Introduction

Our team has designed Global Stay app that provides safe housing options for international students seeking accommodations abroad. International students pay high rents, thinking it will guarantee a safe area, only to discover that the neighborhood could be safer. The project aims to tackle students' challenges while searching for safe accommodations. It seeks to increase the number of students who can find such accommodations by helping them avoid scams, providing support networks, and ensuring their safety in unfamiliar areas.

Stakeholders

David Ramsy (professor)

The team

Ahmad Assabbagh
Anisha Bhegade
Khushbu Doshi
Rakul Senthilkumar

Time line

Sep- Nov 2023

My role
‍
Secondary research
Interviews
Wireframe
Usability testing

Design solution overview

Our team has made an app to help international students find accommodation in terms of safety where they ensure safe housing by using maps to find secure areas, vetting agents through direct communication, seeking advice from colleagues, and considering proximity to university and public transport to avoid risks.

Problem overview

As students, we have observed that a lot of our international peers need help finding safe accommodation when studying in the United States. They need more information about the safety of the place where they will stay. With the approval of our professor, we have formulated our problem statement.

Problem Statement

"How might we implement strategies to ensure that a greater number of international students find safe accommodations?"

Deep dive into the problem

Secondary research

Our team has conducted extensive research by analyzing various papers and articles to understand the size of our demographic and identify potential areas for expansion and focus. In doing so, we have gained insights into international students' struggles when coming to a foreign country and searching for accommodation. Our findings are supported by data from OpenDoorData which states that approximately 1,057,188 international students come to the United States from 121 country.This diverse group of students often confronts unique challenges in securing safe and suitable accommodation.

9,400 forcible sex offenses, 44% are on campus

6,800 burglaries, 32% are on campus

1,700 aggravated assault, 7% are on campus

Furthermore, safety concerns on campus are a significant aspect of these challenges. The National Center for Education Statistics reported several crimes on campus in 2020.These concerns can negatively impact students' quality of life, academic experience, and overall cultural and educational experience.

Interview

To enhance our understanding of international students' accommodation search process and the factors influencing their choices, we conducted interviews from various backgrounds alongside our secondary research. Our objective was to gain deeper insights into their specific needs, aiming to offer safer and more suitable accommodation options. We engaged with eight individuals for these interviews, focusing on gathering comprehensive information on this subject.

These interviews not only shed light on the challenges and pain points faced by the diverse students but also provided us with crucial insights for identifying areas that require enhancement. This qualitative method of inquiry enabled us to obtain in-depth feedback, serving as a valuable supplement to the wider-ranging data acquired through our secondary research efforts.

key insight 1

The safety concerns of international students emphasize the need for comprehensive safety education that informs them about safe neighborhoods.

key insight 2

International students need to be educated about common scams and provided with tools to verify housing opportunities due to their prevalence.

key insight 3

Long commutes, especially late at night, increase exposure to potential hazards like unsafe neighborhoods or streets.

key insight 5

The lack of easily accessible, accurate, and comprehensive housing guides and resources underscores the need for reliable information.

key insight 4

Safety concerns arise due to unfamiliarity with city neighborhoods, posing risks for international students.

"Finding a safe place to stay is my top priority. It's crucial for me to feel secure and at ease in my new environment, as it directly impacts my ability to focus on my studies and enjoy my time abroad".-participant 1

“ When I first arrived in the U.S., I struggled with finding housing. I had little knowledge about which neighborhoods were safe and affordable, I had no guidance on what to do.” -participant 2

Persona

After collecting and analyzing data, we created two distinct personas that would embody the varied perspectives and experiences of a larger pool of users. Our goal was to ensure that our design choices would align with the expectations of international students and provide a more equitable design process.

Journey map

Then, we developed a thorough understanding of the experiences of international students where it involved addressing their challenges, behaviors, and offering recommendations at various stages of the process.

HMW statement

After researching to determine critical insights from international students and presenting them to our stakeholder to ensure that the design aligns with these broader goals before investing time, we have reframed the problem statement to guide us in enhancing their experience of finding accommodation.

Redefine the  Statement

Redefine the problem Statement

"How can we help more international students find safe housing and learn about city safety and scam prevention?"

Design Process

Information architect

After our discussion, we devised the framework for an international student based on the pain points and inspiration from apps, websites, and other methods students used. This framework includes a homepage with a map and a listing of apartments, along with their prices, contact information, and reviews. This will make navigating and finding suitable housing options easier for international students.

Lofi &  Highfi wireframs

Our design exploration involved creating low-fidelity wireframes to evaluate ideas and receive feedback from our professor to ensure that the design aligns with these broader goals before investing time. We then developed high-fidelity wireframes to refine our prototype.

Improvement of design

Usability testing

We tested our prototypes with eight users to identify areas where we could improve our design and gather feedback on its current state. Based on the results of our tests, we have determined four significant improvements that need to be made to our design.

Final Design

Finally, we presented our design iteration to our professor, demonstrating how it can assist students in finding safe and suitable accommodation. This iterative process has been crucial in designing an app that effectively meets the needs of international students looking for safe housing abroad.

A map indicating the secure zones.

Students can easily identify the safest accommodation locations by viewing an area map.

Key Exchange Safety Meeting & Student Reviews

Students can contact the leasing agent through messaging, phone calls, or by scheduling an open house tour to ensure a safe living arrangement and avoid scams.They can also review other students' reviews, providing insight into the safety and reliability of accommodations.

Support network from the same university

Reaching out to colleagues for accommodation advice can create a sense of community, safety, and security among students.

Identify the distance for commuting from their university

Students can determine the distance between their university and their place of residence to gauge the availability of public transportation and reduce the risk of potential hazards such as poorly lit streets.

How to measure success?

Reflection & nextsteps

In my learning, I've developed collaboration skills with students like me in limited time, emphasizing empathy and understanding the pain points of my fellow international students. This enhanced my design thinking and the ability to incorporate professor feedback into our designs. I've also learned to solve ambiguous challenges effectively.

Monitor any safety incidents reported by users who found accommodation through the app. Collect and analyze user feedback through surveys and reviews to gauge satisfaction levels with the app's effectiveness in finding safe accommodations and tracking the number of students who successfully find accommodations through the app.

Next steps for the project?