“FutureMe”
This project was carried out as part of the TechLabs “Digital Shaper Program” in Münster (Term 2020/01).
How can we promote environmentally conscious behavior in an entertaining and playful way? We want to motivate our users to behave more sustainable through collecting Ecopoints by doing weekly challenges in our WebApp. By collecting points, the user rises in levels and integrates the learned behavior into his everyday life for long term.
We find the integration into everyday life through the daily challenges particularly important. The user should complete an existing weekly task or a new daily task every day and have to confirm this.
When we took on this project, there was only a rudimentary sentence and everything else we could design and decide freely. So we had to do a lot of brainstorming and discussion at the beginning.
The aim at the beginning was to create an app. However, we quickly realized that this not only exceeded our competencies, but that users could also fail to participate in FutureMe. In order to keep the hurdle of downloading an app to get started as low as possible, we decided on a mobile-optimized website.
However, we noticed that we wanted to get the same thing very quickly and often had to brake ourselves in order not to think too big, but more realistically. So the main task was initially to focus on something specific, as the possibilities of gamification seemed unlimited.
Since Lena UX had a similar project in mind at the beginning of the Techlabs semester, some components could be taken from this idea.
Lena and Bijan WEBDEV have permanently checked the feasibility without restricting creativity.
Different ideas for problem solving were worked out, the first websites were sketched on paper and later wireframes and finally the prototype in Figma were developed.
For the design, we looked at suggestions and examples together and then agreed as a team on a uniform look.
Since we mostly worked remotely, there was an extensive notion document in which all thoughts, ideas and decisions could be recorded and edited and commented on by the team members. This made communication much easier, and even after work breaks, it was easy to get back to work using the information recorded.
In order to create an appealing and smoothly functioning website, the web developers Lena and Bijan concentrated on programming in the middle of the project phase.
We were able to achieve good results in the area of front-end development. Tips from Richard and Google were very important. It’s amazing how many pages you can find with the necessary tips, sometimes even complete instructions that help solve the respective problem.
Unfortunately, we did not succeed in creating a backend link. This would have been necessary in order to realize the functions of the website.
Lena UX primarily took care of the content and the rough page structure. Collecting and working out the challenges, classifying them into different categories and levels of difficulty, represented the greatest amount of work.
The finished project consists of an attractive homepage with a modern design and a good overview of the website. New users can register or already registered users can log in.
The page after login shows the current challenge and its description. Below is a conspicuous button to confirm that you have finished the ongoing challenge. This should make it easy to use and fun for the user.
We have thus completed an MVP, even if it has a little fewer functions than initially planned. This applies, for example, to the proportion of gamefications and a team function.
We hope for a large reach in order to induce as many people as possible to rethink and reduce the inhibition threshold to change their habits.
We want to create a new awareness of food, transportation and general consumption. FutureMe should also make it clear that all areas of life are interlinked and influence each other. With a challenge you often do not only do something for the environment, but also often something for your wallet or for other people. The project would not have come about without the support of TechLabs. It was a great experience to work and learn together with such a committed team!
The Team:
Lena Morgenstern
Lena Krause
Bijan Honarmand
Mentor:
Richard Menning
