Godyssey
Godyssey is a creative and professional hub designed to encourage Black women to step into their goddess power.
Problem Statement
How might we help new mothers balance their caring responsibilities and professional goals when returning to work after maternity leave?
Problem Background
Black mothers returning to work after maternity leave encounter substantial difficulties in balancing their caregiving responsibilities with their professional aspirations. These challenges are exacerbated by inadequate federal support and limited maternity leave protections in the US. The US significantly lags behind other countries in providing paid maternity leave and comprehensive support systems, which can place additional financial burdens on Black mothers, who often serve as primary earners.
User Pain Points & Research Insights
- Inadequate Leave Policies: Many Black mothers return to work shortly after giving birth due to insufficient maternity leave protections. In the US, 23% of women return to work just two weeks after giving birth, and 40% do not qualify for the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which offers 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Among those who do qualify, only 39% can afford to take the full leave.
- Financial Pressures: The lack of paid leave and robust support systems results in additional financial pressures, leading some Black mothers to reduce their working hours or opt not to return to work, impacting their career progression.
- Work-Life Balance Struggles: Balancing professional goals with caregiving responsibilities is a significant challenge, leading to stress and exhaustion. This difficulty can hinder career advancement and affect overall work-life balance.
Supporting Data
- Survey Insights: From the Co.Lab 4-week Product Sprint Research phase, 86.7% of respondents indicated that work-life balance influenced their decisions regarding career changes or higher salary positions. Additionally, 80% reported needing childcare arrangements and flexible working hours to balance their professional and caregiving responsibilities. 73.3% considered pivoting to a new career path or seeking advancement opportunities after returning to work.
- Industry Data: According to Forbes, the top two industries for work-life balance in 2024 are tech and real estate. These industries will be a focus for professional development resources in the Godyssey app.
Research Overview
Addressing the challenges faced by Black mothers returning to work is essential for improving their ability to manage both caregiving and career advancement effectively. Implementing solutions that provide better support, flexibility, and career development opportunities can help alleviate these pressures and support their overall well-being and professional growth.
Landing on the Solution
Based on our target users’ pain points, we are honing in on the following features:
Core Schedule Management
- Account Setup and Management
- User Registration and Login: Basic account setup, including user registration, login, and profile management.
- Schedule Creation and Management
- Seamless Schedule Creation: An intuitive interface for creating and managing daily and weekly schedules.
- Personal Time Scheduling: Features to schedule personal time for the mother.
- Weekly Affirmation Notifications
- Mental Wellness Support: Weekly notifications with positive affirmations to support mental wellness.
Family Schedule Integration
- Children’s Schedule
- Children’s Schedule: Ability to integrate children’s schedules with the mother’s work schedule, including:
- Breastfeeding
- Pickups/Dropoffs
- Naps
- Diaper changes
- Playtime
- Tummy time
- Activities
- Bedtime routine
- Bedtime
- Children’s Schedule: Ability to integrate children’s schedules with the mother’s work schedule, including:
- Family Needs Scheduling
- Include family events and obligations in the overall schedule.
- AI-Driven Notification System
- Childcare Notifications: A basic AI-driven system to inform support systems (like family members or babysitters) about childcare needs.
Goal Tracking
- Goal Trackers
- Personal and Professional Goal Tracking: Tools to set, track, and manage personal and professional goals, including progress indicators and reminders.
Professional Development Library
- Professional Development Library
- Resources and Learning Modules: A curated library of resources for career advancement in tech and real estate, including articles, videos, and courses.
Advanced Scheduling and Community Features
- Advanced Scheduling Options
- Recurring Events and Reminders: Features for setting recurring events and reminders.
- External Calendar Integration: Integration with external calendars (Google, Outlook).
- Social Networking and Feed
- Social Feed: A feature for users to share updates, experiences, and interact with other users.
Explanation of Solution
Our solution is designed to address the specific challenges faced by Black mothers returning to work by integrating essential features such as weekly affirmations, goal tracking, schedule management, AI-driven notifications, and professional development resources. These features aim to alleviate the stress of balancing work and caregiving responsibilities and support their career advancement.
Wireframe Sketches for MVP 1
Future Steps
What we have planned:
- Prototype Development: We will create prototypes to test the feasibility of the proposed features.
- User Testing: We plan to showcase the prototypes to target users for feedback on its usability and effectiveness.
- Feedback Analysis: We will use feedback to refine and enhance the features iteratively based on user needs and preferences.
Possible additional problems to address:
- Enhancing the AI-driven notification system for more precise and customizable alerts.
- Expanding the professional development library to include more diverse content and resources.
- Exploring additional wellness features, such as stress management tools or community support options.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Chante Dyson
Designer Learnings:
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:
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:
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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.