SERENITY

Jelena Vujinovic

UX Researcher

UX Designer

UI Designer

3D Studiomax

Figma

Procreate

TRANSFORMING SELF-CARE WITH SERENITY

How the powerful applicability of the Rubicon Model of Action Phases created a new digital dimension within E-Mental-Health

THE DESIGN CHALLENGE

The Daily Health Conference is a non-profit organization passionately committed to fostering health and wellness worldwide through engaging public talks, immersive workshops and comprehensive professional training sessions.

For the purpose of this fictional project I was invited to showcase our unique product together with my tight-knit Ironhack-team and outline how the powerful impact of the Rubicon Model of Action Phases set the ground for an innovative sphere within the field of E-Mental-Health.

BUILDING THE FUNDAMENT

Keeping in mind that the targeted market currently continually evolves and new trends and technologies emerge regularly our formed group immediately dove into the wast sphere of innovation to get inspired and mentally sketch innovative features or approaches that can set our beautiful application apart.

Analogous to prior projects I intervened our wandering minds and suggested building the fundamental pillars for qualitative and tight-knit teamwork by using a method from the sphere of work and organizational psychology — we created an appreciative space for every member within the group to outline their core values, usual role and expansion potentials regrading collaboration.

By placing our individual value set onto the graspable level of group consciousness we laid out the base for the gradual strengthening of our bond as a team.

CROSSING OUR OWN RUBICON

Outlining our project scope and defining time-valuable key deliverables catalyzed setting the right project tone while facing the upcoming waves of UX hurdles.

We initiated a brainstorming session to identify an untapped niche in the market and generate a wide range of core models for features, content and outstanding functionalities that could enhance the wellness application in the end.

The vital process point was followed by a motivation-enhancing extensive discussion and dot-voting to confirm our main direction for a positive lifestyle change — a product circling around self-care which combines the angle of a core behavioral theory with gamified features supporting practical long-term implementation (spoiler: via the guidance of the Rubicon Model of Action Phases which I introduced to the team during the research stage).

Besides the current trends related to health and wellness preferences, consumer behavior, technological advancements as well as regulatory changes one of my favorite paradigms within the field of behavioral psychology played a crucial role in the development of our direction.

The metaphorical center of this model refers to the watershed historical event of Caesar deciding to have his legions cross the river Rubicon in northern Italy, violating the integrity of the Roman Empire and thus instigating a civil war. Used as a metaphor crossing the Rubicon means to make a decision that has irrevocable consequences.

While differentiating and integrating both the selection and realization of goals the RMOAP describes successful goal pursuit as solving four distinct consecutive tasks: choosing between potential goals, planning the implementation of a chosen goal, acting on the chosen goal and assessing what has been achieved by acting on the goal and what still needs to be achieved by further acting on the goal.

Everybody knows that just having a wish does not make the wish happen. Wishing something is but the first step toward taking action to realize it. Before we can take action, the wish has to be transformed into a more specific goal that we can actually strive for and attain.

Although seemingly paradoxical the sequential structure of the model reflects contrasting yet complementary functions of the consecutive action phases the model offers a niche we want to tackle with our application — encourage users to initiate the self-regulatory swing of crossing their own river of struggle.

To maintain the goal of striving for excellence in the development phase of our future application’s development and delivery we had to adapt to the mentality of reminding ourselves of our depth-reaching ambition at every stage in the process.

CREATING SPACE FOR USERS'S VOICES

In order to ensure that our digital product remains relevant and valuable in the chosen ever-changing wellness landscape we gathered the named findings in the nature of secondary research, combined those with insights deriving from a competitive and design pattern analysis and sorted them logically in the form of an affinity diagram.

Keeping the basis for further validation in mind we applied a mixed-methods approach using surveys for quantitative data and interviews for in-depth qualitative insights.

Our survey collected data on users’ self-care practices, motivations, challenges, digital support preferences, current app usage and time commitment. The data was highly valuable for shaping the future of our digital product.

During our qualitative research phase we conducted three interviews with users exploring their self-care practices, methods for overcoming routine obstacles and areas lacking in their daily lives.

In summary our key findings highlighted trends where self-care ranks as a top priority with the focus on motivating users to integrate it into their daily routines. Common self-care activities include exercise, quality time with loved ones and outdoor pursuits. However time constraints, unexpected events and energy fluctuations often pose barriers which we aimed to tackle.

Our problem statement in connection to the heard voices perfectly summarized the fusion between our collected insights and the behavioral core theory named RMOAP.

Motivated habit seekers effectively integrate and sustain new habits within their daily routine they struggle to translate their motivation into an actionable plan.

Complementing the optimal integration of the implementation intention path onto the desired application structure in a way to respect and fulfill the users’ needs stated our ultimative ambition.

OUTLINING OUR USER BASE

Utilizing our extensive knowledge base we streamlined all the gathered and cleaned information in order to create a user persona as a fictional representation of our target group and as a pillar for fostering empathy trough a deeper connection to the end users and building an overarching consensus with all instances.

After creating Serena Lewis we quickly sent her through her current odyssee in our user journey map where we identified the process pain points and highlighted emerging opportunities.

TRANSLATING OUR INNER WORLD OUTWARDS

Keeping our user base and their core needs in mind we held an open brainstorming session. We took our time – avoiding a quick embrace of the first idea – and used quick sketches to facilitate creativity. Throughout our collective discussion plus dot voting we refined our team vision and filtered out less promising ideas.

Inspired by the MoSCoW Method we prioritized essential features for our application. Our goal was to build a robust foundation of support to help users successfully establish and maintain key habits as they progress on their journey across their individual Rubicon.

Guided by behavior theoratical principles we furthermore included the following distinct game mechanics tied to user feedback in the form of bonuses as rewards for completing a series of challenges and bits of the cascading information theory which are bound to the release of information in small parts to ensure appropriate levels of understanding.

In our user flow we simulated a daily engagement case regarding the app which consists of the first task of leveraging predefined long-term goals which are provided through a pre-filled questionnaire. The app uses this questionnaire to understand long-term objectives and break them down into concrete actionable tasks.

A typical day starts with mood tracking followed by an optional motivational message for habit reinforcement which can be skipped as it’s also accessible on your device's home screen. Serenity then generates a daily schedule based on your inputs which users can easily add onto, edit and mark tasks as completed to earn virtual coins. At the end of each day the data overview page displays visual data on streaks, earned points and overall progress towards individual long-term goals combined with an extensive library of educational content regarding psychological methods and resources.

BRINGING SERENITY TO LIFE

At the last stage we utilized our collaborative spirit to create the beautiful evolution of our Mid fidelity- to High fidelity-screens which at the same time metaphorically symbolized the growth of our intertwined team.

We initiated the prototyping process by sketching a Low-fidelity outline of the user’s intended journey through our app while concentrating on their happy path. We subsequently translated these designs into a further developed flow.

We proceeded to refine challenging aspects and improve specific screens before addressing the app’s branding strategy to shape the creative orientation of the High-fidelity screens.

We started with a moodboard that embodied our brand attributes – empowering, systematic, vibrant, calm and adaptive. User feedback further affirmed the resonance of these attributes which solidified our design approach.

This foundational step led us to create a style tile which served as a bridge between related abstract concepts and concrete design elements. It overall allowed us to visually articulate and refine tied attributes, color-theoretical decisions, typography and distinct UI elements while ensuring a cohesive and resonating creative perspective.

PUTTING OUR CREATION UP FOR TESTS

In order to respect test-theoretical recommendations we utilized our Mid-fidelity screens as a basis. We created an interview structure that blended user-, usability- and desirability testing and guided by valuable user feedback and three iteration-cycles we refined our High-fi designs to ensure an optimal user experience.

Desire for Clarity on Rewards – Given that the discover page was not part of our initial MVP and had yet to be developed we included a description on the data overview page to inform users that they could use their earned points for accessing educational content and customization features.

Benefit of Edit Mode – The edit mode not only resolved usability issues but also encouraged users to be more committed to their plans by discouraging unnecessary rescheduling.

Task Completion Enhancement – A notable improvement was suggested to enable task completion by clicking on the task itself rather than just the checkbox.

Overall, users responded positively to the draft of Serenity stating that the app invokes the feeling of engaging with “your best friend.” They appreciated the personal touch, automated schedule creation and the gamification element of earning points through achievements. Ultimately the discovery of unintuitive elements led to another step back to focus differently on the deliverables in order to maximize the outcome we truly strived for.

THE BIRTH OF SERENITY

We refined our screens and seamlessly integrated newly improved aspects into our branding strategy. In the following High-fidelity demo our user Serena Lewis navigates throughout the Serenity application.

She starts by stating her current mood tied to her energy level and diligently follows her daily To-Do list. Serena plans to reschedule her workout for later in the day with the intention of aligning it with her own premises. By consistently completing actionable tasks each day she steadily progresses toward her chosen long-term goals while gaining momentum through motivational nudges and earning points to further customize her experiences within the app.

Looking ahead our next actions will involve a series of crucial steps aimed at realizing our ultimate vision for Serenity.

Questionnaire Refinement – We'll continue to fine-tune the initial profile setup questionnaire to ensure it aligns seamlessly with users’ needs and preferences.

Content Expansion – Our dedication to broadening the collection of educational and informational content remains resolute. Users can anticipate access to an even more comprehensive and diverse range of resources.

Motivational Features – We are actively working on implementing motivational notifications and reminders designed to encourage and empower users on their self-care journey.

Gamification Enhancement – To make the Serenity experience even more engaging we will further improve the gamification elements including the cherished visual and reward system.

With these strategic steps our application will be even better equipped to provide users with the essential tools for effectively bridging the gap between motivation and action in order to empower them on their journey of crossing their metaphorical Rubicon.

CROSSING MY OWN RUBICON

In order distill the key lessons that will shape my own future undertakings it was crucial to reflect on this path of my Ironhack journey and bound valuable insights which were mainly tied to the respectable opportunity to learn from each other and be appreciative about the knowledge and development individually.

Effective Team Collaboration – Learning from each other, leveraging each other’s strengths and fostering good communication were paramount. This was achieved through mutual respect, offering each other opportunities for growth and early discussions about individual work styles which definitely set an important precedent from the beginning.

Importance of Self-Care and Motivation – The need for self-care and motivation was recognized across the board. Even those well-versed in self-care found that a warm personal assistant was invaluable in translating motivation into action and it highlighted the universal need for support in this regard.

Team Dynamics and Communication – Effective project planning and open communication were key contributors to success. Operating as a cohesive team with a shared commitment to advocating for the users proved to be essential.

Lastly I would love to thank Nirmal Hodge, Elena Schröder and Mariana Veiga again for being such impactful team members and Ironhack for the opportunity not only to gain colleagues for future freelance projects (which are already in the pipeline – stay tuned!) but also to find friends which was an unexpected yet cherished treasure.

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Posted Oct 6, 2023

Transforming Self-Care with Serenity

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