PlayQuest:

Key Interview Takeaways:

• Parents of children with their own smartphones were very concerned about how much they use them, and monitor them closely.

Annie R., attorney and mom of 3, ages 4, 7, and 12, spoke about her 12-year-old son who recently got his own smartphone: “He was playing on the phone way too long, so now we’ve instituted a very strict no screens during the week rule...He can only call and listen to music.”

• Parents overwhelmingly agreed that elementary and middle school students do not get enough recess, outside, or free movement time during the day.

Judy L., pre-school teacher and mom of three teenage boys, spoke about her students: “They HAVE to be outside. They need to be able to move...It’s a no-brainer.” Recess is “not a controlled activity...they just have to go out there and figure out how to play with other kids...It’s not teacher-directed, it’s kid-directed and they’re learning how to get along and communicate and problem-solve.”

• Parents felt that the most important thing their young children learn in school is navigating social dynamics and learning problem-solving skills.

Emily G, student and mom of a third and first-grader, on the most important lessons her kids get in school: “Learning to function in groups, basic lessons of how to fit in with certain people, group dynamics...what does friendship look like or not look like to you?”

• Parents did not have a strong desire to schedule more activities within their own families.

Leslie S. nurse and mom of 2, a fifth and second-grader: “We live in a pretty small space and I think we’re together plenty.”

LOW FIDELITY SKETCHES

Ideas become tangible

• In the sketching phase, my ideas became tangible and I was able to start visualizing how the different elements of the app should connect.

• Some ideas and screens from these earliest sketches evolved significantly (or dropped out completely) since these iterations, based on the priorities of users and the feasibility of the MVP design, while other elements remained fairly intact.

• At this point, the working title shifted to "A Playful Day in the Neighborhood"

WIREFRAMES

Visually mapping the content

Mapping out PlayQuest’s content through wireframes was a key step in the design process that helped me determine how different elements will be placed on each screen and how they will connect with each other.

I created these medium-fidelity wireframes in Adobe XD and used them for my first round of usability testing.

USABILITY TESTING, ROUND 1

I conducted usability tests with 5 different friends who fit the target demographic for the app. 

All tests were moderated, in-person tests, where users were asked to click through the wireframes on the Adobe XD app and offer feedback as they went.

I wanted to see if people were confused at any point along the way or if they didn’t understand any of the features.

I also wanted to see what they found most useful and interesting about the app and what suggestions they might have to improve.

Overall feedback was positive, everyone seemed interested in the product, even if they had some questions and suggestions about it.

Key Takeaways:

• Most parents were concerned about the privacy and safety of the app, especially if children will be using it; parents wanted some kind of notification system and a clearer link between the parent and child’s account.

• There could be a more clear and interesting way to show points and badge progress instead of a bar graph.

• There were some questions about logging the points-should parents be asked to verify? Where should that button ultimately be?

• Add a home icon to the navigation bar, possibly rethinking other icons and links there.

• Users agreed that they would like to see a better scheduling mechanism on the app. That was probably the biggest change suggested, and something I hadn’t considered until after testing, but did decide to add to the high-fidelity iteration and final version of the product.

With a high-fidelity prototype created, I was ready for in-depth user testing. I conducted usability testing on the interactive prototype with 7 people total, 3 adults and 4 children who fit my target demographic and age range for PlayQuest.

From a functional standpoint, my primary objective was to determine if the flow of the screens made sense, and see if there were any frustrating points along the way.

From a practical standpoint, I wanted to see if parents were comfortable with children using the app and whether children found it useful and fun.

Overall, testers had a positive experience interacting with the app but there were two main functional issues that they had trouble with that needed to be addressed moving into the final design phase.

FINAL UI DESIGN

My final design includes 18 distinct screens created in Adobe XD that focus on:

• Setting up an account

• Messaging friends and scheduling a PlayQuest

• Determining what game to play and logging points

Utilizing iOS design patterns, I created a clean and familiar look that would be intuitive to new users.

I added two new screens to the final design scheme, updating the original interactive prototype to address users’ concerns with the scheduling and PlayPoints sections.

The final design is bright, friendly, and easy to use.

Video presentation of PlayQuest MVP user flow +            individual screen mockups

Designing the PlayQuest app was a journey, and the final destination was a little different than what I originally envisioned.

Along the way, the focus changed, the name changed, features were dropped and added according to design feasibility and user testing feedback.

From the beginning, I knew I wanted to address the issue of children’s screen time and design an app that creates a bridge between digital and real-world activity, and that did not change, but the focus and approach did. The original idea was to find a way to encourage parents and children to unplug and spend quality time together, but my survey and first round of interviews did not indicate a strong desire for that.

Interviewees agreed that they wanted their children to have more free play time outside, so that’s where I decided to shift the focus.

Additional user interviews and testing were essential to determine what features parents and children most wanted in the app. I decided to include the scheduling feature after round 1 of testing, and further honed that design after testing the interactive prototype.

One feature that I tinkered with early in the design process was a quiz wheel, but I ultimately decided it was too complicated to make it work for the MVP so I ended up dropping it. This was the first-ever app I designed, and it was a challenge to build it while learning the design tools and techniques needed to complete the tasks.

Careful research, targeted interviews, and thorough user testing were essential in designing PlayQuest. I'm proud that I've created a useful and fun product to help families reclaim the joy of play.