Natural Language Tasking
Toni
Stack - Natural Language Processing Task app
Overview
Every day, millions of people struggle with task management apps that contradict their natural thinking patterns. Tools designed to boost productivity frequently become sources of frustration instead. Stack reimagines task management by aligning with how people naturally organize their thoughts and tasks.
Timeline
1 month
Role
Product Designer
Tools
Figma, Notion, Xcode
Problem Statement
Traditional task management applications create a fundamental contradiction: they require so many steps to organize tasks that they actually reduce productivity instead of enhancing it. Users face multiple friction points:
Complex forms requiring multiple fields to be filled for each task
Excessive clicks to categorize and organize information
Rigid structures that don't adapt to individual thinking styles
Cognitive overhead that defeats the purpose of productivity tools
Through user research, I discovered that people spend an average of 2-3 minutes organizing a single task across multiple fields and categories—valuable time that could be spent on actual productive work.
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Research & Discovery
To deeply understand user frustrations with existing task management solutions, I conducted:
15 in-depth user interviews with professionals across various industries
Competitive analysis of 8 leading task management applications
Journey mapping sessions to identify key pain points in the task creation workflow
User Personas
Based on my research, I developed two primary personas to guide my design decisions:
Alex, 32
Product Manager in Brooklyn
User Needs
Alex manages multiple simultaneous projects with overlapping deadlines. He needs an organizational tool that minimizes setup time and streamlines task entry while providing reliable reminders.
User Mindset
Alex seeks simplicity and immediate utility. He abandons tools that present a steep learning curve or complex interfaces, as they create additional work rather than reducing it.
Key Characteristics
Manages tight deadlines
Juggles multiple projects simultaneously
Values quick setup and minimal friction
Needs seamless integration into existing workflows
Sofia, 28
Freelance Designer
User Needs
Sofia works with multiple clients and needs to track both creative projects and administrative tasks. She requires a flexible system that can adapt to her non-linear workflow while keeping her organized.
User Mindset
Sofia thinks visually and often struggles with traditional task management systems. She prefers tools that feel intuitive and allow her to express tasks in her own words rather than fitting them into rigid structures.
Key Characteristics
Balances creative work with business tasks
Needs flexible categorization for different clients
Prefers natural, conversational interfaces
Values quick capture of ideas and tasks
Design Process
Journey Mapping
Our journey mapping sessions revealed critical insights that directly influenced our design decisions:
Task Input Friction: Users spent disproportionate time formatting and organizing tasks rather than capturing them
Cognitive Load: Context switching between different views and categories created mental fatigue
Flow Disruption: Traditional interfaces interrupted users' natural thinking processes
These findings pointed to a clear opportunity: reimagine task management around natural human expression rather than structured data entry.
Solution
Natural Language Processing at the Core
Stack transforms task management through sophisticated natural language processing (NLP) that allows users to create and organize tasks exactly as they would describe them to another person.
1. Natural Task Input
2. Intelligent Organization
The NLP engine goes beyond basic parsing to provide sophisticated organization:
Task Categorization: Automatically identifies task types (meetings, deadlines, reminders) based on contextual clues
Temporal Intelligence: Processes various time expressions from specific dates to relative terms like "tomorrow" or "next week"
Contextual Linking: Connects tasks to relevant projects and workspaces based on mentioned keywords
Priority Assessment: Determines importance through key phrases and temporal context
User Flow Reimagined
The redesigned user flow eliminates traditional multi-step task creation:
Task Creation: Users express tasks naturally with immediate visual feedback as the system recognizes key elements
Smart Organization: The system automatically categorizes, schedules, and links tasks based on recognized patterns
Review & Refinement: Users can quickly verify and adjust any automatically assigned attributes, with the system learning from these adjustments over time
Visual Design System
The interface was designed to make complex technology feel simple and approachable:
Clean, minimal UI that puts focus on the content
Visual feedback that subtly confirms NLP recognition
Progressive disclosure of organizational features
Consistent color-coding for task categories and priorities
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Testing & Iteration
I conducted three rounds of usability testing with 12 participants matching our target user profiles. Key findings included:
Initial confusion about the capabilities of the NLP system
Uncertainty about how to edit incorrectly interpreted information
Desire for more visual confirmation of successful task creation
These insights led to several critical iterations:
Addition of subtle highlighting as the system recognizes different elements in real-time
Implementation of a more intuitive editing interface
Enhanced feedback mechanisms to confirm successful task creation
The introduction of Stack's natural approach to task management has delivered significant measurable improvements:
75% reduction in task organization time
89% satisfaction rate with the natural language interface
3× increase in task completion rates
68% decrease in app abandonment during the onboarding process
Reflection
This project reinforced the importance of designing with users' natural behaviors in mind rather than forcing users to adapt to technology. By aligning the product with existing mental models, I was able to create an experience that feels intuitive and effortless.
The biggest challenge was balancing the power of NLP technology with a simple, approachable interface. Future iterations will focus on expanding the NLP capabilities while maintaining the streamlined experience that users have come to value.
Like this project
Posted Mar 20, 2025
Tools designed to boost productivity become sources of frustration instead. Stack fixes that by aligning with how people naturally organize their thoughts.
Likes
1
Views
5
Timeline
Feb 1, 2025 - Feb 27, 2025
