The App
We all have a story about going out with a group of friends with the intention of enjoying each others’ company, only to have the constant barrage of phone interruptions prematurely killing the evening and hindering what may have been a more intimate experience. Mobile phones have become ubiquitous in modern culture and despite all of their positive effects on our lives, they can also be a hindrance to quality, in-person interactions.
The idea for the app, DownTime, was born from observing the negative effects that phones can have on group gatherings. DownTime allows users to coordinate and schedule timeframes where everyone’s phone can be automatically placed into “Do Not Disturb” mode. So now, when that big dinner comes around, everyone can take comfort in knowing that the people in front of them will get their full attention.
The Process
After revealing the initial problem, came the task of figuring out what form a solution could take. I observed people in their social gatherings and interviewed them to get their thoughts on phone distractions. These observations and interviews helped inform a couple general directions which I was able to narrow down by storyboarding possible solutions. From there, I created paper prototypes of possible ways to address the problem.
As the prototypes matured, I started initial testing to get heuristic feedback. The heuristic feedback allowed me to tighten up much of the flow of the app and allowed me to start actually wireframing it. After the wireframes were completed, I was able to do another round of heuristic evaluation before moving on to user testing.
I was able to test users both in-person and remotely to gather more thoughts on the usability as well as the interest in the app. After more refinements to the wireframes and flow, I moved on to developing a clean and simple visual design.
