Reducing moving stress through
smart planning
Timeline
20
Weeks
October – March, 2022
My Role
End-to-End Design
Research
Design
User Testing
Tools Used
Figma
Miro
Google Suite
Optimal Sort
Zoom
Metrics at a glance
$86B
Industry Opportunity
Fragmented market
90%+
Task Success Rate (Final)
56%
Users Overspent on Moves
Pain point identified & solved
58%
Prioritize Planning
Core feature validated
INITIAL PROBLEM DISCOVERY
People have been moving more than ever before!
The Problem
31 million Americans moving each
year face fragmented, stressful
experiences
The $86B Moving Industry lacks solutions that can make residential
moving manageable.
This has made moving one of the most stressful life events — ranked #3
after death and divorce.
31M
Americans/year
$86B
Industry size
#3
Most stressful
The Hypothesis
A planning-first approach can
reduce moving stress
An application that can alleviate the complexity of moving by
breaking down workload into manageable tasks will enable
people to save time, money and move hassle-free.
Key objectives:
Break complex process into manageable tasks
Provide clear planning timeline
Help users budget accurately
Connect users with verified services
Competitor Analysis
Competitors lacked the planning and budgeting users needed
Although most popular, it is invite only and available only to certain apartment properties.
Chat supported assistant. Covers limited cities and has unreliable customer service.
Relocation Packages for company employees which provides a consultant as a guide.
Survey
Survey with 50 people helped in understanding moving patterns, planning habits, and frustrations
74%
had moved
5+ times.
24%
had moved
10+ times
56%
spent at least
10% over budget
💡
Key Insight
56% of the participants had spent more on their move as a result of not accounting for hidden expenses, requiring more time than expected, unexpected storage costs, forgetting to cancel utilities and mostly not having planned better.
Survey Respondent Profile
Average Age Range
25-34 years old
Most Recent Move
Within last 12 months
Primary Frustration
Disorganization & Stress
POLL
Next, I conducted an Instagram poll to prioritize the key pain points associated with a move (31 respondents)
User Interviews
Interviews with 5 participants revealed how lack of planning added to moving stress.
I forgot to cancel electricity connection in old apartment for 3 months!!
-interview participant
-interview participant
“I had to get rid of a bulky couch after moving it to the new home. I should have planned better.”
💡
Opportunity
No one used a dedicated tool — validating the opportunity for a purpose-built app.
Defining persona & goals
Meet Ambitious Allen - the frequent mover
EMPATHY MAPPING
The secondary personas identified were
Design Pivot
Initial setback + a new direction
At first, I spent 3 weeks exploring a Web Application route but after quantitative research, I realized a mobile application would be more valuable to users.
Ideation
Brainstorming solutions and prioritizing features
Information Architecture
Site map for the simplest and most logical navigation for the users
DETERMINING MVP
The four main flows selected were:
Find curated list of tasks for your move.
Get a quotation from movers.
Calculate your total moving estimate.
Add items to your moving inventory
USERFLOW 1
USERFLOW 2
12
Sketching & Wireframing
Evolution of screens through iteration (My Move)
My initial design idea was that the users land at the Home Page after filling in the Move details.
After brainstorming and a few dozen sketches later, I thought the “Tasks” screen should be the default screen as that is the most important function of the application.
However, the usability test -1 suggested that the users were very used to the idea of seeing a Home Screen and that having a Tasks screen as a default first screen didn’t give the users a clear idea about the capabilities of the application.
3 rounds of remote moderated usability testing
with 15 participants
Testing + Iteration
All participants had moved at least once in the past year.
Testing + Improvements
Evolution of Home Screen
Before
100% confused by "Calculator"
Unclear immediate actions
Iteration
️ "Calculate moving estimate"
Added action hierarchy
Final
✅ Quotations prominent
✅ Clear CTAs centered
Testing + Improvements
Evolution of Inventory Screen
Before
Not categorized, cannot add items or room
Iteration
3/5 couldn’t find “Add Room”
Final
✅ Categorized well with a prominent “Add Room” button
15
Testing + Improvements
Evolution of Mover Details Screen
Before
40% trust jobs done over reviews
80% confused how to get quotation
Final
✅ Added “no. of jobs completed”
✅ Get quotations is now the primary CTA
The Final Solution — MovePal
An end-to-end moving concierge app to help
Plan your moving checklist
Document all your items
Book all services & utilities
Budget for the move
Curated list of all moving tasks
Fill in move details like location, size, type etc.
Get a personalized curated list of tasks based on details provided.
Tackle time-sensitive tasks by checking the app regularly.
Book, Chat & get quotations from Service Providers
Tasks linked with option to book services.
Get quotations, chat and book movers all in one place
Save time by not having to call
several providers
Easily document your entire
moving inventory
Document your entire moving inventory room by room.
Add special notes & images. Share Moving inventory with Movers.
Access the inventory while getting Moving /Home/ Renter’s insurance.
Future Roadmap
Given more time, I'd have...
1
Deeper research
More interviews and conversations with moving
companies to understand their challenges.
2
Additional features
Social platform to share experiences. Real-time
mover tracking on move day.
3
Sustainability focus
Moving generates 900M cardboard boxes and
8.4M tons of waste annually.
Lessons Learnt
Key takeaways from this project
📚
Industry knowledge
More storage units than McDonald's and
Starbucks combined. Industry generates
massive waste.
🧪
Test early, test more
Importance of early usability testing and
recruiting the right participants.
✍️
Clear CTAs matter
Most people don't read copy. Clear call-to-
actions are essential.