PRODUCT DESIGN

PUBLICBNB

PublicBNB was conceived as a platform for helping low-income individuals find affordable housing. PublicBNB aims to make it easier for applicants to connect with the agencies administering the program. To support this goal, a deep understanding of the user is necessary and the application process should be tailored to their needs. Central to that mission is promotion of the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP). This program helps families, the elderly, and the disabled afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.

Project Overview

Unfortunately, many of the people who would most benefit from the program are either unaware of the program or unable to apply because it is too impractical. How might we streamline the networking process of applicants with agencies administering the program. To support this goal, a deep understanding of the user is necessary and the application process should be tailored to their needs.

Role

Product Designer

Team

Megan Kennedy, Cat Lagman, Harleen Mittal

Timeline

Sept 2016 - Jan 2017

Tools

Sketch, InVision, Miro, Airtable

Agency

Tradecraft

The Pivot

14 Interviews. 5 Low Income Individuals. 3 Employees of Public Housing Agencies. 3 Section 8 Tenants. 3 Section 8 Landlords.

Confirmed our findings from the preliminary research.

For Low-income individuals or Voucher Seekers - We spoke to people on 16th and Mission as well as to people outside the library South of Market. Most people felt that they needed to prove themselves in order to find housing and that people didn’t trust them. They had difficulty meeting the qualifications. They also felt like there wasn’t enough information available where they could learn about housing. They all currently live in shelters or on the street and they need a long term solution.

For housing authorities we called 20 people on the PHA list for California - most of them had automated voicemails or asked to leave a message - nearly all of them with automated messages began with saying they weren't accepting applications for housing choice vouchers and some even said they wouldn't be available for at least 5 more years.We also attempted man on the street interviews at the section 8 co-op complexes at Mcallister and Laguna however people were very private here - we predominately relied on current interviews of section 8 tenants found in local newspaper articles.

We also contacted landlords found on the website “gosection8.com”.

After collecting all the information from these interviews we wrote down our impressions of each person on sticky notes and went to the board and found commonalities in what people were saying and labeled the groups.

Prioritizing The Roadmap

Our fundamental assumptions were incorrect. Helping individuals apply for vouchers will not have the impact we wanted.There are no vouchers to award. PHAs are not accepting applications.Section 8 Housing is virtually nonexistent.

We determined that if we reduce the stigma faced by Section 8 voucher Holders and can Encourage Landlords to make more housing available for these individuals, our chances of success can be much higher.