Hostel mangement application
Moshi Moshi Media/ Kokoon Living
2023
Hospitality
Senior Product Designer- Reseach, Interaction Design, Visual Design, User Flows, Rapid Prototyping, Usability Testing
Android app for Students + Management webapp
Problem Statement
The app had a cluttered interface, making it difficult for users to navigate and find essential features. Users were facing issues with the onboarding process, which was affecting new user adoption rates. The app lacked personalization and customization options, making it less engaging and user-friendly.
Requirement
There was a need of comprehensive digital solution to manage and enhance the experience of students residing in our hostel along with an admin panel for hostel management. This should consist of two main components:
Student App: A user-friendly mobile application for students to easily manage their hostel life. Features should include onboarding, payment tracking, communication with hostel staff, facility requests, event notifications, and a feedback system for improving the overall living experience.
Admin Panel: A robust web-based platform for hostel administrators to manage room allocations, track payments, monitor student requests, manage maintenance tasks, and facilitate communication between staff and residents. The admin panel should allow for real-time data access, reporting capabilities, user access-controls and easy management of student records.
Results
Increased Student Onboarding by 25%: Streamlined registration and room allocation processes, improving student onboarding efficiency.
Controlled Finance Leakages by 90%: Automated payment tracking and reporting reduced errors and financial discrepancies.
Student Query Resolution 2X Faster: Improved query management system enabled faster responses to student concerns.
Efficient Asset Tracking for Maintenance: Automated asset tracking ensured timely and cost-effective maintenance of hostel resources.
30% Time/ Task Efficiency: Improvement for wardens/ manager Integrated system automation reduced manual tasks, boosting productivity for hostel staff.
25%
Improved student onboarding
90%
Reduction in finance leakage
2x
Faster query resolutions
30%
Task efficiency from hostel staff
Process
1. Discovery Phase:
Stakeholder Interviews: Conducted interviews with hostel managers, wardens, and students to understand their pain points, and expectations from the system.
Competitive Analysis: Research existing student hostel apps and management systems to identify best practices and gaps in the market.
Define Key Objectives: Based on stakeholder inputs, define measurable goals like improving student onboarding, reducing financial leakages, and enhancing query resolution speed.
2. User Research:
Persona Development: Created personas for key users, such as students, wardens, and hostel managers, to understand their unique needs and behaviors.
Journey Mapping: Develop user journey maps for both students and admin to identify touchpoints, pain points, and opportunities for improvement.
Surveys and Feedback: Collect feedback from current users to validate assumptions and gather insights on existing system challenges.
3. Ideation & Conceptualization:
Brainstorming: Collaborate with stakeholders to generate ideas for features like automated payment tracking, query management, and asset tracking.
Wireframing: Design low-fidelity wireframes to map out the layout and functionality for both the student app and the admin panel.
Feature Prioritization: Prioritize features based on impact and feasibility, focusing on automating administrative tasks, streamlining student queries, and enabling real-time data tracking.
4. Design & Prototyping:
High-Fidelity Designs: Create polished, high-fidelity designs for both the app and admin panel, ensuring a seamless and intuitive user experience.
Interactive Prototypes: Build interactive prototypes to simulate key functionalities (e.g., onboarding, payment tracking, query submission).
UI/UX Testing: Conduct usability tests to ensure the interface is intuitive, and iterate based on feedback to improve usability.
5. Development & Testing:
Agile Development: Work in sprints to develop and implement the system, ensuring constant communication between designers, developers, and stakeholders.
Beta Testing: Roll out the system to a small group of users (students and admin) for real-world feedback and to identify any issues.
Bug Fixing & Refinement: Continuously refine the system based on feedback and test results, addressing any technical or user experience issues.
6. Launch & Post-Launch:
Launch Strategy: Plan a phased rollout, starting with key features to ensure smooth adoption by students and administrators.
User Training: Provide onboarding and training for both students and hostel staff to ensure they can fully leverage the app’s features.
Post-Launch Support: Offer ongoing support to resolve any issues, gather feedback, and implement necessary updates.
7. Performance Monitoring & Iteration:
Analytics Tracking: Integrate analytics tools to track key metrics such as student onboarding rates, query resolution times, and financial tracking accuracy.
Continuous Improvement: Use data insights to continually refine and optimize the app and admin panel for improved performance and user satisfaction.
“ We have seen tremendous improvement with our collective operations including that of the management. We deeply value the design insights and products shared by the team. ”
Kovid J.
Director | Kokoon Living
Conclusion
This project successfully transformed the hostel management system by creating a seamless, user-friendly platform that improved both the student experience and operational efficiency. The enhanced onboarding process, financial oversight, faster query resolution, and efficient asset tracking have resulted in measurable improvements, including increased student engagement, reduced financial leakages, and greater time efficiency for hostel staff. By leveraging thoughtful and youthful design and user-centered research, the system has streamlined operations, driving both student satisfaction and long-term management success.
