Diving deeper in the process
Formative Research
In the research phase, we conducted an extensive literature review of 20 journal papers, online articles, interviews, field study and a market research. To study was conducted to have a holistic perspective of the problem space.
Interviews
White Collared Professionals
White Collared Professionals with musculo-skeletal disorders
Orthopedic Surgeons
Physiotherapists
We interviewed subject matter experts and a lot of different roles within this domain to gain qualitative insights of why white-collared professionals tend to ignore their posture.
Observations
We conducted 60 minutes field study at multiple locations that helped us understand the behavior of target users in a natural setting. We took down the notes and depicted rough sketches to record our sessions. These observations helped us analyze the behavior pattern of the users in the working environment.
Market Research
We conducted competitive analysis and market research to identify the current design conventions and product features of existing posture correcting solutions
Yes
Others
Inadequate feedback, User ends up switching off the device
Elastic body belts can cause discomfort eventually weakens muscles
Posture correcting sensors, and smart wearable devices
Examples
Yes
No
Poor and moderately inaccurate
Expensive
Alerts and reminders
Cost
Sensing capabilities
Moderately priced
Nil
Posture tracking
Ergonomic Chairs, Elastic body belts and Cushions
Analyzing data
Once we finished our data collection, we collaboratively conducted an affinity diagramming session to find emergent themes and patterns among the data. We also constructed an empathy map which helped the team empathize with our target users and understand their behaviors, motivations and frustrations
What were the key findings from our formative research?
Based on our identified themes and patterns we narrowed down our score to the following pain points:
01
Users are not conscious about their posture
White-collared professionals get too engrossed in their daily deliverables, not realizing their posture that might lead to back pain.
02
Sensory feedback over cognitive feedback
Users tend to tune out the stuff they get repeatedly exposed to such as alerts from mobile applications and smartwatches. They preferred sensory feedback such as haptic vibration to fix posture.
03
Physical inactivity of sedentary jobs
The human body has evolved to walk, run and jump rather than being seated for an extended number of hours at one place without frequent breaks.
04
Lack of awareness on posture implications
Early professionals are unaware of right posture, body ergonomics and long term implications of poor posture. Even if they're aware, they're not motivated enough to take action.
05
Remote work has aggravated WMSDs
The pandemic accelerated existing trends in remote work. Often, professionals get too comfortable working on non-ergonomic set up such as a couch or lying down on bed while at home.
06
Expert recommendation
Regular exercise and stretching, ergonomic furniture and paying attention to the way your body feels can make a difference in terms of long term posture goals.
Personas
We devised the following persona based on the data collected. Below persona reflect an overview of our target users.
Sara Jacob, 23
Software Engineer, New York
"I have a hectic schedule on weekdays and end up waking up with back pain the next morning. I think that it might be because of sitting all day in poor posture while working. I wish to find more about this"
To explore the maximum number of opportunities, we conducted 3 brainstorming sessions generating at least 80 ideas. We performed an affinity mapping session to eliminate ideas based on key constraints, economic and technical feasibility. The idea of InPosture was an amalgamation of concepts and key features from these 3 brainstorming sessions.
Rationale behind the design
Requirement
- Make users aware of their posture
- Take frequent breaks while working
- Motivate users to sit right posture
Constraints
- Solution must uphold user privacy
- Should not create cognitive overload
- Should not interfere with user's environment
- Economical
Features
- Real-time user posture detection using existing camera
- Alerts, and break reminders
- Timely posture analytics
- Privacy toggle switch to enable or disable posture tracking according to user's convenience
Storyboard
I created storyboards for the 3 best possible design directions which helped us take the focus off our internal bias and empathize with our users. The following image depicts a storyboard of a white-collared professional using our product InPosture at the workplace.
Design
As a team, initially we divided tasks to create wireframes and collaboratively discussed the workflows to bring about the efficient flow of the overall product experience.
Design Exploration
We conducted multiple whiteboarding sessions to review each of our wireframes which allowed exploring varied approaches. This session helped us create a seamless experience that is well thought through with a minimal number of steps to complete a task.
Design Iterations
The app has gone through 3 iterations of design cycles, with the most recent one being the biggest update to its visual design and suite of features.
Iteration 1
The initial idea of the design was to use the user's computer camera LED to represent the user's posture. Showing the time-based intermediate state that represents the user's posture was not possible with camera LEDs.
Iteration 2
We created a flat UI element consisting of the product logo that starts filling up as the user starts to ignore their posture. We could achieve an intermediate state which helped users maintain the right posture.
Iteration 3
I wanted the UI element to be subtle and blend with the ecosystem. emojis/ memojis are the fastest way to convey a message, These memojis can create subtle context change along with background which can make users make decisions unconsciously.
Evaluation and Testing
We wanted to evaluate our product and reflect on design decisions. Hence, we conducted usability evaluation with potential users, Heuristic evaluation, and expert evaluation. The following are the results from our evaluations:
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What worked well?
1. Participants had positive feedback towards the UI indicator for real-time posture status.
2. Users liked the flexibility to turn off the app using a toggle on the top navigation bar.
3. Users appreciated recommendations based on posture statistics.
What could have been done better?
1. Participants were concerned about the battery usage of the app for continuous monitoring of posture.
2. Users were concerned about camera hardware dedicated to the app most of the time.
3. The users felt the need for an application walkthrough to understand the UI element, analytics, rewards, and the privacy toggle switch.
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