Task Ease

Empowering your daily routine

The primary objective of this project is to gain insight into and provide solutions for the challenges individuals face when it comes to organizing and overseeing household tasks, a pervasive issue in our everyday existence.

This project was executed utilizing a Participatory Design methodology, which entails the active engagement of end-users at every stage of the project. This engagement consisted of an online survey, the facilitation of a Future Workshop, the conduct of co-design sessions and the collection of feedback on design sketches.

View Solution

Home Screen

Why even make this?

Project Details

Project type

Technical solution using PD
University group project

Tools used

Figma
Miro
Adobe Photoshop
Discord

My role

UX/UI Designer

Project duration

August - November 2023

My tasks

Conducting the research
Analyzing the data
Future workshop
Sketching, wireframing & prototypig

The solution

The problem

Household chores encompass a diverse range of responsibilities crucial for maintaining a well-functioning and enjoyable living environment. Difficulty in effectively managing these tasks frequently leads to a disordered and anxiety-inducing domestic setting.

In the initial stages of our project, it was evident that our objective was to implement a technical solution. However, there was some uncertainty regarding the specific form this solution would take. Would it be an application, an IoT system or perhaps a website? The final decision regarding the solution was reached subsequent to the Future Workshop and the Online Survey. During these collaborative events, users, in conjunction with our team of designers, deliberated and ultimately opted to develop a mobile application aimed at enhancing task completion motivation.

Design process

01. Explore

Designers meet the users and familiarize themselves with the ways in which the users work together.

Observation

Survey

Interviews

Go to section

02. Discover

Designers and users collaborate to analyze work organization, define project goals and plan the future workplace.

Future Workshop

Sketch Feedback

Go to section

03. Analyse

Analyze the findings discovered in Stages 1&2.

Thematic Analysis

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04. Prototype

Designers and users iteratively shape technological artifacts to fit into the workplace envisioned in Stages 1 &2

Advanced Prototype

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What are the users saying?

1. Exploration

Survey

"I hate doing chores"

The initial step was to identify the challenges users encounter with tasks and understand the general aversion towards completing them. We opted for a survey as it is an efficient method of data collection that allows us to gather a broad spectrum of opinions without significantly encroaching on either our time or that of the respondents.

Our questionnaire included 17 qualitative questions aimed at various facets of the problem statement, primarily utilizing open-ended questions to support our exploratory research methodology.

We received a total of 16 responses. Selected direct quotes from these responses are displayed on the right.

Quotes from users

“I hate doing it, and it feels never-ending”

“I might reward myself with some more relaxing things, maybe a movie or an extra episode of a show i'm watching”

“I try to think what bad things will happen if I don’t do household chores”

“There are more fun things to do”

“The problem often lies in the way that we, people, think about doing chores, maybe something that would change my way of thinking about doing them”

What are the users saying?

What is the plan for the future?

2. Discovery

Future Workshop

"An app would be nice"

The Future Workshop (FW) is a method employed within Participatory Design for the purpose of planning and conceptualizing a future vision. This approach comprises three distinct phases, namely critique, fantasy, and implementation.

In the case of our project, the Future Workshop was conducted remotely via Discord, utilizing the visualization tool Miro. Participants actively engaged by expressing their ideas through the use of digital sticky notes. This session extended over a duration of 2.5 hours and featured the involvement of five facilitators and five participants.

Sketching

Feedback on sketches

Using the data collected, each member of our group collaborated with a user to create sketches. These sketches were then shared and presented to the previous participants of the Future Workshop to determine the extent to which we accurately portrayed their envisioned concepts.

Keep in mind that this was done after the data analysis, however I included it in this section as the whole process is iterative.

Future workshop sticky notes
by participants

Sketch made by me and one user, it ended up being the one users liked the most!

What does this data mean?

3. Analysis

Thematical Analysis

Understanding the data

Subsequently, the data collected from both the online survey and the Future Workshop was subjected to a thorough analysis through the application of a thematic analysis method.

The themes 📝

Lack of time due to external factors
Appliances/equipment are needed to effectively complete chores
Better structure and/or planning is needed to complete chores
Distractions that make it difficult to complete chores
Completing chores is not motivating enough

Key insights from research

Rewards are important

Users expressed their need of some kind of reward in order to keep them motivated to complete household chores. Without that, they would keep neglecting them.

Competition

Competing with others is another way to gain motivation. The users felt the need to see how well other individuals perform compared to them, in order to keep them motivated to complete tasks.

Structure and planning

Better structure and planning would help users in effectively completing their chores. Without a proper plan, the tasks would intervene with their daily lives, resulting in stress and anxiety.

How do we design the app?

4. Prototyping

Wireframes

Visualizing the data

Based on the feedback and data analysis, we created wireframes. These preliminary designs were largely inspired by the sketch presented above, which garnered the most positive responses and was closely aligned with user objectives.

Our intention was to present these wireframes to users for additional feedback. However, time constraints prevented us from doing so, compelling us to proceed directly to the creation of the visual profile. In future endeavors, incorporating more user engagement in the design process would be beneficial

Interactive prototype

Visual design

And here it is, our Technical Solution for task management!

Log in

Users are required to create an account to personalize their settings, manage tasks, and connect with friends and family.

The login screen is designed for simplicity, requesting only essential information: an email address and a password.

Additionally, users have the option to sign up or log in using their Google, LinkedIn, or Facebook accounts, providing a streamlined alternative for account creation and access.

Rewards

A key feature of the app is the rewards system, which allows users to set up personal and family rewards. Users determine the points needed for each reward. Family rewards enable contributions from all family members, fostering a sense of collective achievement.

There was considerable debate about whether to offer intangible, "imaginary" rewards or tangible incentives like real-life gift cards. Ultimately, we decided against the latter to avoid promoting over-consumption.

Scoreboard

Responding to user feedback highlighting the need for motivation, we introduced a feature that allows competition with friends and family.

The current discussion centers on preventing cheating. While there is a cap on the points a single task can earn, nothing prevents users from creating multiple tasks to climb the leaderboard. We are contemplating the use of AI to address this issue or, alternatively, placing trust in the integrity of our users. :)

Create task

The 'create task' function enables users to set up tasks for personal tracking or to share with family members. It requires basic details like a title and description, and users have the option to include subtasks for more complex activities. Users can specify the date, time, reminders, and how often the task recurs.

They also have the capability to assign tasks to family members and determine the number of reward points earned upon task completion, integrating the motivational rewards system into everyday task management.

How this project improved my skills

WHAT I LEARNED

How to effectively conduct a design project using a Participatory Design Methodology.
Collaboration and teamwork are the bedrock of making dreams work.
Future Workshops offer an enjoyable and interactive method to involve users in your project
Individuals are complex and it is impossible to create a one-size-fits-all solution.

Task Ease

Empowering your daily routine

Home Screen

Why even make this?

Project Details

Project type

Technical solution using PD

University group project

Tools used

Figma

Miro

Adobe Photoshop

Discord

My role

UX/UI Designer

Project duration

August - November 2023

My tasks

Conducting the research

Analyzing the data

Future workshop

Sketching, wireframing & prototypig

The solution

The problem

Household chores encompass a diverse range of responsibilities crucial for maintaining a well-functioning and enjoyable living environment. Difficulty in effectively managing these tasks frequently leads to a disordered and anxiety-inducing domestic setting.

Design process

What are the users saying?

1. Exploration

Survey

"I hate doing chores"

Quotes from users

“I hate doing it, and it feels never-ending”

“I might reward myself with some more relaxing things, maybe a movie or an extra episode of a show i'm watching”

“I try to think what bad things will happen if I don’t do household chores”

“There are more fun things to do”

“The problem often lies in the way that we, people, think about doing chores, maybe something that would change my way of thinking about doing them”

What are the users saying?

What is the plan for the future?

2. Discovery

Future Workshop

"An app would be nice"

Sketching

Feedback on sketches

Future workshop sticky notes by participants

Sketch made by me and one user, it ended up being the one users liked the most!

What does this data mean?

3. Analysis

Thematical Analysis

Understanding the data

Subsequently, the data collected from both the online survey and the Future Workshop was subjected to a thorough analysis through the application of a thematic analysis method.

The themes 📝

Lack of time due to external factors

Appliances/equipment are needed to effectively complete chores

Better structure and/or planning is needed to complete chores

Distractions that make it difficult to complete chores

Completing chores is not motivating enough

Key insights from research

Rewards are important

Users expressed their need of some kind of reward in order to keep them motivated to complete household chores. Without that, they would keep neglecting them.

Competition

Competing with others is another way to gain motivation. The users felt the need to see how well other individuals perform compared to them, in order to keep them motivated to complete tasks.

Structure and planning

Better structure and planning would help users in effectively completing their chores. Without a proper plan, the tasks would intervene with their daily lives, resulting in stress and anxiety.

How do we design the app?

4. Prototyping

Wireframes

Visualizing the data

Based on the feedback and data analysis, we created wireframes. These preliminary designs were largely inspired by the sketch presented above, which garnered the most positive responses and was closely aligned with user objectives.

Interactive prototype

Visual design

And here it is, our Technical Solution for task management!

Log in

How this project improved my skills

WHAT I LEARNED

How to effectively conduct a design project using a Participatory Design Methodology.

Collaboration and teamwork are the bedrock of making dreams work.

Future Workshops offer an enjoyable and interactive method to involve users in your project

Individuals are complex and it is impossible to create a one-size-fits-all solution.

THANK YOU FOR READING!

SEE MORE OF MY WORK:

Future workshop sticky notes
by participants