Michael Geovanni Design
The Opportunity
There is a wealth of untapped potential in finding fun and rewarding ways for individuals to make the most of their free time. In this case study, I'll demonstrate how I lead a team of 4 as project manager, through a 3-week client sprint.
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal…”
- Albert Einstein
A Background on the Method
The Trail Mix Method was developed by CEO and Founder of Presently, Dalia Katan. It was after a trip through Patagonia were the method for accomplishing goals through small time blocks was created. The Trail Mix Method is a metaphor for actual trail mix; the nuts, chocolate, raisins each provide a different enjoyment and nourishment. By not doing too much of one thing, individuals can create a workflow that's both fun and energizing.
Our Guiding Light
As the Project Manager for this project, I had the team devise brand and mission statements to help keep us on track. This "North Star" would be a reference to help with design decisions that both empathized with Trail Mix users and the the brand itself.
Empower individuals to unlock their full potential
BRAND VISION STATEMENT
Encourage individuals to maximize free time and explore new passions through meaningful and rewarding rituals
BRAND MISSION STATEMENT
Discovery & Research
In order to better understand users of the Trail Mix Method and other goal-oriented methods, the team conducted 16 user interviews and sent out a user survey. The team started to notice patterns and trends.
LEONA
Defining & Analysis
With our research analysis, a persona, problem statement and "How Might We" statements were created to communicate user needs and behaviors.
Balancing personal goals and enjoying free time
Needs
Behaviors
Sets Goals
Practices Mindfulness
Prioritizes Self-Care
Pain Points
Doesn’t want to completely change her organizational system
"Ideas are just dreams until I set a goal."
The Worn-Out Planner
Age 36
Personality: Type A
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Leona needs to optimize her free time in order to pursue personal goals and find fulfillment in her personal life.
HOW MIGHT WE...
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Give recommendations on what to do based on habits, interests, and moods
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Encourage and motivate people to pursue their personal goals
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Make pursuing goals fun and engaging
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Make using the tool a daily habit
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Help people effectively manage their free time to prioritize and work towards their personal goals
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Integrate into people’s already existing planning ecosystems
Development & Design
We started the development process by looking for inspiration from a few possible competitors and other successful brands.
Market Inspiration
The Bullet Journal Method encourages users to journal daily and helps visually track progress towards created goals.
We loved the idea of how Apple Watch seamlessly integrates into people's daily lives. It reminds to keep moving with small nudges and the way it minimally tracks progress.
Woebot - an AI led health and wellness app that users can interact with on a daily basis to track overall moods and mental health trends.
Atomic Habits - a book that teaches how to add new, healthy habits into already existing daily routines with habit stacking methods and rewarding system.
Duo Lingo - an app designed to help users learn a new language by breaking lessons down into manageable time frames, and encourages daily practice.
Initial User Flow
We decided to create a user flow for a mobile application because we wanted something that would have the best chance of integrating with our Persona Leona’s already existing ecosystem. She uses the calendar system religiously.
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Lo-Fi Prototype
Using the above user flow, low fidelity prototypes were created.
1st version lo-fidelity iterations in usability testing takeaways:
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still didn’t quite have a solid user flow
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feedback that we had a lot of different graphics going on
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had a lot of different decision points for our already worn out planner Leona
We took a step back and honed in on our user flow. We decided to simplify as much as possible and separated our app into two separate user flows
Back to the Drawing Board
In Scenario 1, Emily is notified that she has some upcoming free time to work on personal daily goals.
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In Scenario 2, Emily is notified to set her intentions and create a Trail Mix Bag for the week.
Curent Rendering
With out new user flows, we were able to more successfully create an app that addresses Leona's needs.
1. Interest-based Recommendations:
Personalized recommendations based on Leona's interests and connecting her with weekly, self-chosen tasks/goals.
2. Goal Encouragement: Setting and tracking goals, providing reminders, and encouraging words to achieve them.
3. Fun Task Presentation: Gamifying tasks and interactive elements for an enjoyable experience.
4. Daily Habit and Ritual Encouragement: Habit-tracking, reminders, and positive reinforcement for consistent habits and rituals.
5. Free Time Management for Goal Pursuit: Helping Leona allocate free time effectively towards her goals with activity suggestions.
6. Integration with Leona's Planning System: Seamless integration with Leona's existing planning system for synchronized tasks and updates.
Because of the nature of this 3 week sprint, not every feature could be addressed. The following would be features I would like to look into, given more time.
Some Next Steps
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Create a lock screen time-box and task countdown
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Prototype onboarding process for new users
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Development around weekly summary cards to include a way to show progress of a particular goal and a refection summary of tasks that a user has been resistant to
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Add another persona and correlating user statements
