The Deliverable

The goal of this exercise was to accurately identify and solve the user’s problem. For the purposes of this project, a paper prototype was sufficient. Skip to the end to see the three key screens I took to high fidelity, including:

1. Splash screen

2. Landing page

3. Activity completion page

There must be a way to help

But before I could help her, I had to understand Heather’s problem.

Empathy mapping based on my interview with Heather provided insight into her struggle. What stood out to me from our interview was how positive she was despite the fact that she was consistently operating on little to no sleep. Heather focused on the future and where she wanted to go rather than her insomnia. It was clear that she is a goal oriented and disciplined person. At the same time, her nighttime frustrations took a toll on her daily goals.

Problem Statement

Heather needs is a way to relax during the time she is not sleeping that still lets her feel like she is progressing and getting things done. How might we provide relief for her feeling of stagnation?

Getting to the heart of Heather’s problem

Storyboards allowed me to see where and when my solution could help Heather. Getting to the heart of Heather’s problem allowed me to create understand what my solution needed to address.

Hypothesis Solution

I assume that the root cause of Heather’s frustration is her feeling of stagnation and lost time. I believe that designing an app that provides tools to visualize and reward progress will help her rest and create a regular habit of relaxation. I will evaluate this solution based on her usage of the app.

Building TimeLord

I conducted a brief comparative analysis of other apps that focus on behavior change - these are the kinds of apps insomniacs like Heather already turn to. All offer a wide variety of content options and, most importantly, a way for the user to track their progress.

Given the severity and consistency of Heather’s problem, I wanted to design a solution that would become a habit and be a sustainable solution. To do this, I used the Cue, Action, Reward model.

Ideating multiple approaches

Once I had a sense of what Heather’s problem was, rapid sketching allowed me to quickly visualize multiple flows. By time boxing, I forced myself to ideate multiple approaches. Moreover, quick sketching allowed me to share my ideas with others and immediately identify gaps and potential issues with the approach.

Developing the paper prototype

Once I knew what flow I wanted evaluate, I drew each screen carefully by hand and then prototyped in InVision. In this flow, the user opens the TimeLord app and resumes an in progress activity, in this case Chanting 101. Because this app is intended to be used at night to help the user sleep, I incorporated a sleep timer so that the user could effectively keep their place in the activity. Once the activity is over, the user rates it based on their experience and then begins a new activity.

I created a user flow of the app. After sketching my solution, I created a clickable paper prototype in InVision. 

Evaluating the design solution

When it came to evaluating my designs, design critiques with senior designers, conceptual feedback from Heather and guerrilla testing with three users revealed where the design worked and where it failed. My three takeaways were:

1. Users wanted more personalization

2. Users wanted to explore and discover activities

3. Users like to stay in their comfort zone and return to activities they already know and love

After validating my design solution with users using the POP prototype, I created wireframes of a few key screens using Sketch.

I revised the sitemap to include more personalized options for the user. As part of this, I added splash page. I used this splash page to develop a color palette for the app. I updated the app to reflect user feedback.

Updates to the homepage

Updates to the completion page

 Next Steps

• Develop the entire app in a high fidelity prototype

• Evaluate the solution with additional testing to determine if it should be developed further

What I Learned

• Using low fidelity paper prototypes effectively allows the designer to assess and change course early - this saves time and money

• A solution that does not address the real pain point will not be retained by the user

• Never underestimate the importance of emotion is a design solution

What I Would Do Differently

• Expand more on the behavioral reinforcement aspects of the design