Managd
Prompt:
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Is there a way, an app, that can help people have a more balanced work-life experience while working remotely?
Team Project - MICA UX Design M.P.S
Scope: 8 weeks
Role: UX Designer, UX Researcher, and Project Manager
-worked with 2 other team mates
Tools: AdobeXD, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides
Solution:
Build a team management application which can be used to plan projects and ensure good work/life balance for teams.
What is Managd?
Managd is a team and project management platform for project based work organizations. Users can get assistance with prioritizing projects and tasks, be encouraged to have healthy work/life balance, and provide feedback to their team generally or for specific projects when it comes to processes.
Research
Interview
1 1
total participants
70%
have quit a previous job because of bad work/life balance
60%
are considering quitting or would absolutely quit their current job because of bad work/life balance
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I feel good as long as I know what time to be available and what I am accountable for today.
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Work/life imbalance was a major factor in why I left my last job -- unpredictability of daily workload, frequent fire drills, and long hours required in my previous job made me feel burnt out and stressed.
Findings
Is work/life balance important to people? Should companies take work/life balance seriously?
Yes, work/life balance makes a difference.
Remote work/life balance is achievable with the right processes and team culture.
Companies should put effort creating a culture that supports work/life balance.
Work/life balance is a combination of:
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Not feeling stressed during working hours
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Having enough time in a day to accomplish necessary work tasks and have time for yourself
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Being able to have a mental separation from work and life tasks
Impacts of remote work:
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Shifts in company culture causing people to feel pressure to work outside of normal hours
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Low team morale from unclear expectations, lack of communication
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Mixture of levels of effort to address the issue or just deal with it "for now"
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Lack of separation of working and life tasks and mental/physical spaces
Key Takeaways
01. Do what you love and love what you do
Managers should be mindful of team morale. Workers should remember what it is about work they love.
02. Lead by example
It is easier for a worker to have work/life balance if higher ups demonstrate the same culture.
It should not be the sole responsibility of the worker to manage this.
03. It shouldn't be a balancing act
Both mental and physical separation from work should be encouraged and supported.
04. Keep expectations clear
It would be helpful for tasks and responsibilities to be clearly defined.
05. Say what you need to say
Encourage team members to communicate with their PMs about processes that aren't working or need improvement.
Personas
Nadia, 42
Manager - Has an established career and many years of experience in the industry
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She wants to see her team grow and become successful.
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She struggles to nurture new talent and keep them from burning out.
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Nadia needs trust and communication between her and her team so that she can manage them efficiently.
Marcel, 27
Worker - Is earlier in his career and has some experience in the industry.
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He wants to contribute to the team and show his worth. He also wants opportunities to grow.
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He struggles to not feel pressure to put in extra hours.
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Marcel needs boundaries with work hours and to feel like he is being heard and appreciated.
Ideation
Worker - Daily Flow
User Journey Map
User Task Flow
Worker - Anonymous Feedback Flow
User Journey Map
User Task Flow
Design
Key Screens - Initial Prototype
Dashboard
Mood Tracker
Feedback Forum
Key Features - Initial Prototype
End of Day Pop-Up
Mood Modal
Feedback Modal
Usability Testing
4
participants
Features & tasks tested:
Start my day
Set mood
Assess daily workload
Mark task as completed
Add feedback
End of day pop-up
End my day
Results & Fixes
01. Setting the mood
When setting their mood for the day users didn't see that they could set more than one. There was also some hesitation with setting a mood by accident.
Fix: Stacked categories, added contrast on the selected face icon, added the optional description as a second screen
02. Completing a task
Users found it easy to complete a task but wanted to know what happens next. Do the tasks disappear? Are they archived anywhere? Completing the task wasn't as satisfying as it should have been.
Fix: Added a completed tab dropdown at the bottom of the tasks column to archive completed tasks
03. Giving feedback
It took a lot of effort to find the feedback button, and once found the users had different expectations for what they should do there. All of the users tested thought of feedback more as project notes than the anonymous suggestion box we had originally intended.
Fix: Removed feedback button at the top of the screen so users can access the feedback page via the left tab navigation & introduced toggles on the feedback modal so it was clear what kind of feedback to leave
Final ADA Compliant Color Palette
Next Steps
01. User testing
We need to test with more users to see if the changes we made were the right ones. We won't be able to build more until our baseline is validated.
02. Build out features
We would love to expand our product in all the ways we originally envisioned. Like having a manager flow, showing a mood chart to users, and adding features like a do not disturb button.
03. Long term testing
Ultimately we won't know how well a product like this will work until we do long term testing. How will this change someones work flow in the long run?