Co-House: Household Chore Allocation Website
Role: UX Designer and Researcher
Team: SI582 Team – University of Michigan, School of Information
Tools: Figma, Personas, Wireframing, Prototype, Usability Testing
Timeline: August 2023 - December 2023 (4 months)
Overview
Achieving a fair and transparent distribution of household responsibilities remains a significant challenge in shared living households, leading to frustrations and strained relationships. To address the issue, our team utilized personas, wireframes, prototypes, and usability tests to develop Co-House, a household chore allocation website.
Process
User Interviews
To identify the unique dynamics of shared living environments and elevate the quality of such experiences, we carried out open-ended, semi-structured 30-minute interviews with six participants– four of whom were living with roommates and two of whom were living with family members
Significance of Transparent Communication
The lack of clear communication and precisely defined responsibilities frequently led to confusion, imbalanced chore distribution, and interpersonal conflicts. Interviewees strongly advocated for more dependable communication methods beyond mere verbal agreements or temporary fixes such as refrigerator stickers for establishing boundaries and efficiently managing household tasks.
Harmonizing Household Task Distribution
Participants highlighted the substantial challenges in ensuring fair chore distribution, pointing to disparate standards of cleanliness and accountability as major obstacles. The varying interpretations of what constitutes “clean” often resulted in shared spaces, such as bathrooms and kitchens, being perceived as untidy. This variation in cleanliness accentuated the critical need for the creation of a mutually accepted household guideline for chores.
Optimizing Task Allocation and Monitoring
Dividing and monitoring household chores emerged as a complex issue, especially when dependent on informal agreements, as the aforementioned fridge stickers. Such methods frequently proved inadequate for sustained efficiency and clear delineation of duties, leading to misunderstandings about task assignments and completion. A notable challenge was maintaining accurate task statuses, with the issue of repeated tasks due to ambiguous tracking being more pronounced among roommates than couples, as couples demonstrated a greater adjustment to shared responsibilities over time.
Personas
Based on insights from user interviews, we developed two personas to represent the varying dynamics and relationships among roommates: strangers vs. intimates.
Stranger
Persona representing an individual who shares their living space with whom they have no prior relationship, highly valuing their personal space
Intimate
Persona of someone living with their partner, seeking to improve communication methods for relationship enhancement.
Design Ideation
From the comprehensive interview analysis, we distilled user requirements into three critical features:
Dashboard, Whiteboard, History
Dashboard
Streamlined task allocation with effective responsibility tracking to ensure efficiency and clarity in household chore management
Whiteboard
Clear communication methods to mitigate the risk of misunderstandings
History
Feedback tool for completed tasks to establish mutual understanding of task standards
Information Architecture
%20(1)_edited.jpg)
Wireframes
.png)
Usability Testing
Conducted via Zoom, we utilized a combination of think-aloud protocols from 6 participants, observational techniques, and semi-structured interviews. The script featured predefined tasks to thoroughly evaluate and improve the usability and accessibility of our wireframes.
Participant Requirement:
-
Not a student or faculty from UMSI
-
In co-living situations
-
With basic technological proficiency
Dashboard
Scenario
Task: Imagine living with Jack and Sue, having agreed to take turns taking out the trash on a weekly basis. How would you utilize the dashboard to effectively manage and monitor this chore?
Objective: To determine if the user can effortlessly create a new task and navigate to the “all tasks” page.
Key Finding
-
Difficulties with the “new task” and “repeat” functions, highlighting confusion with the task button duplication.
-
Preference for a left side filter section/menu for the task page
-
Unclear distinction between “my tasks” and “all household tasks”
-
Unmet expectation for task editing after its initial assignment
Key finding points highlighted in red squares
Whiteboard
Scenario
Task: Following a hectic day, you aim to update your roommates about your day’s activities with a picture, the fact that the vegetable oil has run out, and that you’re going to sleep soon. How would you navigate through?
Objective: To evaluate if the four features within the whiteboard section are intuitive and fulfill user needs effectively.
Key Finding
-
Unnecessary feature indicating user's status, such as being asleep
-
Notifications for unread messages failed to sufficiently grab user's attention
-
Call for a more direct and user-friendly approach to replying to messages
Key finding points highlighted in red squares
History
Scenario
Task: After noticing Amy’s diligent effort in washing the dishes, you decide to acknowledge her hard work. From a list of past tasks, how would you convey your appreciation?
Objective: To assess whether the user can distinguish between chat and comment functionalities and if the new comment feature is easily noticeable and accessible.
Key Finding
-
Feedback function didn't align with user expectations, with many considering it redundant given the chat feature.
-
Some users did not understand the meaning of the new comment icon.
Key finding points highlighted in red squares
Design Iterations
Key changes made after usability testing
Displays three main features: task, chat, history, instead of solely the task feature
Filters added to the left side, allowing easier categorization and access
Message, chat, and feedback functionalities merged into a singular chat hub, previously known as whiteboard, incorporating features such as reminders, status updates, messaging, polls, file sharing, and event scheduling
Filters added to the left side, allowing easier categorization and access
High Fidelity Prototype
Reflection
Future Directions for Website
Given the opportunity, my priority would be to integrate additional features ensuring online safety and equality, as well as agreement in task distribution. Without the nuances of in-person conversation, online discussions can become overly blunt or misunderstood, as is often observed on diverse social media platforms. Furthermore, the platform’s extensive functionality can potentially diminish face-to-face interactions amongst roommates. Thus, I believe the next step would be implementing methods to facilitate respectful and safe online communication between users. Moreover, the straightforward task-allocation process ironically may lead to unequal task distribution. It would be crucial to incorporate a method ensuring that tasks can only be assigned with mutual agreement.
Critical Role of UX Research in UX Design
Wireframes and prototypes typically mirror the designer’s perspective, bringing an inherent risk of biases. I struggled to identify flaws within my initial designs, underscoring the importance of usability testing in pinpointing issues and refining the website into a more cohesive, accessible, and user-friendly platform. For instance, I initially designed a feedback button with a “+” icon, presuming its meaning would be universally clear. The ensuing user confusion prompted me to explicitly label the button as “reply,” demonstrating the impact of designer bias and the necessity for continuous testing and iterations.
The process also emphasized the importance of fostering a safe and transparent environment for participants, ensuring that usability testing assesses the website’s effectiveness rather than the user’s proficiency and avoiding leading questions. Such an approach helped me build better rapport, eliciting more honest user feedback and facilitating more meaningful insights.