Giselle Sperber
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Bestnest

Helping renters find safe homes

Problem: Renters don't know much about a property or its landlord when choosing where to live.

Solution: Cities have a lot of information about properties, from code violations to noise complaints. Utility providers have valuable data about energy usage which can give a better picture of total monthly rental costs. Making this information visible to citizens helps them make safe, informed housing decisions.

“The 1937 Housing Act established a federal priority for safe, decent, and sanitary housing. Yet more than 70 years later, nearly 13 million low-income people pay more than half of their monthly income for rent, live in severely substandard housing, or both.”
— U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Worst Case Housing Needs 2007: A Report to Congress
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We began our research at the 311 call center. Speaking with the operators who talk to citizens day in and day out was a shortcut for us to understand community needs. The call center gets many property related calls: from renters reporting landlords

We began our research at the 311 call center. Speaking with the operators who talk to citizens day in and day out was a shortcut for us to understand community needs. The call center gets many property related calls: from renters reporting landlords who won't fix leaks to neighbors requesting information on abandoned properties.

We wanted to learn more about housing insecurity and found a fount of knowledge in Emily O’Donnell, a housing rights lawyer with Legal Aid of East Tennessee. She was able to share the issues her clients face, as well as put us in touch wit

We wanted to learn more about housing insecurity and found a fount of knowledge in Emily O’Donnell, a housing rights lawyer with Legal Aid of East Tennessee. She was able to share the issues her clients face, as well as put us in touch with community members.

Narrowing the Idea

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After speaking with the community and a cross-section of City Hall, we needed to narrow the focus of our work. Along the way I'd recorded in a Trello board the needs I'd heard expressed in interviews and shortfalls we'd observed. From there we did s

After speaking with the community and a cross-section of City Hall, we needed to narrow the focus of our work. Along the way I'd recorded in a Trello board the needs I'd heard expressed in interviews and shortfalls we'd observed. From there we did some digital sifting and then used Post-its to do some tangible grouping. We were looking for a high need problem to solve, that would demonstrate the value of open data, and be within scope to build in nine months.

After we'd decided to explore rental issues, I wanted to expand our thinking about the tenant/landlord relationship. To mix things up, I used a gamestorming  exercise : as a team, we imagined potential product ideas as a party, a

After we'd decided to explore rental issues, I wanted to expand our thinking about the tenant/landlord relationship. To mix things up, I used a gamestorming exercise: as a team, we imagined potential product ideas as a party, and wrote some invitations. The exercise got us fired up about protecting tenants.

Rapid Identity

I needed to create a quick visual identity that would be flexible enough to change as the app progressed. Informally named RentFax, we decided on BestNest instead, since the code violations lookup feature works for all properties, not just rentals. I did some quick sketches and created this identity in an evening. (Much gratitude to Molly McLeod for her input and snap judgement.)

Testing the Prototype

Once we had a working prototype I tested it with citizens in formal usability tests. I also did intercept interviews and gathered casual usability feedback at community events around town to make sure we were on the right track. 

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The desire to share yelp/foursquare style tips was a recurrent request among testers, but despite the mock-ups testing well, our team decided it wasn't within scope for our 'minimal viable product.' 

The desire to share yelp/foursquare style tips was a recurrent request among testers, but despite the mock-ups testing well, our team decided it wasn't within scope for our 'minimal viable product.' 

The future of the App

The local Catholic Charities chapter puts on a program for low-income renters in cooperation with the Chattanooga Housing Authority called S.M.A.R.T. It is a multi-day training program where renters learn about budgeting, landlord relations, and things to be aware of as a renter in Chattanooga. We approached Catholic Charities about using BestNest at the S.M.A.R.T. training and getting actionable feedback from the participants. They were thrilled about a tool that could help their community and provided us with a platform to launch BestNest. On October 30, 2014 we presented BestNest to about 25 renters in Chattanooga.

The app is now being stewarded by local developers as part of the Code for America Chattanooga brigade. I'm also excited to report that a similar app is being developed by TED Fellow, Yale Fox. The need is clear and I'm glad that open data in the hands of those facing the most housing insecurity can help level the field.

Context: my Code for America fellowship year, working with the mayor's office of Chattanooga, TN.

Role: research, UX design, visual design, usability testing.

Time: 9 months.

Lesson: Getting your hands on clean data can be 99% of the work in an info driven app.