Designer
Haley Holman
Haley Holman
Mentor
Manprit Kalsi
Manprit Kalsi
Timeline
Aug 2022 - Dec 2022
Aug 2022 - Dec 2022
Role
Product Design, User Research, Design and Strategy, Interaction Design
Product Design, User Research, Design and Strategy, Interaction Design
There are countless scheduling apps, but there are no apps that provide motivation and progress trackers for smaller goals, like making sure you’re getting enough exercise or drinking enough water. This is for people who have incredibly busy schedules, or for the person who may experience mental health issues and needs help performing more basic tasks. How might we improve the lives of our user’s by motivating them through self care and exercise?
Potential Solutions
I approached this problem with the idea of creating a mobile app for users to keep track of their short term and long term goals, and provide users support a place of support within a community of others on similar wellness tracks. I called the app Goalkeeper.
Research
When brainstorming different ideas for my capstone, I chose a project that centers on two things I care about most: mental health and exercise. The two go hand-in-hand, and I wanted to develop this into an app.
For my research, I interviewed five participants. Two interviews were conducted over Zoom and three were in person. I then created an Affinity Map using my findings.
"I wouldn’t get up and do those exercises if I was by myself. I like being told how to do it."
"For self care, I would consider any kind of activity in taking care of yourself, even though it sounds really repetitive. Anything promoting your health. When I think of that, I think of taking care of your emotional health, physical health, mental health."
"Definitely some form of accountability. Definitely to have some kind of coach to meet with who can help me go over those things that are scary for me."
"It wasn’t super long, but it was 5 minutes to walk down to the Taco Bell, 5 minutes to wait, 5 minutes to walk back. It was just nice to not be in the office and it was not to be able to stretch my legs."
"I wouldn’t get up and do those exercises if I was by myself. I like being told how to do it."
"For self care, I would consider any kind of activity in taking care of yourself, even though it sounds really repetitive. Anything promoting your health. When I think of that, I think of taking care of your emotional health, physical health, mental health."
"Definitely some form of accountability. Definitely to have some kind of coach to meet with who can help me go over those things that are scary for me."
"It wasn’t super long, but it was 5 minutes to walk down to the Taco Bell, 5 minutes to wait, 5 minutes to walk back. It was just nice to not be in the office and it was not to be able to stretch my legs."
Ashley
The Overachiever
Ashley has a lot on her plate and becomes easily overwhelmed by her tasks. She never takes much time for herself. She wants to manage stress, especially during the work day. She will sometimes realize that she hasn’t eaten or had water all day.
• Task management/organization
• Manage stress
• Maintain a healthier lifestyle
Michael
The Lost
Michael is struggling with his mental health after a very tough year. He wants to bring himself out of his depression. He fears that he will begin losing friends and his mental health will worsen. Michael does not know where to start, and struggles with motivation.
• Socialization/meeting more likeminded people
• Create a daily routine
• Find motivation to perform basic tasks (ex. showering)
How do we motivate our users to accomplish their short term and long term goals?
Ideation
When brainstorming different ideas for my capstone, I chose a project that centers on two things I care about most: mental health and exercise. The two go hand-in-hand, and I wanted to develop this into an app.
User Stories and MVP
Using my personas and empathy maps, I created user stories that Goalkeeper would deliver in the app.
Sitemaps
I created a sitemap to display the connections of my red routes.
User Flows
I then created two flows in detail, to showcase the user’s journey through the Progress and My Goals tabs.
Design and Prototype
From simple sketchesI created simple sketches, the first vision of my design. I was able to test these out with friends and housemates before I created low-fidelity wireframes.
To a skeleton of an idea
I created some wireframes utilizing the information from my user flows, sitemaps, and usability testing.
Usability Testing Part I
I recruited five participants for the first round of usability testing. I met up with the first group over Zoom.
Main Issue
#1 Serious UI issue - The design was jumbled and “clunky”
#2 The function to edit and add goals was not clear
Hi Fidelity Design
I added more elements to each red route and created something a little less complicated than my previous design, but added far more features.
My goals coming into this project were…
> Create a space for users to create and share their short term and long term goals
> Provide users with the ability to create more organization and balance in their lives
Usability Testing Part II
Five new friends did me the great honor of participating in the second part of my usability testing. In this final round of testing, participants were able to complete the necessary tasks.
Takeaways
1.) Trying to create a solution for everything isn’t possible.
I really desired to create a great mental health app, but struggled a lot with having a focus. I tried to create a solution for every problem, but it complicated my design in the end.
2.) I need to have a clearer idea of the problem I am trying to solve before I try to brainstorm a solution.
Without a clear idea of what to solve, I wasted more time trying to create a solution.
3.) Don’t try to rush through the steps.
When I tried to rush through the project, I faced burnout that set me back. In the future, I need to stay on a consistent and easy pace.
1.) Trying to create a solution for everything isn’t possible.
I really desired to create a great mental health app, but struggled a lot with having a focus. I tried to create a solution for every problem, but it complicated my design in the end.
2.) I need to have a clearer idea of the problem I am trying to solve before I try to brainstorm a solution.
Without a clear idea of what to solve, I wasted more time trying to create a solution.
3.) Don’t try to rush through the steps.
When I tried to rush through the project, I faced burnout that set me back. In the future, I need to stay on a consistent and easy pace.