https://uxplanet.org/dont-spill-a-ux-case-study-on-digital-distractions-87ee1eab681f
In this case study, You’ll find out how we can solve problems related to digital distractions for working professionals.
So, why did I choose such a topic to work on?
This was probably my 3rd personal project related to UX design and I wanted to tap into topics like human psychology and how habits were formed in humans. I had worked enough on habit-forming products, however, I wanted to do something different this time, that’s how I decided to work on something that would help to break habits instead. Apparently this case study also bagged me a job offer at the top UX UI Design Studio in India. Check out this badass place I work at Lollypop Design Studio. 🍭
In the flourishing world, there are lots of headway in technology. We can tell many inventions which lead to technological development. The necessity of our ancestors was just food and shelter whereas the need of the present generation is innumerable. Digital networking and communication have become a part of everyday life which has led us to complex state of multitasking within tabs and screens to an extent where we negatively affect our productivity. This applies to our personal lives and also at workspaces where employees notice that whenever they start working on something, they are interrupted by notifications coming from messaging apps or colleagues trying to fetch some information from an individual. In the study below I have tried to solve this problem with an app-based solution and also a little tweak in the physical space.
Yes, let me give an example.
Sakshi works in a product start-up. Her typical day at work consists of a daily stand-up, an hour of meeting and then 5–6 hours of core work. Lately, she has noticed that whenever she starts working she is interrupted by either a ping on slack, a ding on Whatsapp or a colleague leaning forward on her desk saying “Hey beautiful, how you doing today”. 🙄
Tom DeMarco author of a book about productivity called “Peopleware” states that it can take 15 minutes or more to regain the same intense focus or flow as before the interruption. So, every time a person switches tasks, his brain needs at least that amount of time to get back into the work. If he switches task just four times in a morning, that’s an hour of total focus he has lost and that holds a big impact on the total productivity of a person in working hours. This problem prompted me to dig deep down the human psychology towards apps and its notifications which were as intriguing enough to distract a person from his work at a workplace.
Now that I had a bit of knowledge of the problem I went to my user research trying to understand who the user could be, what they want, and how they would use my solution. I made some assumptions to narrow down my target user:
Keeping the end-user in mind, I created 3 Job Stories.
Assumption 1 ) “ When I work, I want my phone to send me fewer notifications so that I can concentrate more on my work “Assumption 2 ) “ When I’m on DND mode, I don’t want to miss out on important calls and messages so that I can stay calm in my head ”Assumption 3) “ When I’m am working, I don’t want colleagues coming around to fetch pieces of information so that I don’t get distracted and lose the track of thoughts “
Job to be done framework
Now that I was clear inside my head with who the end-users were and what they would expect, it was time to research for the validation of assumptions I made. To start with this I found the target audience were all around me, I did sit-in interviews with some friends of mine who are working professionals.
Qualitative Research: ➰ During the interview sessions, I found that most of them were not really. aware of the screen time spent on social media apps. ➰ I also found out one surprising fact that the users tend to get even more anxious regarding notification when on DND mode. ➰ Every second notification is just an offer or anything related to offers, the user gives it equal attention as of a text message. ➰ There’s no in-app solution to that one distracting colleague who comes at their desk. 🥴
Secondary Research: As I was hovering over the online content around this problem I learned what I was dealing in this project was habits, going deep into this I learned that according to Charles Duhigg, the author of “The Power of Habit”, any habit can be broken down into three parts — Cue, Routine and Reward.
Cue: It is the trigger for a habit, when you’re bored or trying to do something important but can’t focus, your mind drifts to a more rewarding place. Phone, in this case, is just in your proximity and you just grab it for one quick look.
Routine: Now, that you’ve held your phone in your hand now, it’s just your old routine of checking apps in order. For example, I always check for the important emails on my phone first, then I move to Instagram and browse a couple of things there and then move to Whatsapp maybe for a quick text.