DIY TRACKER AND PLANNING APP
ANDROID APP for HOME DEPOT TO HELP PEOPLE PLAN AND TRACK THEIR PROJECTS
OVERVIEW
Home Depot concept project, to create an app that will help people plan, track, and complete their DIY projects.
MY ROLE
Create the user interface and structure.
This project was completed with 3 other user experience designers. My role was to create the UI and structure of the application, while assisting with user research and testing.
TOOLS
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User interviews
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Contextual Inquiry
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Personas
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Paper Prototyping
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Pop App
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Clickable Prototyping
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Usability Testing
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Sketch
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InVision
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Pen + Paper + Whiteboard
THE CHALLENGE
Create an Android mobile app that allows users to plan, track and execute DIY projects. The application needs to include Home Depot brand standards.
Process
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Create a schedule.
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Conduct user interviews & contextual inquiry.
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Ideate and brainstorm solutions.
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Create prototype.
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Conduct usability testing.
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Iterate.
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Finalize designs
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Polish and delivery final deliverables.
USER RESEARCH
We went to Home Depot to conduct interviews and contextual inquiry. We spoke with about five people who were there shopping for a DIY project. We also conducted a survey that received roughly 50 responses.
KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
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Most everyone said that they need to go back to the store to gather additional supplies after they start their project.
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Multiple people said their biggest frustration is when their project does not turn out like they expected.
Through user interviews, contextual inquiry, and our survey, we were able to identify problems most people have throughout their DIY projects. We created two personas based on research. We highlighted their needs, goals, motivations, and frustrations.
JULIA HAMILTON - "THE CRAFTER"
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"I LOVE to craft, but I hate it when my project doesn't turn out like I am expecting"
RICK JACKSON - "THE DAD"
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"I know what I'm doing. My wife is always nagging that I don't like to plan, but I'm handy around the house."
DISCOVERY
Our main persona needs to plan, but is has a tendency to just jump right in. We needed to figure out a way to disguise planning. We also needed to make a list feature that is easy to use like the paper list most people had in the store. Lastly, we needed to ensure users could see the scope of the project the whole time to ensure the final product is like they are expecting.
"I'm usually unsure of what I'm getting myself into, usually because I start projects on impulse."
IDEATION
We completed multiple sketches and creating a top map to help form solutions and design the interface. We came up with an idea of adding augmented reality, but we needed to test it with real users to see if it could be trusted.
USABILITY TESTING + ITERATIONS
We conducted two rounds of usability testing, iterating between each round. I created the designs in Sketch and used both Pop and InVision to create the prototype.
USABILITY TESTING ROUND 1
WHAT WE LEARNED:
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Users understood the augmented reality feature and thought it would be useful. Users did not understand the measuring tool button, so we decided to remove extra, unnecessary features.
USABILITY TESTING ROUND 2
WHAT WE LEARNED:
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Users did not utilize the bottom navigation bar naturally (it had to be prompted). This navigation caused confusion instead of a natural flow.
FINAL DESIGNS
DESIGN DECISIONS:
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We implemented material design standards for the final design. Including the bottom steppers and a floating action bar for the project overview.
SOLUTION
My team and I created a DIY app that makes planning easy and effortless. Users take a picture of the space in their house that they want to remodel. They can then swap out certain features of the room they want to update. The picture they just took updates before their eyes so they can truly visualize the finished product before they start. The app will give them an overview of the project and rate the difficulty and estimated total time to complete. This not only disguises planning, but gives them idea of what they are in for before they get started
CLICKABLE PROTOTYPE
next steps
Creating a better description about how the augmented reality works. This would include clear instructions on how to use it and how the user will benefit.
There are also other features that could be added, but would need to be added slow to now overwhelm the user with too much new technology. These include measuring tool and level within the app.
OBSTACLES
One obstacle with this project was being down one teammate for almost half of the project. The other teammate and myself were able to easily communicate and stay ahead of schedule.