FamLinkUp app eases the burden of busy parents by empowering them to manage hectic schedules and children's commitments with family and peers, distributing responsibilities and facilitating assistance.
My Role
Lead designer
Software
Figma
Photoshop
Google Meet
Google Forms
Vimeo
The FamLinkUp app served as my personal project, providing a comprehensive exploration of various facets of UX design. Despite my 20 years of experience in a related field, I lacked a concrete case study to showcase my problem-solving skills and demonstrate my nuanced understanding of UX. To bridge this gap, I enrolled in the UX Design course by Google, which not only deepened my understanding of the UX process but also solidified my passion for it. This journey has not only added a valuable case study to my portfolio but has also affirmed my absolute love for the UX design process.
The problem
Today's families lead fast-paced lives, especially those caring for young children. Between homework, school events, and after-school clubs, there's a lot to manage. However, many of these crucial events are often missed due to time constraints, double bookings, or simply forgetting.
The goal
The FamLinkUp app is designed to support busy parents by empowering them to manage their hectic schedules and their children's commitments with family members and peers. It facilitates assistance and distributes responsibilities, easing the burden of juggling multiple agendas.
The product
The FamLinkUp app enables users to effortlessly share and manage calendar entries with family members and peers.
The app allows users to:
My design process
User research
I conducted a comprehensive survey involving participants who were parents or caregivers of children aged 5 to 11, attending Primary School, Key Stage 1 & 2. This diverse group included married working parents, single parents. The aim was to gather insights from a broad spectrum of users, enabling the identification of common pain points across the board.
Busy schedules and stress levels
Survey participants characterised their present schedules as quite busy and exceedingly hectic, with 28.6% experiencing stress and 24% expressing feelings of anxiety. The group primarily relied on support from grandparents and friends.
Homework & extracurricular pursuits
The participants expressed a strong sense of involvement in homework, highlighting their active engagement. Following school hours, sports and physical activities emerged as the favoured extracurricular pursuits, with a majority of children actively participating in clubs on a minimum of three days per week.
Missed and forgotten events
Neglecting homework, school events, and birthday parties were all high on the list of events that have been forgotten or missed. A striking 66% of participants had to cancel a child's event due to work commitments or scheduling conflicts.
Pain Points: What challenges do you face in coordinating schedules?
Below is a small sample of some of the pain points
'Working around each others schedules to ensure all days are covered can be a nightmare'
Simplify scheduling complexities by providing a shared calendar, ensuring efficient coordination and coverage among team members.
'We are reliant on grandparents on occasions to help with school pick ups'
Coordination with grandparents by incorporating features such as shared calendars, notifications for pick-up requests, and real-time updates.
'I use my phone's calendar app and sticky notes, along with help from grandparents and friends, to manage my schedule'
An app designed for schedule management could facilitate seamless information sharing with grandparents, event coordination and collaborative scheduling.
'Frequent cancellations of my children's events due to my chaotic work schedule'
Automated notifications, and easy rescheduling options, offering a more adaptable and responsive solution for parents juggling dynamic work commitments.
User personas - Phillipa
Phillipa, a married, working mother of two, seeks an effective solution to share her children's homework schedule with her husband. She aims to maintain a comprehensive record of assignments and encourage his active involvement in assisting with homework completion.
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User personas - Tracy
Tracy, a single, part-time working mother of two, seeks an effective way to share her busy schedule with her parents. By doing so, she can request additional support from them if new calendar entries clash with existing commitments.
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Information architecture
User flow: Adding an event
Paper wireframes
Here are my wireframes exploring various home screens for the app. The home screen is designed to present days schedule and upcoming events at a glance. The calendar offers a visual representation of availability, showcasing cards with concise details on upcoming events in an aesthetically pleasing format.
Low-fidelity wireframe & prototype
The wireframe prototype includes features that enable users to perform actions;
Usability Study: Findings
I conducted a usability study with 5 users, all of whom felt capable of following and completing the prompts:
Findings
User Flow: Adding & Sharing an Event
Ideation: Event Card Sample
Hi-fidelity Prototype Main Screens
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Going Forward: Takeaways
The primary challenge I've encountered stems from the absence of time constraints. As a personal project, I granted myself the freedom to explore various avenues, even if it occasionally led to dead ends. At certain junctures, I consciously applied the sunk cost fallacy to redirect and regain focus. While I typically thrive under pressure, especially when working within a team facing tight deadlines for deliverables, this particular project has afforded me the opportunity to delve deeper and scrutinise finer details. Consequently, it has significantly enhanced my comprehension of UX processes and technical efficiency.
Research, research, research – it forms the foundation of any successful project. The initial vision I had for the project underwent a substantial transformation after completing the personas, empathy maps, and user journeys.
I thought I had a good understanding of UX design, but being able to work through a project from start to finish has provided me with insights into how I can enhance my own practices and deepen my understanding of the field.
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