Role
UX Designer
UX Researcher
Project Manager
The Problem
Project Context
1-week hackathon in October 2023
Secured 2nd place
4-person team including designer, developer, marketer, and researcher
College students fail to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
As a college student, I’ve observed a common issue among me and my peers — chronic fatigue and sleep deprivation, especially during midterms and finals season. It’s become common to sacrifice sleep to complete assignments at unreasonable hours. This sparked the question: how might we help students get better sleep?
The Solution
Students need better time management.
Smart Study Planning
Since many students overestimate their productivity, DaySync’s AI algorithm will tailor “focus times” around their schedule.
The AI algorithm learns and adapts to your study habits, continually enhancing a student’s study experience.
Switching design process.
Our design journey began with the classic 2004 Double Diamond model, but as we encountered many challenges, we seamlessly transitioned to the adaptive framework of the 2019 Double Diamond model. Embracing the non-linear and nuanced nature of our design process, this agile approach allowed us to navigate complexities and iteratively refine our solutions for a better user experience.
Our Design Process
Source: UK Design Council’s 2004 model
White paper research
Primary Research
Streamlined Task Management
Currently, students have to jump around various platforms for their assignments and tasks.
Comprehensive Sleep Insights
Sleep deprivation is detrimental.
Looking for research that focuses on students and sleep, we learned that The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7-9 hours of sleep for young adults. In the National Institute of Health article, I found this surprising quote about those who fail to get the recommended amount of sleep:
120 students across 20+ schools show…
that there is a correlation between students’ sleep and school demands. From a diverse sample of 120 students across 20+ schools, the key findings and insights provided eye-opening statistics and perspectives:
61.7%
When asked if they sacrifice sleep to meet academic needs,
80.8%
of students admit that inadequate sleep affects their productivity throughout the day.
Pinpointing key user priorities + Design insights.
Students can gain valuable insights into their sleep patterns with DaySync’s sleep tracker feature.
of students point to schoolwork as the primary reason for inadequate sleep.
Competitor Analysis + The Gap
The competition lacks personalization and AI technology.
We tested and analyzed similar productivity apps: Bento, Google Calendar, and Rise. We realized that NONE of these apps had personalization and AI technology features that would bring an enhanced user experience. Also, it became evident that many productivity apps overlook the important connection between improved sleep and enhanced academic performance, presenting an opportunity for DaySync to address this.
Affinity Mapping + Effort Impact Matrix
Original Designs
Setbacks + Shifting directions.
The most impactful setback in our journey was overcoming emotional attachments to cherished concepts. Initially envisioning a game-like productivity app where users earn points for completing assignments, I recognized the need to prioritize user needs over my desire to create a flashy design. Letting go of this initial idea pushed us to refocus, creating a product that genuinely enhances a user experience.
Scheduled study sessions in the daily schedule.
Challenges
Simply students’ academic lives by centralizing assignments from various platforms in one space with DaySync’s AI integration.
3 major improvements in the design.
Based on different feedback from other peers and office hours feedback, we continually iterated the design within 1 week with 3 major improvements:
Final Screens
Introducing Focus Timers
Originally, a focus timer was not a feature we were planning on including.
However, after analyzing our research and surveys, we realized that many students would benefit from having set focus and break times while studying.
Following Jakob’s Law, our focus timer design drew inspiration from the popular Pomodoro Timer design.
Simplifying schedule
Meet DaySync!
Case study slide deck here
Conclusion
After presenting DaySync to a jury panel, we placed 2nd place at the hackathon.
Creating DaySync has been an incredibly rewarding experience :). Though we were only given a week to bring this idea to life, having the opportunity to go through the entire UX process from research to prototyping was the highlight of this experience. Here are a few things I’ve learned:
Iterate, iterate, iterate: With continuous iteration, I learned that we were able to fail quickly and learn from our mistakes which was necessary for our time constraint.
Communication is key: Recognizing that design skills alone are insufficient, I learned that compelling communication and storytelling when presenting and justifying design decisions are crucial when bringing a product to life.
Teamwork: None of this would have been possible without my teammates! Emphasizing the intense and hyper-stimulating nature of hackathons, our shared determination pushed us to persevere and overcome many challenges. (Side note: we found it ironic that we were creating an app to help students get better sleep while sleep-deprived).
More Projects:
This will provide a more organized and stress-free approach to assignments and tasks.
Source: UK Design Council’s 2019 model
— National Institute of Health, March 2022
80.9%
agreed or strongly agreed.
After our research, we created an Affinity Map and Effort Impact Matrix to identify the specific key user priorities, enabling us to discern patterns and emphasize the significant role that academic demands play in students' lives. We integrated these crucial insights into the creation of DaySync.
The Affinity Map below was created by gathering insights from user interviews and user surveys and categorizing them based on users’ pain points.
The Effort Impact Matrix was created to determine which selected features would be most beneficial to users.
Main Insights
Research + Analysis = Essential Features.
Combining the white paper research, primary research, affinity map, and effort impact matrix, we identified 4 “high-impact” features that can help students get better sleep:
Syncing assignments and tasks from various platforms into one list.
Scheduled break times with reminders during study sessions.
User Personas
Our target audience.
To summarize and better communicate our research and insights, we created two user personas that represent our target audience, helping us design a product that meets the needs of these personas.
Sleep tracking + goal setting features.
Sketches + Low fidelity prototype.
Testing + Improvements
Students can set and achieve personalized sleep goals, utilizing progress tracking as a motivational tool to enhance sleep quality.
Learnings
Thank you for reading \^o^/
For work inquiries or to grab a matcha latte email me at junsarah3@gmail.com
Removing Energy Level Feature
Originally, there were many too many nonessential features aimed at capturing users’ energy levels to create the user’s schedule.
Originally, the daily schedule looked very packed and users expressed that this was overwhelming.
Therefore, we removed the AI chatbot, energy level indicator, and daily mood checker.
Therefore, by decluttering and opting for a calming color palette, the final design now captures only the crucial aspects of a user’s day, providing a more intuitive and less daunting experience.
