iOS Application 2021
Parent Pomodoro
This iOS application design was created as a part of my final project for the BrainStation UI Course and UX Bootcamp. This course was an opportunity for me to really consolidate my existing knowledge of product design. Inspired by my own experience with parental burnout, I chose to focus my project around creating a digital product to help busy parents with everyday life.
My Role
The Problem
The pandemic has put a lot of pressure on parents.
The pandemic has put a lot of pressure on parents as they juggle their work, children and home life. Parents want to give their families the best they can and this sometimes means working long intense hours and looking after their children while maintaining their home.
the solution
Create a tool to help parents be productive with their time.
Burnout research shows that prioritizing and scheduling responsibilities is an effective way to reduce burnout symptoms. The ‘Parent Pomodoro’ seeks to simplify parenting responsibilities into buildable timed sessions, which can make them feel more attainable to busy parents.
This will be done using the Pomodoro technique. The Pomodoro technique is a popular productivity tool that assigns 25 minutes of focussed “work” followed by a 5-minute break. The app will allow parents to create the length of the Pomodoro according to their needs.
user research
User research enabled me to validate my proposed solution.
Research Goals
The Pomodoro Technique is a widely used productivity tool. However, I wanted to get a better understanding of how this useful productivity tool could easily fit into and solve some daily pain points for parents.
Key research questions and areas:
1. What are notable behaviors and preferences that have an impact on the proposed solution?
2. Identify needs and opportunities through discussion of users’ pain points in relation to productivity as a parent.
3. Understand users’ current uses of technology in providing relief from their pain points.
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
I explored feature sets and overall UX of apps in the same timer niche that would potentially compete with Parent Pomodoro.
Forest
Pomodoro timer app
Be Focused
Pomodoro timer app
toggl track
Pomodoro time tracker app
Pomofocus
Web based Pomodoro timer
Recruiting
Number of interviews
10
Gender
60 % Female 20 % Male
Demographic
Users with 1-4 children
Ethnicity
Mixed
Common Themes
I created an interview script and organized the interview questions into three main areas of interest; about the user, the users’ pains points, and the scope for an app-based solution for the user.
Interview tools included a laptop, camera, and recording device so that I could listen to the audio recording afterward to make comprehensive notes. During interviews, I prefer not to take notes and instead fully engage with the interviewee. The interviewee is asked permission before a recording is made. All interviews were taken remotely. Once I listened back on the recordings I took key elements and quotes and organized them into common themes.
Users find it hard to allocate time.
"The hardest part of spending time is having time."
Users fear not having enough time.
"I have to give her more time. She is growing up too fast."
Users find it difficult to be present.
"Being fully present and in the moment is difficult."
Empathy Map
The empathy map consolidated the insights gained from user interviews.
By understanding what my potential users were thinking, feeling, doing and saying helped me to consolidate the insights and prepare for creating personas. Everyone’s experience in every aspect of their lives is unique to them. Finding the same or overlapping pain points and addressing them is the challenge.
User Personas
Who are we designing for?
information architecture
The IA improves usability and accessibility by focussing on organizing and labeling.
user Stories & Flows
Stories kept the focus on the user and promoted features for their problems.
User Story
My child has some learning difficulties, her teacher has asked me to spend 25 minutes with her doing homework every night. The task is to select the homework task, select family members, and start the timer.
User Story
I am a new user of the app and I need to add my family members. The task is to add a family member.
User Story
I am a mother of 3. After school my children watch TV. However sometimes they watch too much. I want to set a timer for screen time. The task is to create a new task called “Screen Time”.
sketches
Sketching generates ideas quickly and visually for everyone to see and discuss easily.
Wireframes
Wireframing saves time and effort, clarifies the feature set, and promotes the iterative process.
Insights
User testing of wireframes version 1 showed the need to design a faster onboarding experience.
Key Takeaways:
- All users said they did not feel comfortable sharing a profile picture straight away.
- Users felt it took too long for them to actually get to the timer.
- Initially, users did not want to enter their families. They just wanted to try the timer for themselves.
Iterations
Further testing concluded users wanted to see all their options straight away.
Below you can see the progression of 4 versions which I tested with users. I started with what I felt would be most minimalistic but flexible for every families needs to version 4, which really narrowed down the common timers that most parents require with the choice of customization. The timer can be started within 3 taps and flows as opposed to version 3.
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3
Version 4
Hi fidelity design
Creating a clickable prototype focuses your attention on the fine details.
I enjoy creating high-fidelity designs and testing with users. You can gain deeper insights into how your finished product will be received and what features or improvements need to be made.
UI DESIGN
The moodboard for parent pomodoro is inspired by uplifting moments in nature.
Style Guide
The app should invoke a sense of calm and relief to the user.
The colors of the app are pastels and uplifting. I chose to combine a serif and sans serif, Lora and Raleway respectively. I like the way they work together in this instance. Raleway provides the simplicity and minimalism I want to invoke. Whilst Lora gives an element of maturity to the app.
Colors
Typography
Logo Design
Illustrations
The illustrations are free, hand-drawn and editable vector illustrations of daily activities from DrawKit. Licensed to be used for commercial use and royalty-free.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Trust the process
Having worked on various projects myself before enrolling in this course I had a good idea of the steps I needed to take to create a high fidelity design and prototype. However, what this course really highlighted for me was the importance of following the process. By following the process you can create a valuable product and joyful experience in good time. This includes multiple iterations based on frequent user testing.
I learned a lot about accessibility and how important it can be for some users. Now I am more conscious of my colour choices and text eligibility when designing. To further this project I would want to do more user testing to find out what additional features parents would like. I would like to add animation to the running timer page and explore using more delightful user interactions within the app to appeal to a younger audience.