Timeto

Project Summary

Situation

A class project being conducted as part of the requirements for IAD3000 (Interaction Design I) at Kennesaw State University, and supervised by Dr. Michael Lahey.

Task

Utilize the Goal-Directed Design (GDD) process, a methodology developed by Alan Cooper, to design a digital product in the form of an interactive prototype.

Action

I led a team of designers in researching the domain of productivity and the psychology behind procrastinating habits, performing user research interviews, creating personas, wireframing, and prototyping. In addition, I was responsible for conceptualizing and developing the brand identity of the product.

Result

We successfully designed and built Timeto as an interactive high-fidelity prototype, fulfilling our class project requirements.

Research

Understanding Procrastinators

The Research phase of the Goal-Directed Design focuses on gathering qualitative data and relevant information on the subject, domain, and potential users as it relates to the product. This phase had six major steps: Kickoff Meeting, Literature Review, Competitive Audit, Stakeholder Interviews, Subject Matter Expert (SME) Interview, and User Interviews.

The design team collaborated on initial steps to create assumption statements about the domain, product, and users. As a team leader, I was in charge of delegating tasks in the research phase, in addition to moderating user and SME interviews.

The literature review examined procrastination, motivation, productivity, and goal-setting psychology to inform stakeholder interviews. Key findings revealed that procrastination is often driven by anxiety and self-deception, causing a cycle of avoidance and demotivation. Insights on goal externalization shaped design decisions, such as simplifying data with visuals to reduce friction and using collapsible UI components to ease cognitive load.

The Competitive Audit assessed five productivity tools, revealing issues like overwhelming structure, limited customization, and low data visualization, all of which taxed users' working memory. During user research, online interviews with college students uncovered valuable insights about their behaviors, goals, and motivations. Affinity Mapping helped the team organize interview data, leading to a well-defined user understanding and the creation of a product concept aligned with user needs.

Modeling

Defining Personas

In the Modeling phase, research insights were synthesized into two Personas—Amy, the Primary Persona, and Josh, the Secondary Persona—based on observed behavior patterns and motivations. Using a Visual Continuum Matrix, we identified behavior variables and mapped behavioral variables, revealing distinct user types. These Personas, detailed with end goals and narratives, serve to guide design decisions by fostering empathy.

Amy seeks a tool to manage her academic and personal tasks without feeling overwhelmed, as procrastination often disrupts her productivity. Josh, a “proficient procrastinator,” needs a simple, centralized platform to monitor tasks on the go. Designing primarily for Amy also meets most of Josh’s needs, ensuring a dynamic system and broad user relevance.

Amy Rodriguez

Primary Persona

Age: 22

Occupation: College Student

Interests: Hiking, binge-watching Netflix and keeping up with her social media

End Goals:

Get better at accurately assessing their tasks in order to avoid stressful situations
Break down tasks into actionable steps that serve as motivational milestones
Keep track of schedule with minimal effort

Josh Medina

Secondary Persona

Age: 24

Occupation: College Student

Interests: Working out, playing soccer, hanging out with friends on Discord, and playing games

End Goals:

Keep track of deadlines
Receive notifications to boost efficiency
Customize task management
Minimize time spent working on school assignments to maximize free time

Requirements

From Insights to Solutions

In the Requirements phase, research insights were converted into design solutions addressing user needs, technical constraints, and business goals. This involved creating problem and vision statements, defining feature ideas, and identifying key Persona expectations, including task tracking, reminders, and calendar integration. Context Scenarios were used to creatively describe user interactions and expectations, pointing to possible design solutions.

The team then outlined key requirements for the Primary Persona, Amy, such as deadline tracking, task nesting, and progress monitoring. General system requirements, including onboarding, task lists, and a dashboard, were also determined to meet both Personas' needs, ensuring a user-centered design.

“Amy feels accomplished when completing steps within each major task, though she tends to procrastinate when overwhelmed and often doesn’t start assignments until the day before they are due.”

Frameworks

Interaction and Visual Design

In the Design Framework phase, we structured the product’s interface by defining its interaction behavior, visual language, and functionality. This began with establishing the mobile form factor, touchscreen input, and essential functional elements. We created low-fidelity wireframes and mapped the Primary Persona’s key task flow, validating less common paths with Validation Scenarios.

The Visual Design Framework focused on crafting the product's visual identity. The team defined Experience Attributes to guide the brand tone, then translated these into UI elements like colors and typefaces. After creating mockups following Material.io guidelines, the Visual Design Framework was finalized, and a design system was established in Figma for prototyping.

Refinement

Finalizing the Interface

The Refinement phase transitions the product from low-fidelity wireframes to a fully functional, high-fidelity prototype, refining the interface visually and interactively. For this step, I was responsible for constructing components and managing the prototype build.

Timeto’s design focuses on user autonomy, using collapsible accordion and drawer components to optimize screen space. The navigation system features a bottom tab bar for easy access, along with swipe interactions and multiple paths for flexible, robust navigation.

Takeaways

Introduction to Product Design

Timeto was my first comprehensive experience in Interaction Design and leading a design team. Reflecting on the entire Goal-Directed Design process, I can confidently say it was a truly user-centered approach. I found it valuable to see how design decisions consistently traced back to behavior patterns identified in user research, which sparked insightful team discussions and emphasized the importance of research in design.

If I were to approach the project again, I would allocate more time to the Refinement phase, especially since our team was still learning Figma features like Smart Animate and Auto Layout. Additionally, I would dedicate more time and resources to usability testing. Overall, this process taught me important product and user research skills, leaving me better prepared for future projects.