Lounge – 2013 First Round Winner

We have observed that MIT undergraduates across dorms feel that the housing assignment process, particularly for returning students, is unnecessarily slow, manual, and prone to mistakes.

Lounge, speeds up and automates the housing reassignment process. In particular, Lounge has:

• Digitized floor plans and rooms for better representation, display, and accessibility.
• Zero-step log-in system (simply click on a dorm building) that uses certificates to directs users directly to their floor.
• Allows users to search easily through rooms, and users
• Supporting various housing assignment methods (pure lottery, points, tiers), allowing to quick adoption by different housing committees
• Efficient way to accept rooming preferences/assignments from users, including options for squatting, and designating roommates to choose rooms for both/multiple partners
• Synchronous lottery system that allows multiple users to select rooms at the same time, to speed up lottery process
• Intuitive interface that distinguishes between admins and residents, allowing only the former to start lotteries, add residents, and set building information.
• Flexible interface based on residences, which can be dorms or individual floors, administered by the appropriate housing chairs
• Convenient .csv-format export feature that will allow information to be stored and manipulated offline.
• Decentralized approach that allowing appropriate “super-admins” to quickly add new buildings, floors, and rooms
• Clear instructions and tips where appropriate to guide users quickly through the web app.