Problem
An increasing amount of companies are changing their work structure and allowing their employees to work from home. As a result, more employees are feeling burnt out and unable to separate work from personal life.
User
Employees transitioning from working on-site to remote who desire a work/life balance.
Solution
By following the human-centered design approach, I designed an auto scheduling application that organizes calendar events based on work and personal priorities. This information is gathered and sorted from personalized profiles, activity logs, and progress trackers.
Duration
4 Months (May 2020 – August 2020)
Role
Solo Project – UX / UI Designer
Tools
*Note*
The below research was done prior to the peak of the 2020 Covid-19 outbreak. Percentages and statistics have drastically risen during this time based on the sociological shift in human interaction. It is unknown how this will affect the way companies handle flexible workplace arrangements in the future.
Research
How many people are affected?
Over the last 5 years, there has been a substantial rise in the number of people who work remotely. Most working professionals prefer to work from home and more companies are actively making the shift.
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Struggles
In the study shown to the right, the majority of people said 'Unplugging after work' was the biggest struggle they face while working remotely. This could be caused by a number of reasons, such as not setting boundaries or having poor time management.
The second biggest struggle listed is 'Loneliness'. If not properly prepared, an employee can experience isolation and feel disconnected from the lack of social exchanges. It will now be up to the individual to maintain these basic interactions, whether professional or personal, to avoid a negative impact on their mental health.
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“Remote work isn't just a different way to work – it's a different way to live.”
Amir Salihefendic, CEO of Doist, 'State of Remote Work 2019'
Common Mistakes
It can be difficult to maintain a healthy and productive lifestyle while still appearing hard-working, committed, and flexible through your employer’s eyes.
Aside from a lack of social opportunities, employees are having trouble disconnecting from their work. Since no one is watching them, they sometimes feel the need to prove they are being productive during their day by over-working and extending their hours.
Two of the most common mistakes people can make is overcompensating to appear productive and not embracing the perks of remote work.
Interviews
I created a screener survey and recruited 5 participants to interview. All participants selected had experience either working from home or having a flexible work schedule.
Interviews lasted around 30 minutes each with 17-20 questions based on responses.
All the participants admitted to feeling overwhelmed at one or multiple points in their career.
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“I'd probably set more time [for myself] if I actually planned for it, but some days I feel too overwhelmed to even do that.”
Participant 5 from Research Interviews
Affinity Map
I separated my finding onto post-its, grouped them by interviewee, then regrouped them into categories:
–> Discoveries
–> Scheduling
–> Productivity
–> Time Management
Within discoveries, the group was split between two sub-categories – Positive and Negative. By splitting these two up, I saw what problems I could attempt to address in my solutions.
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Empathy Maps & Personas
After reviewing my research and affinity map, I created 4 users to represent in my empathy maps and personas.
All these users have different occupations and flexibility with working from home. Although their reasons may vary, they all desire the same end goal which is work/life balance.
User Insights
How Might We..?
How might we make scheduling and planning easier for people searching for a work/life balance?
Early Ideation
I sketched ideas around a scheduling application that uses AI to personalize the users' experience. I made sure to include a mix of features that users are familiar with and innovative ways to track and help productivity. A few ideas I chose to explore were:
–> Calendars & tasks list
–> Auto schedule feature
–> Percentage break down of the users' time spent on each task
–> Including 'work criteria' in the account set-up to understand priorities and boundaries
–> Timer/stopwatch feature to log time worked
User Stories
After brainstorming ideas, I started my user story process. I then came up with realistic user stories that paired my personas with my early ideations. As a result, the following epics were represented (in MVP ranking):
1. Productive during work hours
2. Track projects
3. Schedule out time in advance
4. Balance time between family and work
Application Mapping
The map shown was created to help visualize the architecture of the application. I had an idea of what tabs I wanted to include in the navigation bar, so I began to separate them out with their correlating features. The tabs are:
–> Calendar
–> Tasks
–> Progress
–> Notes
At this time, I considered including a ‘Goals’ tab because it felt relative to the task feature. Ultimately, I decided to hold off on this feature so I could focus on the scheduling part of the application and not complicate the interface.
User Flows
I created user flows for the top two stories in my MVP ranking. I mapped out the below red routes based on possible solutions for my epics.
Epic – Productive during work hours
–> Flow I – Log In & Add Task (w/ and w/o Auto Schedule)
Epic – Track Projects
–> Flow II – Log Time on Task (Manual & Timed)
Heuristic Analysis
I conducted a heuristic evaluation based on three task management applications and their ability to help increase users' productivity in their day-to-day life. The primary functions of these applications are promoting time management, organization, and task/goal completion. All of these functions coincide with solutions to fix my current problem space of employees working from home who desire a work/life balance. Even though these applications would be best evaluated over a period of time, it is important that the interface doesn't overwhelm the user and discourage reengagement.
Top Learnings:
–> Onboarding screens proved to be helpful
–> Main features should be presented to the user
–> Retrieving past information should be easy
–> Don't depend on color as a descriptor
Click here for the full Heuristic Analysis Report.
Sketches
Once I figured out my red routes, I moved on to sketching all my screens. I chose to have native application based on the iOS Design System and reference their device platform for my designs.
My greatest struggle during this step was resisting the urge to be too detailed upfront. I knew I had to use my time wisely, but also move efficiently while sketching my ideas.
In the end, I chose to put more detail into concepts I would benefit from testing and learning earlier on in the process. For an example, I chose to list out specific forms needed to complete the ‘Add New Activity’ route, but placed generic placeholders for my onboarding screens.
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Problem Solving
Here's how my sketches solve the problems identified from my research and analysis:
Guerrilla Usability Tests
I took my sketches and created a clickable prototype through Marvel's Pop app for my guerrilla usability testing. The tests were conducted remotely with 6 participants. They were chosen based on having a fairly busy schedule consisting of both personal and work related tasks and events. The primary goals of this test was to find out if the app works as intended and if the user would consider this app to be useful in their day-to-day life.
Overall, the testing went fairly well. The participants understood the primary purpose of the application once they reached the home screen. I knew that once the onboarding screens were fully developed and had more context to them, the main features of the application would become more apparent to the user.
Top Discoveries
Click here for the full Guerrilla Usability Test Report.
Wireframes
After conducting the guerrilla usability tests and making revisions based off the recommendations listed above, I turned my hand sketches into digital mid-fi wireframes. I broke down each red route further by:
1. Separating routes out by specific activity
2. Creating a screen for every form interaction
3. Including possible edge cases
Wireflows
Next, I used my wireframes and created wireflows of all my red routes.
Page 1 - Log In/Sign Up Flow
Page 2 – Navigation Bar Flow
Page 3 - Add Task with Auto Schedule Flow
Mood Board
The first step in my creative process was finding inspiration and brand direction that helped communicate the primary purpose of my application.
Imagery
The images were chosen to invoke peacefulness and balance.
Colors
Orange – Inspire enthusiasm and ambition
Yellow – Energize and awake awareness
Blue – Stimulate productivity and create calmness
Logo
I chose the name Pivot because I wanted to reflect the action users will go through while navigating from one task to the next. Similar to the world of business, choosing Pivot will be the first step in shifting to a new strategy and approach to scheduling.
As for the logo, I wanted it to be simplistic and invoke the same feeling as my mood board. I started by hand sketching, then shifted to the computer to begin digital mock-ups.
The final design pulled in details from my mood board, specifically the zen garden image. I thought this was the perfect detail to incorporate with my brand's name.
Style Guide
After establishing a clear creative direction, I put together a style guide to ensure a continuous brand experience.
High-Fidelity Screens
Here are some of the high-fidelity screens created and used in my interactive prototype. I updated the frame I was previously using to an iPhone 11 and additional screens based on some of the application's features. New screens include:
-> Confirmation on completing all tasks
-> Alert that tasks were not completed
-> Notification to log time on an upcoming task
-> Blank state for all tab screens
Animations
Once the screens were complete, I moved on to animations and transitions. The style of my application revolves around an organized, clean design so it was important that I stayed consistent with this message. It was also necessary that my animations don't cause a distraction, but serve as a functional element that enhances the users' experience.
Usability Testing
I used inVision to create a clickable prototype and conduct two rounds of usability testing. In the first round, the usability tests were conducted remotely with 5 participants (4 moderated and 1 unmoderated).
The primary goals were to:
- -> Discover any usability issues and provide opportunities for improvement
- -> Receive feedback on overall impression of the interface, layout, and features
The participants were asked scenarios that completed the following tasks:
- -> Scroll through onboard
- -> Sign up for an account
- -> View all tabs in blank state
- -> Log in
- -> View all tabs in ideal state
- -> Add a new task
- -> View event details
- -> Log time for a task
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“This is nice and feels familiar, but what if I'm not near my phone [during a task]?
Can I enter my time instead?”
Participant from Usability Test
Issues Ranked by Priority
Once testing was complete, I ranked every issue by priority and provided solutions.
Iterate & Improve
Due to time, I only addressed the top 3 issues and corrected them with their listed solutions. The remaining issues were cosmetic inquiries that did not affect the functionality of the prototype.
After making these changes, I started the second round of usability testing. The tests were conducted remotely with 5 participants (all moderated). Luckily, no additional problems were found and everyone successfully completed each task.
Click here to try out the prototype.
Lessons Learned
This was my first attempt at executing the UX/UI design process from start to finish. My biggest take-away was learning that the research phase should be integrated throughout the whole process. I had the unique struggle of focusing on a problem space that continued to evolve day-to-day because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This taught me to not only consider the social and economic climate of any problem space, but to keep a steady finger on the pulse while recommending and testing solutions.
Next Steps
-> Further testing on the benefits of the auto schedule feature
-> Continued research on updated methods to improve workflow
-> Include additional features such as linking helpful articles and a way to add contacts
Final Thoughts
I originally focused my problem space around remote work life because of the difficulties that arise solely based off workplace arrangements. However, I realized that any employee – regardless of location – can become consumed with work and neglect their personal life and well-being. It is my hope that this app will benefit more than just the employee working from home, but anyone trying to increase productivity, be organized, and find balance in their life.