AskMom — The Pivot
A Communication App
Project Timeframe — 1 week
Style — Design Sprint, Rapid Prototyping, Iterative
Individual Project
Problem-solving like a UX:
To understand the essence of UX, we were asked to find a partner and have an interview with him/her and try to solve a problem that’s in his/her daily life right now.
What’s the problem?
My partner, as a mother, felt she is the centre of the family who’s taking care of everybody without a moment for herself and always been ask different questions from her children ranging from the basic task questions to the most complicated ones, such as where does baby come from.
From interviewing with 3 mothers with slightly different needs, life-style, and interests, yet still the center-of-home, I put together a general Mom persona to reflect this group of mothers:
The first attempt solution:
In the beginning, most mothers mentioned they don’t really have a moment for themselves — the centre of the home. In the attempt of solving this problem for the Mothers, I try to create an app called A Day Without that includes list of events Moms can attend and gather with other Moms, a library of interest for leisure time and an “ask Mom” section for them to browse over what other kids ask or how other Moms answer their children’s questions.
The first attempt User Flow:
The change for better (pivot):
Having talked to an instructor, I was advised to distill more on my offerings from three to one on the apps so it is more focused. The app is then changed to be AskMom. A new flow is then made with features such as:
- One-click question asking button like Siri
- Replying questions with SMS messaging to questioner after seeing it from the question list
- Sharing questions and/or answer to a friend with SMS if a Mom see an interesting question or answer
Rapid Prototype:
Usability Testing — the Gap:
Usability Testing with Moms and kids gave me further understanding of my prototype’s function issues, their needs and what they think and feel.
According to the Moms, they think:
- Need a Back button and can’t distinguish between Replying Question and Sharing Question
- Not really interested in answering more questions due to constraint of time, but interested in browsing how other Moms around the world answer their kids’ questions
- It is not a bad idea for their kids to have a mean for answers while they can’t be around and be exposed to other Moms around the world
- Moms prefer direct answers and they usually answer their kids in direct answer format
- Moms don’t just answer questions, they think before they answer. They would consider if he/she is a 6 years old kid or a teenager. Their answer would be different.
- Moms prefer simple-to-use apps that they can use during their busy schedule
- SMS is not something they would use outside of their close circle
According to the Kids, they feel:
- Giving out phone number information is not secured and would not be comfortable giving it out in the app
- Having a way to ask questions like how they would ask their mother is great and would be interested if some other Moms around the world give them a hand as well
A one-size-fit-all revised solution:
In order to have a way for kids to ask questions and Moms to view how other would answer. AskMom is now changed to cater both kids and Moms. Kids ask AskMom as they would normally ask their own Mom; Moms ask AskMom to see how other would answer. So, everybody AskMom.
Based on interview and Usability Testing, feature list to support both:
- a mandatory account for increased privacy and user can voluntarily fill in their profile for a better answer experience
- filter answers based on age, character, language, background, culture, etc.
- filter answers based on daily task questions, knowledge-based questions, complicated questions and etc.
- filter preferences — set answer preferences: answers from a different country, answers from a certain education level, answers from a 5-year-old kid and etc.
( a database of answers will be build from incentive surveys, question answering competition for a-chance-to-win and work in collaboration with doctors, relationship consultants, educators, and other professionals)
Potential Look:
Wireless bluetooth headset to support voice-command:
Summary of my learning:
My biggest learning on this project is rapid prototyping. It is to quickly put together a prototype for testing and get feedbacks from users (Fail fast, learn quick approach). So that the design work better for the user. Therefore, user feedbacks are very valuable for iteration and crafting the right experience that best suit the user.
Other UXUI projects: SafeMap, Kensington is Kensington, FeedBack, Connects Fashion Professional, A Trackable Start for Eva’s Initiatives
