User Research, Information Architecture, Wireframing, Prototyping, Visual and Interaction Design
tik. is an intuitive task manager. It was designed as a mobile, tablet and desktop app.
There is no shortage of task management apps on the market. Yet, many professionals stick to traditional analogue ways of managing their tasks such as to-do lists and calendar diaries. Why? Existing task management apps often create more complexity in the lives of their users through a myriad of different - often unnecessary - functions and an unintuitive user experience.
For this project I took on various UX roles such as User Researcher, Information Architect, UI and Interaction Designer.
- Competitor Analysis
- User Surveys & Interviews
- Personas
I conducted a Competitor Analysis to better understand the market as well as to identify possible frustration and hurdles that users are currently facing with existing task management apps. It included the competitors’ profiles, marketing strategy, core business, SWOT profile, UX/UI, content, design and performance quality.
I then conducted an online survey and multiple user interviews with potential users to gain quantitative as well as qualitative data.
Whilst the market analysis reflected that the task management app market is quite saturated with products showing only minor differences in their functionalities, the surveys showed that people display very little flexibility with regards to their task management method. Once users have found a method that works (either digitally or analogue) they are quite reluctant to changing their preferred method.
I therefore saw the biggest market potential in users who are currently still using analogue task management methods, whilst being open to streamlining their task management with an online tool (but have not found the right tool for themselves on the current market). I then narrowed my research to identify what is holding them back from the use of digital task managers.
The results of my user research helped me identify three distinct user personas and their needs, behaviours, motivations and frustrations. These personas would help remind me of whom I was designing for the remainder of the design process.
- Feature Definition (MVP)
- Information Architecture
Based on the user research I was able to identify some of the hurdles that users face using existing digital task management apps: a high learning curve, complex interfaces and functionalities, unintuitive user experience etc. These findings helped me identify three distinct advantages that tik. could provide to create a smooth user experience and set itself apart from the competition.
My research has shown that the majority of users manage their daily lives with analogue methods such as calendar diaries and to-do lists and they enjoy doing so, since it is quick and easy. Though they would like to have central space to manage all their tasks, meetings and notes, they are reluctant to switch to digital methods as they would require them to change their current habits altogether (typing in tasks vs. writing them down).
Rather than trying to completely change their behaviour, I wanted to offer a task manager that would act as an extension to their current behaviour and thus lowering the entry barrier. By allowing users to scan their handwritten to-do lists and upload their analogue notes tik. integrates seamlessly into their current behaviour and at the same time enhances their workflow by enabling them to manage their affaires online.
With the core features of tik. identified it was time to create the information architecture of the app. This sitemap shows the IA of the desktop version of the app.
- Paper/Digital Wireframes & Prototypes
Based on the Sitemap, I identified different user flows and sketched them out using pen and paper to create a paper prototype.
After testing the paper prototype in usability sessions with a number of users I was able to make iterations before transferring the wireframes into a digital format.
- Usability Testing
- Preference and Click Tests
- Final Designs
The digital wireframes in turn were tested in multiple rounds of usability testing and iterations were made accordingly. For example the dashboard of both the desktop and tablet version of tik. underwent three rounds of iterations before arriving at the final design.
In addition to usability testing I also ran a Preference (A/B style) Testing as well as a Click Test. The goal of the preference test was to determine whether users would prefer labels alongside the icons in the edit panel of the dashboard in the mobile version of tik.
The Click Tests were conducted to observe if users navigate through tik. as expected and to identify potential hurdles in the user experience. Only minor changes resulted from the Click Tests such as changing the labelling from ‘done’ to ‘save’ in the task editor to create a better differentiation from the ‘cancel’ button.
After these changes were made it was time to put flesh to the bones and design the final screens of tik using a style guide and UI kit.
