Final Project
Phase 01&02 Research
The topic I chose here is Procrastination. Based on the brainstorming we did in class, I chose one topic that happened to me and affected me a lot.
Secondary Research
In this section, I would like to learn more about why procrastination happens to people.
Insights:
Procrastination is too complicated to determine, but generally, it can be divided into two parts: Lack of execution and mental barriers.
As a product, I need to learn more about how people use the current solutions and the pain points.
Modifications (After phase 02):
I found that procrastination is a too big problem for me. So I would like to switch my topic to ‘distraction‘. ( A breakdown part and a cause of procrastination).
To make it more inclusive, the mess map shows the relationships between problems, stakeholders, and phenomena. A good example is here: https://kumu.io/krueg438/cc-conflict-detailed-map#climate-change-conflict-detailed-flow-map.
Secondary Research
Phase 03 Talk with stakeholders
Observative Research
I observed some diaries of procrastinators on the Internet
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Ai4y1D7Na
And I record my own daily life as a procrastinator and try to observe myself.
10.50 am: wake up
10.50 -11.30 am: respond to some messages & watch videos
11.30 am: leave the bed
11.30-12.00 pm: cook my lunch
12.00 - 1.30 pm: keep watching the video but start to work
1.30 pm: oh no I need to shut the video down
1.30 - 2.30 pm: do some work
2.30 pm: great, done pretty much
2.30 pm -3.15 pm: play game
3.15 pm: no i need to go back work
3.15 - 4.00 pm: keep playing but also on work
4.00 pm: no I need to focus
4.00 -5.30 pm: work
5.30 pm: time to cook dinner
5.30-6.30 pm: finish cooking
6.30 - 7.30 pm: game time after dinner
7.30 - 8.30 pm: meetings
8.30 - 9.30 pm: video call
9.30 pm: what a day! so tired!
9.30 -10.00 pm: take a shower
10.00 - 10.30 pm: work
10.30 pm: OMG so tired.
10.30 -11.30 pm: lie on the bed and watch TV
11.30 pm: I still have work today!
11.30 -12.30 am: work, but tired.
12.30 am: persist bro, persist!
12.30-1.30 am: sit in the chair, playing iPad.
1.30 am: Go to bed
Interview
Then I cast some interviews on some people around me.
YE, 25, Student at NYU
Why procrastination: Lack of execution and easy to be distracted. “I started doing my homework, but finally found myself watching funny videos on Tiktok.”
How do you solve it: I ask my friend to supervise me, I have to send her my daily routine to her, and the progress I made.
Why you choose this method: I will feel ashamed if I do nothing, that will push me to finish my tasks.
Xu, 45, Librarian
Why procrastination: I feel tired after work, so I play games and watch TV series to relax. I just don’t want to finish the task at that moment.
How do you solve it: I just try to make housework less tiring, like doing it when listening to my favorite podcast at the same time.
Why you choose this method: I know I need to finish the work, and anybody don’t like it. So I need a more comfortable way to do it, so that shifting from my comfort zone, and watching TV will not be that painful.
Stakeholders map
Phase 04 Research Hypothesis
From my own life and other addict’s life, I learned that:…
We can use other methods to get amusement as replacements for information feed. That method will be less likely to get us addicted (like podcasts) because that method consumes less attention.
We are hooked on something hard to stop, like games, videos, and TV. That will stop us from shifting from ‘play’ to ‘work.’. So ending the infinite feed quickly and smoothly is the key to it.
We need information flow sometimes, it can benefit us. But opening it will distract our attention.
So the next step is to validate if these two insights are correct and dig deeper into the solution.
So we make research hypotheses
A good research hypothesis has three main features:
Specificity: A hypothesis should clearly define what variables you’re studying and what you expect an outcome to be, without ambiguity in its wording
Relevance: A research hypothesis should have significance for your research project by addressing a potential opportunity for improvement
Testability: Your research hypothesis must be able to be tested in some way such as empirical observation or data collection
Hypothesis 01: Breaking the infinite feed
1. Pose a hypothesis
If we substitute infinite information flow with limited ones for procrastinators, they will find it easier to decrease their time spent on information Feed.
2. Identify variables and choose your research method
My variable can be quantitive, so it can be the time people spend on their information flows.
3. Carry out my study- study plan.
I will have two groups of people tested to see how the two groups behave differently.
Both groups are told to do their routine work for 3 hours. The work should be what they think is hard, and easy to be distracted.
Control Group: Free to use all Apps (including information flow ones).
Research Group: Free to use all Apps (including information flow ones). But they will be notified once they spend 20 consecutive minutes in their information flow.
I will record the time they spent in information flows.
Hypothesis 02: Replacing feeds with other type of information
1. Pose a hypothesis
If we substitute video & image flow with another type of information, it will help users decrease their usage of the information feed.
2. Identify variables and choose your research method
My variable can be quantitive, so it can be the time people spend on their information flows.
3. Carry out my study- study plan.
I will have two groups of people tested to see how the two groups behave differently.
Both groups are told to do their routine work for 3 hours. The work should be what they think is hard, and easy to be distracted.
Control Group: Free to use all Apps (including information flow ones).
Research Group 01: Free to use all Apps (including video-based information flow ones). But their information flows will be turned into a list of abstracts. Then users should click on the video before the video starts to play.
Research Group 02: Free to use all Apps (including video-based information flow ones). But their information flows will be turned into podcasts.
Research Group 03: Free to use all Apps (including video-based information flow ones). But their information flows will be turned into text and images.
I will record the time they spent in information flows.
Hypothesis insights 01:
I made a Zoom call with my friends. They are told to follow their regular routines.
I did the testing on 3 friends of mine. The process recording is listed as followed:
Distraction, Absorption are two kinds of common harm of 'information feed' or 'extra information provided'.
Distraction means people presume they are working.
Absorption means people presume they are having free time, or they have not gotten into the working mode
Distraction in work mode:
Cut down the endless 'Off-topic' content flow is useful.
Identifying the 'jump-out' is pretty tricky.
People are relatively more willing to get back
Absorption out of work mode:
The major distraction often happens before you get into the 'work mode'
Notifying can help people realize the task and get out easier.
The infinite feeds or a long video are hard for people to end it.
Phase 05 Quick Prototyping
Time Capsule Project
It all begins with an idea.
Step01
A time capsule is a way to experience the life, feelings, and thoughts of the past through objects from that time. In Evocative Objects, I found inspiration from the Polaroid camera, which turns memories from the past into photos, thus evoking our emotions.
This reminded me of something I used to do: collect all kinds of tickets, including movie tickets from the cinema, Disney entrance tickets, supermarket receipts, business cards from new acquaintances, bank statements, and so on.
Sometimes, going through these old tickets really brings back memories of significant moments in life, especially the little details. For instance, I can recall buying fireworks from a small shop near my apartment last winter, which reminds me of the time I spent with my friends setting them off. This kind of unintentional nostalgia makes the content especially touching.
So this folder where I store my tickets is my time capsule, allowing me to travel to a random moment and unintentionally slip into a memory from the past, reliving the emotions I felt at that time. I think this is something important to me, one of the few things that can unexpectedly bring me warmth
What I'm gonna do is to scan those receipts with a machine. And automatically store the data.
I will use OCR to scan the receipt decently. Just use gpt to show here .....
Also, I wish I can also bound those receipts together with stapler. Just to keep those memories authentic.
In the meantime, the data in receipt will be turned into some virtual photos.
That's an example of what I've bought last year.
When this photo is shown to me like 3 years later, that will remind me what really happend that day, why I bought candles and Christmas plates.
Then the software can combine everyday's picture together, making a 'video for this year', that will be a great way to review the whole year.
Step02
First, I organized my thoughts to determine the goals I need to achieve in order to tell this story. Essentially, my time capsule is a receipt collection device that, while binding the receipts into a booklet, can also generate and print a Polaroid photo based on the content of the receipts. Therefore, I need a convenient slot for inserting receipts and tickets, along with a scanner, a stapler, a button, and a Polaroid printer, all integrated into one device.
Then I made a paper model with paper very quickly. The way to use this time capsule is quite clear, but there is a button for binding and creating an abstract for all contents is still not covered. But this step, I want to prove this user flow is intuitive. This is pretty like some piggy banks, so I think people can easily know how to use it too.
So then, after using the paper model to test the availability, I used Blender to create a more detailed version of it.
The device should be a similar size as a Homepod, therefore tickets and receipts can fit in it.
There is a button on the side of the device, this is the key interaction point of this device. Once we press the button, the receipt and tickets stored in the device will be binded into one booklet, and all information will be summarized into a AI-Gen picture, printed by the instant photo printer.
That's how scanner and stapler works.
Step03
So one day, when my grandson comes to my tomb, he can read about his grandfather, in a very interesting way！
Then he will be interested, how his grandfather created these thing, then he discovered the time capsule machine.
He will know that I was a person who has the habit to collect the tickets and receipts. Each day I will put the things I collected into my time capsule machine.
There is a scanner on it, so it can read what I’ve done today and guess the whole experience.
Then he will know the comic I left beside my tomb, was the depiction of my entire life.
Each day, I will press the button on the side of the time capsule machine. The model inside it will get my information and turn that into a comic.
After a preset limit of days or months, the device will inform you to ‘switch up‘, means I could get a monthly comic or annual comic.
So regularly, I will get books for myself, about my daily, weekly and monthly life. If he wants to learn more about me, he can then check those monthly and yearly comics, stored both somewhere else and on the server.
This time capsule not only keeps the track of my daily, monthly or yearly life for myself, to memorize the little and touching moment for myself. In the long run, it will be an ‘abstract‘ or myself, which is a very good thing to keep, enable my siblings to know me better. That’s a kind of warm connection across generations.