MAKE A BREAKSolving a problem for Monica

UXDI PROJECT 1: MAKE A BREAK• Project: Applying concepts and techniques taught in class, the UXDi students will create a mobile app tappable

prototype that solves a problem for a specific user. The concepts and techniques that you will see at work in this presentation and prototype are:

• Initial User Research: Getting to know users behavior

• Participatory research

• Problem articulation

• Basic, non-digital sketching

• Usability testing: hypothesis testing and iteration development

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• Make a Break Make a Break is a mobile app designed to motivate the user to break from work and, in the long term, achieve more by feeling refreshed from her break. It would like to provide a gentle interruption of the user’s attention and to provide tailor-made content by culling and presenting educational, health and cultural material from web resources. The app limits functionality in order to achieve its primary goal as well as to protect against further distraction.

LOOKING FOR A PROBLEMMonica is a hard-worker who places high value in productivity.

As a freelancer, she works from home, with no one except an equally hard-working boyfriend to distract her. She frequently does not take breaks.

Lack of variety in the breaks she does manage to take. In the end, she always feels better and does better work if she takes a break.

THE PROBLEM AND THE HYPOTHESIS

• The Problem: Monica needs motivation to take a short break from work on a regular basis.

• Hypothesis: make an alarm system that provides break-time and time-limited activities that will interest and engage the user.

• My first design iteration focused primarily on the set-up. I tried to make all three categories of user input readily available.

USABILITY TEST WITH MONICA

• Results

• More access to home page

• More fun, more humour (e.g. “We’ll be back”)

• More motivation to do the activity

USABILITY TEST WITH OLIVER• Results

• Would like more linear efficiency in the settings.

• Found the snooze break too short.

• During breaks: did not use the ‘next’ button intuitively.

• He thought he would use the app — for a bit — adding that there needs to be some function for creating a habit. He suggested that the app be “gameified.”

USABILITY TEST WITH TATIANA

• Results

• Two goals at work in the app. Each goal should be separated out.

• During breaks: did not use ‘next’ button intuitively.

• Suggested that ‘snooze’ feature be even harder to activate.