You know how our homes have turned into work offices and school classrooms? It's been a wild ride trying to juggle everything, right? Balancing our home life with our professional or student life can be a real challenge. It's easy to get forgetful or lose motivation to keep up with our daily habits in the midst of all this chaos.

Working and studying from home can seriously invade our personal lives. I mean, who knew we'd end up skipping lunch breaks and spending way less time outside? Plus, the endless sitting is no joke. It's a recipe for health issues like poor posture, neck and back pain, and even increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, and, yikes, cancer.

And let's not forget about those long hours glued to screens. It's a one-way ticket to eye strain, headaches, sleep problems, and a bunch of other chronic health stuff we'd rather avoid.

Research Insights

User Pain Points

To comprehend the challenges and pain points faced by our prospective users, we conducted an extensive Google survey. Through this survey, our aim was to gain deeper insights into their experiences. The crux of our user data analysis revealed a prevailing issue: a significant majority of respondents expressed a sense of demotivation when it came to sustaining their daily habits. Many cited the ease with which they forgot or skipped essential meals or breaks, attributing it to the demands of work or school. Interestingly, a resounding sentiment emerged, suggesting that the provision of a reliable system or application would substantially enhance their prospects of adhering to their habit-related goals.

Amidst the paramount importance of work, it is crucial to heed the insights of experts concerning the perils of poor posture on overall health. Research conducted by Meghan Markowski, a reputable physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital, reveals that poor posture can lead to heartburn, incontinence, constipation, and a range of spine and neck-related issues, significantly impacting well-being. Additionally, a report by Rebecca Moody, Head of Data Research at CompariTech, uncovers a concerning statistic – the average person spends 6 hours and 37 minutes daily fixated on screens, raising potential health concerns. Complementing this, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicates that Americans dedicate 55% (7.7 hours) of their waking time to sedentary behaviors, warranting urgent attention to address associated health risks.

Feedback

The key findings underscore the critical importance of addressing the motivational challenges that hinder individuals from cultivating healthy habits effectively. Our users' desire for a dependable solution presents an opportunity for our app, Noura, to play a pivotal role in transforming their behavior positively. By leveraging the power of timely reminders and motivational cues, Noura aims to empower users in their journey toward sustained well-being.

Solution Explanation

Building upon the pain points identified in our target audience, our primary objective is to develop a purpose-driven application centered around enhancing our users' daily habits and promoting a healthier work-life balance in the realm of remote work. Our hypothesis posits that by crafting an app that serves as a reliable reminder and motivator for our everyday users, we can foster the continuity of their healthy habits and instill a strong sense of motivation and discipline.

With an unwavering focus on our users' well-being, we are poised to deliver an innovative solution that empowers them to thrive in their personal and professional lives. By providing timely and encouraging nudges, our application, "Noura," aspires to be the catalyst for positive behavioral change, ensuring the sustainability of healthy habits and fortifying their resolve to maintain their desired lifestyle. Our commitment to this vision aligns seamlessly with our target audience's aspirations, and we are confident that Noura will prove instrumental in cultivating a harmonious and fulfilling daily routine.

In its inaugural release, Noura will unveil four key features meticulously tailored to cater to the needs of our esteemed users:

Pre-set Habit Selection: Users will be empowered to embark on their journey by choosing from a selection of pre-set habits, including Stretching, Breathing, and Drinking Water. These foundational habits serve as a launchpad for cultivating a healthier daily routine.

Custom Habit Section: To cater to the diverse preferences of our users, Noura will boast a dedicated Custom section, affording them the freedom to create and customize an array of habits according to their unique requirements.

Habit-Specific Timers: Each habit comes equipped with purpose-built timers. For instance, within the Water section, users will receive timely reminders for scheduled breaks, complemented by an intuitive meter to effortlessly track their water consumption in ounces.

Personalized Notifications: Noura's seamless integration of user-set timers ensures the timely delivery of notifications, serving as a friendly nudge to adhere to their habit-related goals. Additionally, a Pomodoro timer option will be at their disposal, fostering enhanced productivity with 25-minute work intervals followed by 5-minute breaks, repeating until the user's desired productivity level is achieved.

By leveraging these features, Noura emerges as an indispensable tool for individuals seeking to enhance their well-being and achieve a more balanced and productive lifestyle. We are thrilled to introduce these features to our esteemed users, assuring them of our unwavering commitment to their holistic growth and success.

Lofi Mockups

Hifi Mockups

Iterative Design Learnings

After we showcased our prototype to the users again, not much of the core original design changed. Some of the button wording/placement was updated and some wording in sections were simplified to make it easier to understand. For example, when users clicked “Focus” it went to the Pomodoro timer. Some users weren’t sure what pomodoro meant so it was changed to ‘Focus’ to make the original home screen button. Also the short/long breaks were revised to just a single break input users can adjust however they wanted (long or short) - having two inputs do the same thing was redundant.

Implementation Details

Technical implementation

Where is it hosted?

Vercel

What is your tech stack?

Javascript, React, MongoDB

High level journey of a request

"Noura" processes user requests, validates data, and delivers responses while leveraging the functionalities outlined in its GitHub repository

Technical challenges

What was the hardest part of development?

- Implementation, both in getting things to work smoothly the way we intend them to, and making sure it all works with each other’s unique programming styles.

Does your app have any scaling issues?

- It doesn’t work on mobile, just web. Implementing to chrome extension store soon.

What are some key takeaways?

- 8 weeks really flies by. Also, the expectations for where we would face challenges was kinda subverted.

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Learnings

Product Manager Learnings:

Josh Gillest

Global Teamwork: I got to experience what it's like to work in a high-functioning team from all around the world. We're all set to deliver a real-life working product, and it's been quite the ride!
Communication is Key: I learned just how crucial communication is for a smooth team collaboration. Noura's all about keeping those lines open, making teamwork a breeze.
Trust Your Teammates: We figured out that trusting each other's skills and visions is essential to nail that final product. Trust lets everyone shine and do their best work!

Designer Learnings:

Brandon

Improved Communication: Being part of a remote team with people in different time zones taught me the importance of maintaining clear communication. Since we were spread out and everything was remote, we had to rely on multiple tools like Notion and Discord to keep work running as smoothly as possible.
Team Collaboration: This was my first project working with non-designers where I was the only designer. I got to see things from different angles and learned more about other parts of the product development process.
Embracing Agile: The fast-paced style of CoLab showed me how the agile method works in real life. How to keep the project going as well as things that could impede it. I will be carrying over a lot of this to my next project.
Flexibility and Time Management: Working with people in different time zones forced me to be flexible with my schedule. I’m usually an early riser, early sleeper but having two teammates on the other side of the world made me adjust my schedule around. It ended up being beneficial because I maintained that schedule when not working on this project and have been able to squeeze other projects into my life.

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:

Ishan

Ishan:

Teamwork: For sure, one of the things that you learn developing a product is how to be a team player. Each team member has their own way to visualise that very same product but to develop that product with a mixture of everyone’s vision and get the best possible outcome is perfect team work for me and I learned it here.
Enhanced Skills: Two months back, I didn’t have the same skills I have today. While working on the product, to achieve some specific functionalities, I had to research about how to implement certain things I was ignorant to earlier. This experience really helped me enhance my skill set.
Communication: It really is a key factor in developing any product. One should be open about one’s skills and communicate to the team what task he/she can undertake and complete without much trouble. This ensures smooth working as each member fulfils their role with utmost sincerity and confidence, thus helping to make the product timely.

Developer Learnings:

Vanady Beard

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Yash

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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Yash

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:

Jay

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Yash

Jay

Communication: This one seems obvious but it’s completely different in practice. Having the ability to get across what you need or what you have done is very important.
Flexibility: I am a flexible person in general, but it was still a learning experience to figure out where I would fit best in the team. This was both with scheduling time to meet, and in developing the app. It felt good to know how to do some things that my team members might not have, and they knew how to do things I didn't. I think it worked out really well!

Yash

Team Collaboration: Working on a product as a team taught me the importance of collaboration. Each team member brought their unique perspective, and combining these diverse viewpoints led to the best possible outcome for the project.
Skill Development: Over the course of two months, I witnessed significant growth in my skills. To implement certain functionalities, I had to conduct thorough research and learn new techniques, ultimately enriching my skill set.
Effective Communication: Communication played a pivotal role in the product's development. Being transparent about our abilities and tasks allowed us to work seamlessly as a team. By clearly defining roles and responsibilities, we ensured that each member contributed with dedication and confidence, leading to timely progress.

Developer Learnings:

Maurquise Williams

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Yash

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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Yash

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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Yash

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

Co.Lab has proven to be an exceptional opportunity for gaining invaluable real-world experience through the development of a product from inception to completion. During the intensive 8-week period, our team had the privilege of working collaboratively on the project named "Noura," which has been nothing short of an extraordinary journey.

One of the most striking aspects of this bootcamp was our team's exceptional communication skills, which served as the cornerstone of our success. Despite encountering various challenges revolving around effective communication, we effectively tackled them through strong teamwork and collaboration. This experience has undoubtedly honed our ability to communicate efficiently and professionally in any business setting.

Furthermore, delving into the intricacies of each moving part within a product has proven to be an invaluable resource. By gaining insight into the roles and responsibilities of Product Managers, Developers, and Designers on a daily basis, we were able to forge a deeper understanding of how these functions intertwine, enabling us to synergize our efforts and work more efficiently as a cohesive unit.

In conclusion, Co.Lab has been a transformative experience, offering unparalleled insights and practical learning opportunities. Each moment of this enriching journey has been cherished, and we are immensely grateful for the knowledge and skills acquired during this exceptional program.