Un-Block: Your keychain to Stress Management
Key Contributions
Experiential user enactments and user testing through integrating movement therapy and psychology concepts
Literature review, market analysis and contextual inquiry through interviews and surveys
Generating novel concepts based on user preferences, user needs and stakeholder requirements
Problem
Female D-1 student athletes at the University of Michigan face high stress levels on and off campus, highlighting the need for a portable stress management solution.
Our Goal
Our goal is to enhance the overall well-being of female student-athletes by designing cost-effective, easily accessible, and eco-friendly stress management solutions.
Our Response
A keychain designed to help users manage stress through a combination of tactile sensation and the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique.
Users reported high levels of stress and were not satisfied with stress management products in the market.
During the ideation phase, we designed for variability, as well as considered anthropometry aiming towards user satisfaction.
User interviews stated that users were scared of being judged and seek therapy.
Testing and feedback was conducted through experiential facilitation and user enactment.
Key Project Highlights
Users required an easily transportable, aesthetically pleasing and discrete product that could enable them to use it without catching any attention.
User mental models were considered during product development, drawing inspiration from a personal story of an athlete experiencing stress.
Design Methods
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User Interviews
Through user interviews, we gained a deeper understanding of the context in which our product is used, as well as user actions, pain points, and suggestions for improving the system.
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Market Research and Analysis
We conducted a literature review and survey to analyze attitudes towards different product attributes and assess the demand for Un-Block, in order to understand the competitive landscape and identify potential gaps in the stress management product market.
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Idea and Concept
As a team, we generated concepts and ideas based on concept tree, worst ideas ever, heuristic cards, functional decomposition, combinational table. We then decided on our top concept through down selection process based on affinity maps and feasibility map.
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Idea Convergence and Decision Making
Out of 288 ideas, we decided to converge on 6 top ideas based on user pain points, user needs by each team member generating one idea. We then used the Pugh Chart to decide on our top idea. We also conducted FMEA that helped us converge ideas based on user safety and risk analysis.
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Usability Testing
We conducted usability testing through our alpha and beta prototype by engaging the users experientially and enacting the grounding technique along with the keychain. This helped us understand user associations with the 5 senses and affordances of our product.
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Prototype
We designed low-fidelity and mid-fidelity prototypes in order to help users interact with the product and inform stakeholders about our product idea. We also undertook stakeholder requirements into consideration while designing our prototype.
Solution
A keychain that focuses on stress management through the interaction of the human senses with the environment.
Key system features:
By focusing on their 5 senses and breathing, Un-Block enables users to orient themselves in the present moment and cope with stress in any situation.
The Un-Block keychain makes stress management accessible and convenient for busy individuals, like student-athletes, by incorporating the grounding technique into their daily routines.
Magnets are used to stick the rings together to help users experience satisfaction of completing the technique.
The keychain requires the user to create an upward motion to physically engage with the product.
The product has the capacity to be scaled to all audiences.
Key Takeaways
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Conflict resolution
A diverse and collaborative team of six designers with a shared passion for positive societal impact managed to navigate the storming phase by empathetically considering each other's opinions and voting for the best ideas.
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Convergent and Divergent Thinking
Convergent and Divergent thinking is important in oder to generate multiple creative ideas and converge them into possible solutions that cater to user and stakeholder needs.
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Lean UX and Agile Design
Lean UX and Agile process are equally important and can be used collaboratively depending on the problem statement, time constraints, availability of users, and user and stakeholder goals.