Loved Ones
Helping fight elderly loneliness by nurturing relationships.
Background
Elderly loneliness has been a long-standing issue that has almost become a norm associated with old age and a phase of life that has become less appealing to many as they age by the day.
According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, 43% of older adults feel lonely, with a 45% increased mortality rate and damaging effect equalizing smoking 15 cigarettes daily.
Many of the older adults live alone as their loved ones have transitioned unto other phases of life. As younger adults, life has happened/is happening to many, and unintentionally, we forget to connect with our parents or grandparents. While we love them and would cross oceans to be with them, we’re unable to be their companion as we’re accountable in other areas of our lives, and so we tend to forget as we juggle through life to achieve our own goals. LovedOnes provides a convenient way to schedule calls and receive notifications to connect with your elderly ones.
User Pain Points
We deduced from our user research and interviews that all respondents had elderly ones and had concerns about the quality of their relationships. 85% of users stated they do not connect regularly with their elderly ones due to a busy schedule. All users agreed that the quality of their relationships is directly proportional to the frequency of communication, and it could use some improvement.
Lastly, they all honestly stated their greatest fear was losing an elderly one who was lonely prior to passing on. They all desired to connect more frequently but struggle with availability and timing.
Landing on the Solution
The intent was to create an app that would help nurture relationships by helping younger adults create a schedule to remember to connect with their elderly ones at their preferred frequency, which overtime should improve the quality of their relationships. Research has shown that social relationships are pivotal to curb loneliness/depression, and LovedOnes is here to help do just that.
The Solution
LovesOnes is an application where users can schedule calls in order to create consistent communication with their elderly ones.
LovedOnes is intended to allow users create time for their elderly ones despite their busy schedules by providing them with key features such as:
- A calendar to schedule calls.
- Connect the calendar with their contacts lists.
- An optional life calendar to calculate an estimated life expectancy.
- Determine frequency of notification reminders.
Design
Next Steps
We will continue developing the MVP for soft release and move on from there.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Omotola Folarin-Ottun
- Gained knowledge on developing product spec, conducting user interviews and utilizing Agile best practices. Learned efficient collaboration with the designer and developer to drive product success.
Designer Learnings:
Chris Calletta
- Learned that no matter how good you think you are at communication, you could/should always improve. And that given the sensitive nature of this app, attained a deeper understanding and knowledge in the craft of UX writing.
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:
Aidan Torrence
- Learned how to collaborate as a solo developer on a product team. And gained valuable insights on how to prioritize features to develop.
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.
Full Team Learning
We all learned a lot more about collaboration and communication in bringing an app to life from start to finish.