DevMountain Housing Program Experience
The signage guiding students to DevMountain’s lobby and classrooms.
DevMountain’s headquarters were located in Provo, Utah in the historic Startup Candy Building. Each student and staff member was greeted by the smell of caramel from an operating candy store next door. This is the campus I managed and expanded during my time there.
One of the co-founders, Tyler Richards, has a knack for drawing. I asked him to create illustrations for the walls of each new campus to build a cohesive atmosphere across at DevMountain locations. Each sketch included easter eggs and meaning that related back to the company culture. For example, the gummy bears in the top right corner represent the chocolate-covered cinnamon bears from Startup Candy, a small business next to this location, that the staff would purchase and share with everyone.
DevMountain had close ties with the city of Provo and Brigham Young University. The founders were all BYU graduates, and local students would take the summer off to attend a DevMountain course. This advertisement is a fun play on the Honor Code students are required to sign when attending BYU.
I worked with Swire Coca-Coal to have new Freestyle machines installed at the Provo and Salt Lake City campuses. I ensured that the installation adhered to city code and managed the maintenance schedule to ensure high levels of quality and cleanliness. The machines grew into one of the largest perks for students and added to the school’s culture.
Summary.
DevMountain is a 12-week bootcamp that teaches iOS, Web Development, UX Design, and QA courses. I joined DevMountain in the Fall of 2014 when they were just starting to offer full-time courses with the option of housing. I took on the task of managing the Housing Program, which included sourcing apartment locations, creating relationships with owners, managing housing assignments, apartment maintenance, student issues, check-in/check-out every 6 weeks, and more.
I grew the Housing Program at the Provo Headquarters to accommodate more than fifty students at any given time. With classes starting every six weeks, the turnover for housing was unparalleled compared to other schools. Eventually DevMountain expanded to Salt Lake City, Dallas, and Phoenix where I led the campus and housing roll-outs.
DevMountain’s success relied on student referrals, so student experience was paramount to the expansion of the company. While in the Operations Manager role, I was responsible for much of the student experience across the company. One important element of this was, of course, housing.
Problem.
As DevMountain expanded, the demand for housing increased exponentially. Students craved the experience of rooming with classmates, living within walking distance of campus, and focusing on their education.
With 4 campuses and over 40+ housing units combined, a predictable process with a human element was necessary to ensure a smooth and enjoyable housing experience for students. Oftentimes the Campus and Housing Managers were the only staff students would have consistent contact with until class started.
As DevMountain campuses opened in each city, I could no longer sustain the hands-on management approach for each housing location. I thus interviewed and hired Campus and Housing Managers at each location and shared the processes with them, establishing a streamlined experience company-wide.
Solution.
The solution started with collecting research. I conducted student interviews with those who had already gone through the housing process and gathered both qualitative and quantitative data. The goal was to deeply understand the student experience in order to design a housing process in a way that would match student needs in the right moment.
After I collected the data, I led a brainstorming session with the Operations team to create an Empathy Map based on students’ feedback. It validated the assumption that our team was part of a pivotal moment in each student’s campus experience. As students embarked on a new educational journey, they felt a combination of nerves, anxiety, and excitement. It was necessary that I kept the students’ experience top-of-mind when developing the process.
Based on the data, I drew out the current process and marked places where improvement was necessary. Students needed vital housing information soon after they were accepted in order to make travel plans. So, all students were contacted 3 months prior to their start date with specific housing check-in information. If students had questions prior to that 3 month touch point, they were guided to the Campus and Housing Manager for their location. This person became the student’s main point of contact for all questions and concerns during the housing process.
I also collected travel plans from incoming students and would take note of students that were flying into the airport within the same timeframe. I’d then request permission to share their contact information with one another, so they could connect prior to their travel day. This came about from a pain point collected in the data: students were stressed about finances during their time in the bootcamp. By allowing students to connect with each other, they were able to carpool to campus and save money. It was crucial that I was intentional when connecting these students, because this was a “moment that matters”. After all, the students were flying by themselves to an unknown city, but could potentially find comfort and support in a new classmate when they arrive. Students in the same cohort bonded throughout their time in the course, and I wanted to capitalize on that by creating opportunities earlier in the process for them to connect.
When making housing assignments, I would first take into account what each student’s housing and personal preferences were. Night owl? Gym obsessed? Originally from the Pacific Northwest? I’d assign like-minded or complementary students together in the same apartment. I’d also assign them to apartments with students from previous cohorts. This way the incoming students would have an automatic mentor to guide them through the DevMountain experience.
Finally, for all prospective students I created a Housing Introduction video where I talked about what to expect with the DevMountain Housing Program and showed footage of what Provo housing looked like. This brought myself out of ambiguity and alleviated stress that students felt as they started their new career path.
Housing Video
This video is featured on the “Housing” page on the DevMountain website, which serves both prospective and current students. I worked with our Marketing team and videographer to make this project a reality.
Outcomes.
Students were delighted by the information and touch points we provided throughout their housing experience. Participation in DevMountain’s Referral Program increased, and the main participants in the Referral Program were students who stayed in housing—they overwhelmingly recommended their overall experience to friends/family.
I improved and streamlined a stressful experience of moving to a new city, rooming with classmates, and starting a new career. Students and staff appreciated the predictability and connection they could have with one another at such a crucial point in the process.
To this day, I still have personal relationships with many students that stayed in DevMountain housing, because I was there during an important growth moment in their lives and continue to be invested in their success.