ROLE
A Native Mobile Productivity App
PRODUCT DESIGNER
IDEATION & STRATEGY
JOURNEY MAPPING
UX / UI DESIGN
PROTOTYPING
USABILITY TESTING & ANALYSIS
UX PHASE
PROBLEM
What’s it like managing a household and kids’ schedules? Like you’re everywhere all at once. The constant need to keep tabs on the activities and responsibilities. Movement all day, none stop.
Is there an existing app that’s geared toward organizing and coordinating family activities, events and all things related? Running a household is not as simple and it’s for this reason that I designed this app.
OBJECTIVE
The objective is to design a to-do list kind of productivity app that would help in organizing household related tasks and responsibilities as well as aid in the coordination and consolidation of family members’ schedules, activities and any information related to these.
PROBLEM SPACE
Given there are many productivity apps available, is there a need for another one? What problem will it solve?
Externally, the app will solve a parent’s need for organization and being on-top of all matters of home and kids. It’ll provide easy access to shared information.
Internally, the parent will feel a sense of relief, peace of mind, be reassured and feel some form of liberation.
USER
RESEARCH
I was able to interview a few of my mom friends on what they would want in an app that would be useful to them. I did this by doing a survey with options and by asking them open ended questions.
Here are some of the top answers:
- To do list where a user can input necessary details or information (without having to press too many buttons or shift to different apps.) An example would be to have access to contacts from the app so if a mom/dad needs a contact number like a doctor’s, it will be easy to just input it without having to shift to contacts app in the phone.
- Daily Expense Calculator that would give a total at the end of the month. - Provide basic accounting to monitor monthly expenses.
- Function that would allow coordination between family members.
PAIN POINTS
USER PERSONAS
USER JOURNEY MAP
JTBD 1: How might a user view the summary of tasks for the day and other significant task details?
This user journey map details the steps user Jane Simon (Mom) will take to view all tasks on her list and view accomplished tasks after task is completed.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
“I went out of town for a vacation with my sister and left the schedules of the kids with their dad. But even while on vacation, I get messages asking for the number of the doctor, where the birthday is happening. I’m on vacay but Im also still at home.”
“My mom could be so busy so Instead of sending messages, it would be practical to note down
tasks in one place for my own personal use and for it to be included in my mom’s list too without having to use different apps. Especially when I want her to buy snacks or anything I need from the grocery or mall.”
“My son has ADD. Asking him daily for his activities and school schedules makes me feel like a nag. And giving him reminders all the time is also not sustainable. I feel have to micromanage, but is that healthy? I want to be able to note things so instead of constant messaging, he can just check on his own. At the very least, I can say, “check the app.”
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
To get ideas, I did a Competitive Analysis of several productivity apps but focused mainly on Structured and Todoist. Then I used iOS Notes and Calendar apps as reference.
I took from these apps the features I found would be valuable to the app being designed. Here are some of the notable features.
PRIMARY SOURCE
TODOIST
-
There's a lot of information on the page but because of the layout of the app, the user understands immediately the flow and process. From a general overview of options the eye moves to the detailed list (left to right) in an organized flow and movement. Best practice applied, it follows the F-Pattern layout.
-
When a task is added, a notification appears and after each task is ticked, the "done" task disappears from the list providing clear action and progress. The app also allows users to undo the action with a call to action button that shows up after the task is ticked.
STRUCTURED
-
For this app, all information is immediately shown in one page. Access to other functions can be opened as secondary actions. For those people who are always on the go, this makes the user experience easy-- get important info in one glance.
-
This app follows a single page layout where everything is presented in one glance and multiple actions can be done.
-
Visually, the app has a simple structure and layout. The way the elements come together makes the app look aesthetically pleasing to the eyes but also gives an easy to use feel without it being overwhelming or lacking.
SECONDARY SOURCE
NOTES
-
Notes is very straight-forward. What I find most valuable about this app is it’s ability to collaborate with other contacts.
-
Another feature that I find useful is that it there is an option to add tick boxes for lists.
CALENDAR
-
The features of the iOS Calendar are pretty basic and standard. Design is simple and navigating through it is easy.
-
Also present in other apps, but not all, is the ability to add files or media to the schedule when filling in details.
SOLUTION
To come up with a solution, I put together some questions to answer-- this helped in the decision making of what features to include as priority. From there, I also incorporated some of the features I found valuable from the other apps.
Below are some of the questions and how they will be answered and applied to the design of the app:
-
How might a user create a user profile?
-
How might a user schedule events on a calendar?
-
How might a user view family members’ schedules?
-
How might a user be able to consolidate all members’ schedules?
As mentioned, one of the apps features will allow coordination between family members. Each member will be able to create their own profiles. They could then update their calendars with their own tasks and schedules and share it with the other members. The app will consolidate the information, allowing Mom or parent- -in-charge to check each members’ activities which will show up in his or her account.
How might a user list down a to-do list / create task lists? How might a user mark tasks as complete so as to determine their productivity for the day?
Through this app, lists can be created such as: tasks for the day, grocery lists and also the budget or expense lists. Each time a task is completed, the user may tick the box and a line will also cross out the task.
Studying different productivity apps and using some myself, I noticed that once a task is completed and the box is ticked, the task disappears from the list. I prfefer the idea of the task being ticked and crossed out while still being left on the list because there is a satisfaction to this. Productivity can be estimated visually and simply. However, it can be an option and a switch can be included to either keep the task or make it disappear.
What other helpful features will the app include?
Another practical function about the app is the grocery list creator. Parents are always on the go and there are times when an item pops up in the mind and if not noted, it would be forgotten. The grocery list is easy to access and update anytime as needed. Other members can also collaborate and add to the list.
UI PHASE
MID-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
DESIGN SOLUTIONS
HIGH-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
BRANDING & VISUAL DESIGN
STYLE GUIDE
Color Scheme 1
Color Scheme 2
Custom Icons
Typography
PROTOTYPING
Design
-
Color scheme is light and visually appealing
-
Overall, the design is straight-forward with good visual hierarchy
-
"Mom" icon missing in screens
-
Button font size seems large, can be adjusted
​
Functions
-
Some buttons (back buttons) weren't functioning properly. Maybe add padding?
-
Some screens were misaligned and shifted slightly.
-
Profile button didn't work in all pages as with home button
​
User - Experience
-
The flow was easy to understand and the objectives were clear
-
Iconography visually defined the functions
-
Smooth transaction from onboarding to ticking off the tasks ( would've been great if more tasks could be ticked off in the prototype not just one )
-
Add more functions to the prototype-- more buttons to press
To identify issues and gather feedback, prototype usability testing was done. Target users participated and gave their comments on the design, functionality and user-experience of this preliminary version of the product.
USABILITY TESTING - FEEDBACK:
TicTaskGo Mobile App
Please wait, it may take a moment for the video to upload
Thanks for checking out my portfolio. If you have any thoughts or questions,
feel free to send me a message. Email adresworkspace@gmail.com.