In Part I of this series, I presented the problem of finding a new apartment while trying to satisfy the desires of my roommates. Creating user personas to detail what really mattered to my roommates, I was able to detail the main ideas surrounding my roommates. For today’s post, I will be using an additional model to further along my goal of finding a new apartment.

After resolving the arguing amongst my roommates, I was finally able to truly start on my search for a new apartment. If only it were that simple.

I thought the process of finding an apartment would be as easy as jumping online and finding the apartment that best suited my roommates and me. Despite my naive intentions, I found that I was overwhelmed with the sheer quantity of available places to live. From multiple listing in one building to three houses right next to each other, there were simply too many options to be able to sift through and not lose my sanity. Of course in this instance, I began to feel the grips of panic set in again. How will I ever decide? What if the apartments I like aren’t available when I need to move? Will they take my pets? I was frozen.

Luckily, I thought of how I solved my last apartment dilemma. A model seemed like a perfect way to solve this problem. While user personas worked well last time, I didn’t feel as if user personas were going to have quite the same effect when it came to deciding on what property to lease. I gave it some thought and took time trying to decide what model would work best. Despite the multiple attempts, I kept finding that I had too many options and couldn’t sift through so many apartments. Just then, the light bulb went off in my head. Before I could find that perfect place, I needed to sort out all of the irrelevant nonsense causing me stress.

I asked myself what were the major things I was looking for in the apartment. I came up with a list of criteria to help sort through the apartments. I would use these criteria and make a list of potential apartments that would suit my roommates and me. Using my skills as a requirements analyst, I employed the use of a decision tree model to streamline the process. Despite my previous attempts, I refused to share my model with my roommates as I did not feel like cleaning up the scraps when they tore the models to bits. I did print the model out and hang it on the refrigerator for them to glance at if they felt so inclined.

Using my decision tree, I was able to compile a much reduced list of apartments that would be suitable. In Part III of the series, I will use one final model to draw an end to my hunt for an apartment. Thank you for reading, and feel free to share your personal experiences with overwhelming options and how you solved the problem!