving Companies
User can compare 2 moving companies side-by-side, and collapse or expand each category of features (to reduce information overload).
Book a Mover
Users can calculate a price quote for any moving company immediately, without having to log in. Then, if they’re interested in booking, they can submit a request to book the movers directly through the site.
Leave a Review
Users can leave a review for moving companies they have used in the past, in order to help their friends and other users of the site find good moving companies easily.
Concluding Thoughts
Overall, I was happy with how this prototype came out from a usability perspective. I’m glad people were able to navigate the site and use all features easily, and had a straightforward experience accomplishing their tasks without errors.
My prototype succeeded in addressing the 4 main pain points in the following ways:
- Overwhelmed – Users can filter their search results to only see relevant movers, to reduce information overload. The site also offers a side-by-side comparison feature to let users compare 2 options easily.
- Financial Concerns – The site lets people quickly calculate price quotes to see which movers are within their budget, and compare prices against each other.
- Communication – Users can filter moving company results by language, and calculate a price quotes quickly without having to wait for the movers to respond.
- Reliability – The site lets users see which movers are recommended by their friends and network, not just displaying online reviews from strangers..
Next Steps
If I were working with a business that was trying to bring this product to market, I would recommend the following next steps:
1. “Import Contacts” feature
Some of the people I tested this prototype with did not use social media that much, so they did not see value in the “import contacts” feature. I’d be curious to know what people who are more heavily involved in social media would think of this feature and if they’d see enough value importing their social media contacts in order to find mover recommendations from their friends.
2. Booking through a 3rd party service
Some users were hesitant to book movers through a 3rd party service (due to concerns about paying extra or lack of accountability from the movers) so I’d recommend exploring ways to address these hesitations.
3. Start populating the site with reviews from many different locations
In order for this website to be successful, it would need a significant number of reviews from users of many different moving companies in many different locations, so we would need to explore ways to start getting enough reviews added to the site.
