The Problem
How might we facilitate or enhance a student’s commute?
The Problem
How might we facilitate or enhance a student’s commute?
The Problem
How might we facilitate or enhance a student’s commute?
Smute
Smute
Smute
Smute is a smart app designed to make the daily commute of students more efficient. The app assists users in planning their commute effectively by organizing and packing essential items according to their class schedule while sending timely reminders when needed. Additionally, smute provides real-time transit information, including any unexpected delays or cancellations.
INDIVIDUAL PROJECT
INDIVIDUAL PROJECT
Smute is a smart app designed to make the daily commute of students more efficient. The app assists users in planning their commute effectively by organizing and packing essential items according to their class schedule while sending timely reminders when needed. Additionally, smute provides real-time transit information, including any unexpected delays or cancellations.
Smute is a smart app designed to make the daily commute of students more efficient. The app assists users in planning their commute effectively by organizing and packing essential items according to their class schedule while sending timely reminders when needed. Additionally, smute provides real-time transit information, including any unexpected delays or cancellations.
organize . pack . go
organize . pack . go
organize . pack . go
My Role
My Role
My Role
Product Designer | Researcher
Product Designer | Researcher
Product Designer | Researcher
Tools
Tools
Tools
Figma | Illustrator | Photoshop
Figma | Illustrator | Photoshop
Figma | Illustrator | Photoshop
INDIVIDUAL PROJECT
FOR DETAILED PROCESS WORK,
PLEASE SWITCH TO A DESKTOP DEVICE.
The Approach
The Approach
The Approach
The approach taken to address this issue is centred around reimagining the way students commute. The first step involves placing a strong emphasis on understanding the needs of users by conducting interviews with students. This allows for a more empathetic approach to the problem at hand.
The approach taken to address this issue is centred around reimagining the way students commute. The first step involves placing a strong emphasis on understanding the needs of users by conducting interviews with students. This allows for a more empathetic approach to the problem at hand.
The approach taken to address this issue is centred around reimagining the way students commute. The first step involves placing a strong emphasis on understanding the needs of users by conducting interviews with students. This allows for a more empathetic approach to the problem at hand.
The Process
The Process
The Process
The process advanced through a series of phases, including research, define, and develop.
The process advanced through a series of phases, including research, define, and develop.
The process advanced through a series of phases, including research, define, and develop.
Research
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
INTERVIEW
SUMMARY
KEY INSIGHTS
Research
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
INTERVIEW
SUMMARY
KEY INSIGHTS
Define
USER PERSONA
Journey Map &
User Scenario
Design
Requirements
Define
USER PERSONA
Journey Map &
User Scenario
Design
Requirements
Develop
USER FLOW
& WIREFRAME
Design Toolkit
PROTOTYPE
Develop
USER FLOW
& WIREFRAME
Design Toolkit
PROTOTYPE
Expand Detailed Process Work
RESEARCH
Industry Research
Before we started our research phase, we did market research to have a better understanding of the most recent trends and factors driving the fitness industry. Our study helped us to gain a better understanding of how other fitness brands are doing, particularly in terms of offering virtual sessions.
User Research
Qualitative Research
To gather insightful and distinctive data, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with four individuals. Each interview lasted between 30 to 45 minutes. Our interviews focused on understanding personal experiences, habits, satisfaction, intentions, and motivations related to staying active and mindful. To encourage participants to recall their experiences, we used diary-style questions that allowed us to gain a more in-depth understanding of their experiences.
Research Questions
Commuters using public transportation
What are the motivations and barriers for maintaining wellness in working adults?
What are the motivations and barriers for maintaining wellness in working adults?
Interview Results & Analysis
Upon analyzing and coding the collected data, we generated our key findings.
Key Takeaways
Our research has yielded important insights into the factors that influence the pursuit of wellness and fitness. After transcribing and coding the interview data, we identified four key pillars that emerged as central to the success of fitness and overall wellness initiatives. These four pillars are scheduling, personalization, habit-building, and social experience. By focusing on these areas, we can develop more effective and targeted interventions aimed at improving health and well-being.
The coded data helped us understand the interviewees' wellness experiences and attitudes. Our findings lay the groundwork for developing solutions to help people meet their specific needs and overcome their wellness/fitness challenges, improving wellness outcomes.
DEFINE
User Persona
After analyzing the interviews, we generated ideas for four personas through a brainstorming session. To ensure distinct differences between each persona, we thoroughly explored various possibilities for users within the targeted demographic. In order to incorporate a diverse range of people, we began by using age groups that represented opposite ends of the spectrum as a foundation for the personas. Subsequently, we developed four personas individually, with each team member assigned to create one persona based on the initial concept.
User Scenario
Each team member created a unique context scenario based on their individual persona from the previous activity. We divided up the key themes we identified in the HMW and brainstorming sessions and applied them to our respective personas. We then took turns sharing these idealized journeys and discussed which portions we wanted to focus on for our product.
Samantha | The Social Butterfly
1. Introducing People, Objects, Environments
By following the trainer’s voice instructions from the app Samantha finishes up her yoga online session and gets ready for work. She feels incredibly refreshed and rejuvenated after the early morning practice. Samantha checks her social media on her phone while commuting to work on the train.
2. The Task at Hand
Samantha sees a new suggestion on the workout app by her training partner for tomorrow’s session. She checks the session details and makes sure that she can join the session after her work. Samantha invites her other training companions to join the session, so that everyone can enjoy the workout together and have fun.
3. Task in More Detail
After finishing her work, Samantha goes home to get ready for the group workout session. She receives a reminder from the app about the session's starting time. She is quite excited about the session because it was highly recommended on the app by many trainees. She notices that three of her friends have registered for the class. Samantha sends a message to the fitness group to check to see if they are already at the gym. She receives a reply from one of her friends saying that she is already at the class and it will take another 15 minutes to start. Samantha leaves home right away as she receives the message. She enters the gym studio and taps her phone on the scanning device, and she instantly receives a notification about attending the session. It also updates on her app, so she doesn’t have to log in manually. Also, she doesn't have to describe her preferences or objectives because the trainer checks everyone's profile when they enroll. Samantha meets some new friends at the gym after the session and adds them as friends on the app so she can join sessions with them in the future.
4. Task Completion
As Samantha gets home, she looks over yesterday's sleep activity and today's suggested bedtime so she may spend more time with her family. She checks her watch to see today’s activity and she receives an appreciation from her app for achieving the score. She notices the bedtime reminder on her phone after spending some quality time with her family.
Ideation
After generating our "how might we" statements, we conducted an individual brainstorming session to come up with potential features for our app. We aimed to generate as many ideas as possible during this process. Later, we came together as a team and shared our ideas, highlighting those we found most valuable and worth pursuing. We discussed each idea in detail and then voted to prioritize our top choices. This approach helped us identify and focus on the features that were most relevant to our project goals.
DEVELOP
User Flow
Each team member created their own unique user flow after reviewing the interviews and brainstorming sessions. We then analyzed and compared these user flows during a group discussion. Through this discussion, we were able to identify the most valuable elements to integrate into the final user flow. We engaged in an extensive brainstorming session to determine the main sections of the final version, as the conversation generated various suggestions. Finally, we consolidated our ideas and merged them into a cohesive user flow.
*Open the image in a new tab for an enlarged view
Low-Fidelity Sketches
Each member sketched out a few ideas based on their individual context scenario and proposed user flow. After sharing individual ideas, the team discussed how to connect each aspect. We then conducted a comprehensive brainstorming session to develop a complete picture of the product. In-depth discussions were held on various aspects, including which features should be placed on which pages, naming conventions, and flow interactions.
Mid-Fidelity Prototype
We leveraged Apple’s iOS system for our mid-fidelity prototype to keep things simple and consistent for this iteration. We brainstormed ways to enhance and simplify interactions while maintaining consistency. After giving feedback, we made further iterations before presenting a refined version to each other.
Design Toolkit
To create the final design, I developed a design toolkit that included branding, iconography, primary colors, and text in line with the concept. This theme was aimed at providing users with increased accessibility while navigating through the application.
User Testing
After conducting testing of the mid-fidelity prototype, we examined the test results to identify common patterns and areas requiring improvement. Subsequently, we collaborated to brainstorm possible solutions, some of which were simple fixes, while others required joint efforts to enhance the product.
Feedback
Participants suggested several improvements, including making session cards clickable, enhancing the presentation of individual statistics, and ensuring the visibility of crucial information. We restructured the design by dividing user information from aggregated data, increasing the amount of white space, decreasing the size of buttons, and streamlining the verification procedure to address these concerns. In the end, the app's design and functionality were greatly enhanced, resulting in a more user-friendly and effective platform for promoting well-being.
Decision Making
We used MoSCow framework to prioritize problems we identified during testing, based on their severity and impact on the app. We focused on fixing the “must have” issues first as they have the most significant impacts on the app. We then addressed the “should have” as they were also critical to the app's functionality. We also tackled some of the "could-have" issues that were easy to fix in this round of iterations.
Refinement
Following the finalization of the MoSCow framework, we have decided to conduct another round of testing with the finalized changes using a high-fidelity prototype. Since we were able to identify and resolve major issues during the previous tests, we will avoid the flows that are not critical and have already been resolved.
In order to execute the testing with only the most important flows, we discussed and brainstormed as a group and came up with an order that includes every important flow of the app. The user flow begins on the home screen and proceeds to the mood check-in, creating an automated goal, booking a session suggested by the created goal, exploring sessions, and joining a program & journaling session.
Expand Detailed Process Work
RESEARCH
Industry Research
Before we started our research phase, we did market research to have a better understanding of the most recent trends and factors driving the fitness industry. Our study helped us to gain a better understanding of how other fitness brands are doing, particularly in terms of offering virtual sessions.
User Research
Qualitative Research
To gather insightful and distinctive data, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with four individuals. Each interview lasted between 30 to 45 minutes. Our interviews focused on understanding personal experiences, habits, satisfaction, intentions, and motivations related to staying active and mindful. To encourage participants to recall their experiences, we used diary-style questions that allowed us to gain a more in-depth understanding of their experiences.
Research Questions
Commuters using public transportation
What are the motivations and barriers for maintaining wellness in working adults?
What are the motivations and barriers for maintaining wellness in working adults?
Interview Results & Analysis
Upon analyzing and coding the collected data, we generated our key findings.
Key Takeaways
Our research has yielded important insights into the factors that influence the pursuit of wellness and fitness. After transcribing and coding the interview data, we identified four key pillars that emerged as central to the success of fitness and overall wellness initiatives. These four pillars are scheduling, personalization, habit-building, and social experience. By focusing on these areas, we can develop more effective and targeted interventions aimed at improving health and well-being.
The coded data helped us understand the interviewees' wellness experiences and attitudes. Our findings lay the groundwork for developing solutions to help people meet their specific needs and overcome their wellness/fitness challenges, improving wellness outcomes.
DEFINE
User Persona
After analyzing the interviews, we generated ideas for four personas through a brainstorming session. To ensure distinct differences between each persona, we thoroughly explored various possibilities for users within the targeted demographic. In order to incorporate a diverse range of people, we began by using age groups that represented opposite ends of the spectrum as a foundation for the personas. Subsequently, we developed four personas individually, with each team member assigned to create one persona based on the initial concept.
User Scenario
Each team member created a unique context scenario based on their individual persona from the previous activity. We divided up the key themes we identified in the HMW and brainstorming sessions and applied them to our respective personas. We then took turns sharing these idealized journeys and discussed which portions we wanted to focus on for our product.
Samantha | The Social Butterfly
1. Introducing People, Objects, Environments
By following the trainer’s voice instructions from the app Samantha finishes up her yoga online session and gets ready for work. She feels incredibly refreshed and rejuvenated after the early morning practice. Samantha checks her social media on her phone while commuting to work on the train.
2. The Task at Hand
Samantha sees a new suggestion on the workout app by her training partner for tomorrow’s session. She checks the session details and makes sure that she can join the session after her work. Samantha invites her other training companions to join the session, so that everyone can enjoy the workout together and have fun.
3. Task in More Detail
After finishing her work, Samantha goes home to get ready for the group workout session. She receives a reminder from the app about the session's starting time. She is quite excited about the session because it was highly recommended on the app by many trainees. She notices that three of her friends have registered for the class. Samantha sends a message to the fitness group to check to see if they are already at the gym. She receives a reply from one of her friends saying that she is already at the class and it will take another 15 minutes to start. Samantha leaves home right away as she receives the message. She enters the gym studio and taps her phone on the scanning device, and she instantly receives a notification about attending the session. It also updates on her app, so she doesn’t have to log in manually. Also, she doesn't have to describe her preferences or objectives because the trainer checks everyone's profile when they enroll. Samantha meets some new friends at the gym after the session and adds them as friends on the app so she can join sessions with them in the future.
4. Task Completion
As Samantha gets home, she looks over yesterday's sleep activity and today's suggested bedtime so she may spend more time with her family. She checks her watch to see today’s activity and she receives an appreciation from her app for achieving the score. She notices the bedtime reminder on her phone after spending some quality time with her family.
Ideation
After generating our "how might we" statements, we conducted an individual brainstorming session to come up with potential features for our app. We aimed to generate as many ideas as possible during this process. Later, we came together as a team and shared our ideas, highlighting those we found most valuable and worth pursuing. We discussed each idea in detail and then voted to prioritize our top choices. This approach helped us identify and focus on the features that were most relevant to our project goals.
DEVELOP
User Flow
Each team member created their own unique user flow after reviewing the interviews and brainstorming sessions. We then analyzed and compared these user flows during a group discussion. Through this discussion, we were able to identify the most valuable elements to integrate into the final user flow. We engaged in an extensive brainstorming session to determine the main sections of the final version, as the conversation generated various suggestions. Finally, we consolidated our ideas and merged them into a cohesive user flow.
*Open the image in a new tab for an enlarged view
Low-Fidelity Sketches
Each member sketched out a few ideas based on their individual context scenario and proposed user flow. After sharing individual ideas, the team discussed how to connect each aspect. We then conducted a comprehensive brainstorming session to develop a complete picture of the product. In-depth discussions were held on various aspects, including which features should be placed on which pages, naming conventions, and flow interactions.
Mid-Fidelity Prototype
We leveraged Apple’s iOS system for our mid-fidelity prototype to keep things simple and consistent for this iteration. We brainstormed ways to enhance and simplify interactions while maintaining consistency. After giving feedback, we made further iterations before presenting a refined version to each other.
Design Toolkit
To create the final design, I developed a design toolkit that included branding, iconography, primary colors, and text in line with the concept. This theme was aimed at providing users with increased accessibility while navigating through the application.
User Testing
After conducting testing of the mid-fidelity prototype, we examined the test results to identify common patterns and areas requiring improvement. Subsequently, we collaborated to brainstorm possible solutions, some of which were simple fixes, while others required joint efforts to enhance the product.
Feedback
Participants suggested several improvements, including making session cards clickable, enhancing the presentation of individual statistics, and ensuring the visibility of crucial information. We restructured the design by dividing user information from aggregated data, increasing the amount of white space, decreasing the size of buttons, and streamlining the verification procedure to address these concerns. In the end, the app's design and functionality were greatly enhanced, resulting in a more user-friendly and effective platform for promoting well-being.
Decision Making
We used MoSCow framework to prioritize problems we identified during testing, based on their severity and impact on the app. We focused on fixing the “must have” issues first as they have the most significant impacts on the app. We then addressed the “should have” as they were also critical to the app's functionality. We also tackled some of the "could-have" issues that were easy to fix in this round of iterations.
Refinement
Following the finalization of the MoSCow framework, we have decided to conduct another round of testing with the finalized changes using a high-fidelity prototype. Since we were able to identify and resolve major issues during the previous tests, we will avoid the flows that are not critical and have already been resolved.
In order to execute the testing with only the most important flows, we discussed and brainstormed as a group and came up with an order that includes every important flow of the app. The user flow begins on the home screen and proceeds to the mood check-in, creating an automated goal, booking a session suggested by the created goal, exploring sessions, and joining a program & journaling session.
The Final Outcome
The Final Outcome
The Final Outcome
Users can add or link basic information such as their class schedule, addresses, and preferred method of transportation to the app during sign-up or later. When the app is synced with the class schedule and maps, it will automatically suggest the most suitable options based on the user's preferred method. Users can add items at any time before their commute under the Packs, with the option to categorize items according to different courses. The app sends a notification before the trip reminding users to pack their items and notifies them if any items are left. Additionally, users can set reminders as needed for their commute.
Users can add or link basic information such as their class schedule, addresses, and preferred method of transportation to the app during sign-up or later. When the app is synced with the class schedule and maps, it will automatically suggest the most suitable options based on the user's preferred method. Users can add items at any time before their commute under the Packs, with the option to categorize items according to different courses. The app sends a notification before the trip reminding users to pack their items and notifies them if any items are left. Additionally, users can set reminders as needed for their commute.
Users can add or link basic information such as their class schedule, addresses, and preferred method of transportation to the app during sign-up or later. When the app is synced with the class schedule and maps, it will automatically suggest the most suitable options based on the user's preferred method. Users can add items at any time before their commute under the Packs, with the option to categorize items according to different courses. The app sends a notification before the trip reminding users to pack their items and notifies them if any items are left. Additionally, users can set reminders as needed for their commute.
Let's walk through.Go Next >
- Home Screen
Log in and check for the upcoming commutes scheduled for each weekday.
- Pack & Mark
View the items that need to be packed and mark them as they are packed.
- Packs
View a list of all packs and differentiate their status by their respective color codes.
- Map
Pack any remaining items before your trip and receive prompt updates on any trip changes
- Calendar
Effortlessly manage the packs with the calendar to view, edit, add, or remove them with ease.
- Reminders
Create custom reminders to pack additional items and get reminded before the trip.
- Let's try the app now!
- Let's walk through.
Go Next >
- Home Screen
Log in and check for the upcoming commutes scheduled for each weekday.
- Pack & Mark
View the items that need to be packed and mark them as they are packed.
- Packs
View a list of all packs and differentiate their status by their respective color codes.
- Map
Pack any remaining items before your trip and receive prompt updates on any trip changes
- Calendar
Effortlessly manage the packs with the calendar to view, edit, add, or remove them with ease.
- Reminders
Create custom reminders to pack additional items and get reminded before the trip.
- Let's try the app now!
Next Steps
Next Steps
Next Steps
The next phase of the development process involves conducting user testing for the app, with a particular focus on assessing the usability of the home screen and the ease of adding and removing items from the packs. Once the feedback has been gathered and the necessary improvements have been implemented, attention can shift toward developing other key features of the app. These may include functionalities such as uploading items using suggestions based on courses and adding program schedules.
The next phase of the development process involves conducting user testing for the app, with a particular focus on assessing the usability of the home screen and the ease of adding and removing items from the packs. Once the feedback has been gathered and the necessary improvements have been implemented, attention can shift toward developing other key features of the app. These may include functionalities such as uploading items using suggestions based on courses and adding program schedules.
The next phase of the development process involves conducting user testing for the app, with a particular focus on assessing the usability of the home screen and the ease of adding and removing items from the packs. Once the feedback has been gathered and the necessary improvements have been implemented, attention can shift toward developing other key features of the app. These may include functionalities such as uploading items using suggestions based on courses and adding program schedules.
