Fiora

A web-responsive self-help and personal development tool that helps users learn about self-discipline, habits, productivity, etc., set goals, put them to practice and quit their bad habits all with the support of our community.

Role: Research, UI/UX

Timeline: Nov 3, 2022 - Mar 29, 2023

Background

I started with exploring the behaviours of people who struggle with quitting bad habits and building self-discipline to take action towards their intended goals.

People struggle to practice self-discipline and tend to fall back into their own comfort zones and bad habits. They become unproductive and unmotivated. Adapting to new bad habits is often quicker than quitting them and easier said than done.

I asked myself, “What strategies can be applied to motivate and support individuals struggling with breaking bad habits to take action?”

Hypothesis

As a result of tackling this project, users may find value by being able to build self-discipline and continue to conduct that discipline throughout their lives. That they may be able to find achievements and accomplishments through building self-discipline. People tend to fear change because of the comfort of how things currently are in their lives. Building self-discipline can be difficult because of how comfortable someone may be drowned in bad habits and ways.

Research Goal

I wanted to understand why high school graduates struggle within their own comfort zones and fail to practice self-discipline and good habits.

So that I may be able to determine pain points and find solutions to counteract our own human nature and combat what Steven Pressfield calls “The Resistance”.

Research Objectives

  • Learn the factors that prevent the practice of good habits

  • Understand the process of practicing good habits

  • Understand human behaviour

  • Explore habit change

Competitive Analysis

I found that are competitors heavily focused on creating free/paid video content relating to productivity by applying basic productive concepts and methods on YouTube, Skillshare, etc.

Their contents were multi-topic and multi-concept. However, were all individually different in their own ways.

All competitors as well offered paid services such as courses and mentoring.

Competitors target audiences who want to develop their productive skills and mindset as well as, self-improvement.

User Interviews

I conducted user interviews with 5 participants via video conference and in person.

  • Identify apps people may be currently using to boost their productivity

  • Identify and understand the factors that may be preventing users from accomplishing their goals

  • Identify features users may need

Each participant was asked a total of 15 questions based on their habits and motivations. These questions led me to extract relevant data required to understand our users’ goals, motivations, pain points and needs.

Interview Details:
5/5 participants have struggled with the comfort zone
4/5 participants struggled with getting rid of a bad habit
5/5 participants experienced a sudden boost of motivation
3/5 participants currently use a productivity

I noticed multiple patterns and more commonalities between the individual participants. The participant who happened to be the most productive and well-self-disciplined happened to have the most chaotic schedule.

POVs & HMWs

Based on our user interviews, we were able to dig deeper and identify common pain points between high school graduates. We started with identifying which areas we’d like to explore and hopefully find a solution for and afterwards, we went on to ideating and asking ourselves, “HMW...”

I’d like to explore ways to help recent high school graduates build self-discipline because they are unmotivated and unproductive.

HMW... find ways to help recent high school graduates to build self-discipline to become motivated and productive.

I’d like to explore ways to help recent high school graduates to prioritize, manage, and stay focused on their objectives because they become distracted by their bad habits which leads them to fail to take action.

HMW... help recent high school graduates prioritize, manage, and stay focused on their tasks/objectives.

Affinity Map

Following the interviews, I was able to come up with 6 categories based on patterns and commonalities I identified between 5 participants.

I identified 3 pain points that the unproductive participants all had in common.

  • Quitting bad habits

  • Going out of comfort zone

  • Poor time management

Card Sort

Type: Closed Card Sort

Cards: 32

Categories: Homepage, Dashboard, Account, About Us, Community, Search Filter

Participants: 5

80% Agreement: 6 Cards - 18.8%

100% Agreement: 5 Cards - 15.6%

40% Agreement: 7 Cards - 21.9%

60% Agreement: 9 Cards - 28.1%

50% Agreement: 5 Cards - 15.6%

Sitemap

After wrapping up the card sortings, I utilized the data gathered and developed this sitemap. With the help of my participants, I was able to clarify the architecture and expectations of our potential users.

User Flows

From the sitemap I developed 2 user flows to map out the different potential navigation steps users may take to achieve their goals.

Account Creation

Sharing Content

Task Flows

Following the user flows, I developed 2 task flows to identify and understand the steps users need to take to complete each task. From here, I was able to find areas that may be improved to improve the usability and overall experience.

Event Signup

Content Archive

Component Library

Low-Fidelity Wireframes

I started off with sketching and exploring different structures for our key screens. To make things easier, I designed specific screens for 2 flows I wanted to later turn into a higher fidelity.

NAV (Intermediate State)

Search (Results)

Video Content

Homepage

Mid-Fidelity Wireframes

With the same screens, I converted them to mid-fidelity wireframes to see for ourselves how it will look and find issues and details I need to further work on.

NAV (Intermediate State)

Search (Results)

Video Content

Homepage

High-Fidelity Wireframes

After identifying the brand and style, I took the wireframes another step further and converted them to high-fidelity wireframes. After many reiterations, I ended up with 4 flows and a total of 22 mobile screens.

NAV (Intermediate State)

Search (Results)

Homepage

Video Content

Usability Testing

I conducted a usability testing with 8 participants via video conference and in person.

  • Wanted to identify areas in need of improvement

  • Assess the difficulty for users to navigate.

  • Observe how users interact with Fiora

Each participant was asked to complete a series of short restricted tasks.

  • Sign up and Complete the onboarding customization

  • Share a video content

  • Upgrade membership plan

  • Sign up for an event

Design Iterations

Recommendation content carousels were originally found in the Dashboard. However, they were later moved to the “Discover” page after a few participants mentioned that they’d expect to find them in the “Discover” page. To fill in the empty space in the dashboard, I decided to add a carousel of recent notes suggested by participants.

In replacement of the content carousel, I added a carousel of recent notes.

3/8 participants mentioned that they’d expect to find these content carousels in a different page, such as, “Discover”.

Final Thoughts

At the beginning of my project, I faced challenges in the research phase as I sought solutions. Ideating and exploring potential solutions proved to be a time-consuming endeavor. Outside of conducting user interviews, I delved into understanding the psychology of human behavior, exploring why individuals often gravitate towards simplicity and lack enthusiasm for challenging tasks. The outside research enlightened me to the realization that, ultimately, our capacity to assist others with their internal challenges has its limits. Providing basic education and guidance is one aspect, yet cultivating discipline and sustaining it represents a distinct and separate challenge.