NeuroPace
Problem:
Many time management tools can be anxiety-inducing or too easy to ignore, making them ineffective for users who struggle with managing their time.
Solution:
NeuroPace is a personalized mobile app designed to alleviate these pain points, helping users focus on completing their most important tasks and providing a sense of accomplishment.
Key Features:
Visual Schedule Display: Clear view of scheduled tasks and events.
Customizable Notifications: Select and personalize alerts that suit user preferences.
Progress Overview: Track and reflect on accomplished tasks to boost motivation.
Task Sharing: Share tasks and calendar events with others for accountability.
Research & Analysis
Competitive Analysis
In our competitive analysis for NeuroPace, we delved into the features, user interfaces, and customer reviews of Timebloc, Focus Keeper, Habit, and Me+, examining both their strengths and weaknesses as reported by users. This comprehensive exploration, encompassing detailed analysis of their functionalities and user feedback, informed our approach to addressing unmet needs in the market, leading to the unique design and feature set of NeuroPace, tailored for enhanced usability and effectiveness, especially for individuals with ADHD.
User Interviews
We conducted in-depth interviews with six individuals, primarily those who experience difficulties with ADHD and time management, to understand their daily routines and the specific challenges they face. Through a series of focused questions, we explored their current strategies for managing tasks, their experiences with existing time management apps, the impact of distractions, and their ideal features for an app that could genuinely enhance their ability to organize their time and increase their productivity.
Affinity Diagram
The affinity diagram reveals that users managing time with ADHD struggle with a sense of being overwhelmed and seek personalization in their organizational tools to filter out distractions, needing clear and distinct notifications for prioritization without inducing anxiety. They favor apps that combine structure with flexibility, like time-blocking and calendar integration, alongside mechanisms for visualizing success and celebrating accomplishments, such as end-of-day summaries akin to a "Spotify Wrapped" for productivity.
User Insights and Strategy
Those who struggle with time management, whether the cause is from too many responsibilities on their plate or a need for a better organization system, want a solution that will provide enough structure to help guide them through everyday tasks, while also allowing enough personalization to integrate tasks management strategies they already use to limit outside distractions.
User Persona
After gathering extensive data through user interviews, we synthesized the information using affinity diagramming, clustering common themes around daily struggles, desired features, and coping strategies, which highlighted the need for a tailored approach to time management. This process led to the creation of our User Persona, embodying the collective preferences and pain points of individuals with ADHD seeking a harmonious balance between productivity tools and personal well-being.
Empathy Map
This empathy map highlights the struggles of a user with ADHD who feels disconnected due to a chaotic schedule. They see and hear about their peers' success in time management, which adds stress and pressure to keep up. Feeling overwhelmed and anxious about their career and relationships, they aspire to achieve a better work-life balance, gain more control over their life, and find fulfillment in both their work and personal interests.
Design Process
Feature Prioritization Matrix
In the feature prioritization matrix for NeuroPace, the team democratically selected key functionalities that users expressed a strong desire for, including an 'Accomplishment' feature that showcases a user's completed tasks over time, much like Spotify Wrapped, to reinforce a sense of achievement. Additional prioritized features were the capability to share tasks for accountability purposes, and a visual representation of schedules to help reduce stress and improve clarity in daily planning.
User Journey Map
In our user journey map, we visualized the experience of Jordan with a busy work schedule and volunteer commitments, utilizing NeuroPace to navigate the hectic time before Thanksgiving. By adding tasks with deadlines, sharing them for accountability, and leveraging flexible notifications, Jordan successfully juggles work, volunteering, and travel, exemplifying the app's ability to enhance organization, reduce stress, and ensure no critical task is overlooked.
User Flow
The user flow for NeuroPace begins with a welcoming splash page, offering users the option to either log in to an existing account or sign up for a new one, where they can then choose to sync calendars, enable notifications, and import contacts. Once logged in, users land on the homepage where they can effortlessly add tasks, schedule events, or view a summary of their accomplishments over various time periods, streamlining the process of managing their commitments and achievements.
Sketch Prototypes
Prototype Development
Iterations: Low to Mid Fidelity
During the development phase, we crafted low-fidelity prototypes to establish a basic layout and interaction flow, which allowed us to rapidly iterate on design and functionality based on initial feedback. Progressing to mid-fidelity prototypes, we refined the user interface with more detail, integrating interactive elements that closely resembled the final product, and facilitating more nuanced user testing and feedback collection.
Testing Insights
Per research, the ability to check things off was something we felt would be of value to our target audience so we wanted the feature to be maintained. To address confusion we included a visual example of the box already checked and changed its shape to make more clear how to use.
Style Guide
Final Deliverables
High Fidelity Iterations
The high-fidelity prototype of NeuroPace brought our vision to life with a polished, detailed design that showcased the app's sophisticated aesthetic and interactive experience, closely mirroring the final user interface. This advanced prototype provided a comprehensive look at functionality, allowing us to conduct in-depth user testing and refine the user experience to ensure both usability and visual appeal.
GitHub Repository/Landing Page Link
The GitHub repository serves as a comprehensive archive for the NeuroPace project, detailing the developmental milestones, code commits, and documentation that outline the app's creation from concept to execution. The live landing page presents an interactive demonstration of NeuroPace, inviting users to experience the app's interface and functionality firsthand, providing a tangible glimpse into the user-centric design and flow.
Conclusion
If we were to continue working on this app we’d further explore the share feature. Is there other information users could share with others to keep them accountable of tasks?
We’d want to conduct additional tests to understand if the accomplishments feature was something people felt was of value and other ways to personalize it.
At some point we’d want to explore other ways to make the app more intuitive and be able to guess and make suggestions for the data we now asks the user to input themselves. Maybe a suggestion for the duration of a listed task or recommendations for prioritization of items on the “To Do” lists.