Fufluns
Helping improve posture through gamification.
Background
Do you find yourself stretching your neck after using your phone? Around 65% of phone users have experienced this. The average head weighs around 10-12 pounds, each additional 15 degree tilt forward places more than double the amount of strain and weight on the neck. Repetitive use over long periods of time can result in neck stiffness, soreness, and radiating pain from the shoulders and back.
Here at Fufluns we wanted to develop an app which gamifies and rewards behavior that is beneficial to your health without making it feel like a chore. Through notifications and in-app rewards, our goal is to target text neck and bring peace to your posture.
User Pain Points
To validate the existence and extent of this issue, we interviewed 9 users and their phone use habits. We found that most users use their phones while waking up or after work or focused studying. We also found 55% of them deem fitness as important, while 44% of them were not actively pursuing it. The main takeaway was that 66% of users have experienced neck pain and are looking for ways to improve their posture, but have difficulty improving due to inconvenience and unawareness of their posture during phone use.
What we also understood was that pure notifications were not enough to motivate these users, as many deemed just notifications as unnecessary and intrusive. Users were looking for meaningful notifications to stay on track and users were looking for ways to stay motivated in their journey to better health.
From this research we were able to define our target persona and develop solutions through a human centric approach.
Landing on the Solution
The goal for our team is to help users be engaged in their journey to better health by correcting their posture. We found many users experience this pain and for 3 of them, this pain impedes their day to day lives.
The Solution
Fufluns hopes to help users by keeping them engaged and in control of their health through the following features:
- Notification Engine: We will provide interactive notifications which can be actioned within the popup for ease of use
- Reward Engine: To help the user remain engaged, users will be in charge of growing a plant powered by positive interactions with the notifications and their daily goals set by the user
- Time Based Activation: To reduce interruptions, the user will be able to decide when they will notified and at what frequency
- Performance Tracker: To help keep the user engaged, the home page will show their progress on a daily basis and the stages the plant is in over a two week cycle. If the user does not complete the cycle within 30 days, the plant will be reset.
- Instructional Page: To help educate, a separate tab will provide tips and tricks on proper phone use to help the user alleviate pain in safe manner
Images
Homepage (with plant growth)
Settings page:
Instructional Page:
Next steps
Our team has decided to continue with the development of the application to its completion over the next few months with the goal of publishing the application onto the app store.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Azhar Shikari
- Validation of ideas: My biggest learning was to validate my assumptions with data and research. By understanding what is truly important to the end user, we were able to prioritize our features and deliver on the most impactful ideas.
- Working with a real world team: By working with developers and shipping a real product, I was able to get a sense of what challenges are to be expected and troubleshoot as needed.
- Driving product vision: By taking on the role, I was able to improve upon my skills of truly owning and driving the product vision while keeping the team on track.
Designer Learnings:
Victoria Kim
- Flexibility: Over the six weeks, working with new developers I was able to adjust my design to the capabilities of the team to ensure we still retain the look and feel while working around the roadblocks faced.
- Prioritizing Features: While working with the team, I was able to synthesize user research and build out activities to help prioritize our features to ensure we deliver the most impact to our users.
- Collaboration: Working with a team helped me realize that the varying perspectives bring new insights to a problem and usually results in an idea which goes beyond the initial requirements.
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Dapo Owolabi
- Self-Belief: Through the program, I was able to gain confidence in my abilities as a developer by shipping out an MVP in 6 weeks from scratch while learning new tools (SwiftUI, Xcode, JIRA).
- Teamwork: By working with a team, I was able to push myself to deliver quality products to make sure we stay on track and learn how to present problems and solutions to a design and PM.
- Troubleshooting: Over the 6 weeks, I was able to learn new tools and learned ways to troubleshoot issues during the rapid pace of development. I feel more confident in my ability to work in the “real world” by having such an experience.
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
James Yang
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- Working with a cross-functional team: I enjoyed working with a cross-functional team that simulated a real world setting.
- Building the tech stack: I thought it was very helpful using apps the tech world uses like Slack, Jira, Figma, Xcode, Swift.
- Confidence: Before the program, I was nervous about pivoting into the tech world, but after the program, I feel more confident in my abilities and am naively excited to apply for jobs (until the rejections start piling in, rip).
Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.