Role

UX/UI Design Intern

Industry

Family Tech

Duration

3 months

Kids First

Designing a mobile app for divorced parents to co-manage communication and children's tasks.

Role

UX/UI Design Intern

Industry

Family Tech

Duration

3 months

Brief

KidsFirst is a innovative service designed to facilitate effective collaboration between divorced or separated parents in co-parenting their children. Our platform enables seamless communication, focused on child-related issues, to ensure that both parents are on the same page.

Initial Problem Discovery

  • What problem am I trying to solve?
    Divorce isn't the problem—Poor communication is.

  • Whose problem i am solving?
    The challenges of divorced families are a global issue.

  • Why does this matter ?
    I believe the user base is substantial. Family structure deeply influences children's growth, and supporting adolescents' healthy development is crucial.

74%

of divorced couples have communication issues

68%

68% of kids experience emotional pain after divorce

40%

is the percentage of mistakes made by users while performing the main task

100%

of people cannot complete tasks without prompts

150%

of the expected time was taken by users to complete the main task

60%

of users are satisfied with the main functionality

User needs and pain points

Understand users's needs in scheduling, communication, and collaboration, along with key challenges in similar apps.

User experience feedback

Collect user evaluations of the app's interface, interaction flow, and overall experience to identify areas for improvement

Feature prioritization

Gather user insights on KidsFirst's existing features to inform future development, prioritize enhancements.

Perceptions of competing products

Accumulate user opinions other apps and reasons for their choices to inform KidsFirst's unique design

Emotional responses

72% of people exhibit emotional reactions during communication

Parenting stress

64% of people feel that their parenting responsibilities are overwhelming

Response pressure

67% of mistakes made by users while performing the main task

"I want to care for my kids, but i no longer want to interact with the other parent."

87% of the separated parents share the same sentiment.

Lisa Thompson

"I hope we can communicate better for our child's stability."

Lisa Thompson, 35, is a marketing manager recently divorced, sharing custody of her 8-year-old daughter, Emma.

GOALS

  1. Clearly communicate with ex-husband about daughter's needs and schedule

  1. Effectively manage son's activities and responsibilities

  1. Receive personalized reminders and updates

FRASTRATIONS

  1. Lack of effective communication with her ex-husband on important decisions.

  1. Difficulty coordinating Emma's schedule and activities

  1. Anxiety about how to provide kid with a stable environment

Mark Johnson

“My kids come first, and I'll do whatever it takes to support them.”

Mark is an IT consultant who co-parents his two children, aged 10 and 12, with his ex-partner, focusing on stability and minimizing conflicts.

GOALS

  1. Synchronize calendars to track children's activities and important dates

  1. Communicate directly with ex-partner about children's needs within the app

  1. Reduce conflict when communicating with partner

FRASTRATIONS

  1. Struggles to keep track of his two children's different schedules and activities.

  1. Experiences challenges in communication with his ex-partner.

  1. Struggles to coordinate kids' activities with a busy schedule

Communication is a key challenge for divorced families

Misleading language is a common communication barrier for divorced families, which can lead to further misunderstandings and distrust.

Co-parenting tasks often present challenges for divorced parents

Shared responsibilities, such as scheduling, financial contributions, and decision-making, often present challenges for divorced parents.

Flexible shared calendars are essential for divorced parents

Divorced parents desire the ability to flexibly share and coordinate schedules related to their children.

  1. Requiring users to input too much information

  1. More manual input increases error risk.

EXISTING TOPIC INITIATING PAGE

  1. Lack of flexibility to skip irrelevant options

  1. Consolidating all information onto a single page increases cognitive load for users.

BEFORE

AFTER

Well-defined functional areas

The homepage is clearly structured with three main sections: "What to do," "Upcoming Events," and a bottom navigation bar, allowing users to easily locate the required functions.

Employing default values and autofill

By minimizing the information required from users upfront, the burden of form completion is reduced, thus encouraging topic initiation and communication.

Multi-step forms

Child-related information, including scheduling, location, and specific details, is presented in a step-by-step format to prevent information and reduce user stress.

Using AI for language polishing

This feature is particularly useful for divorced families, as it helps users express themselves more politely and accurately when dealing with potentially sensitive topics.

BEFORE

AFTER

Concise & effective topic management

Tasks are organized by date and time for easy tracking and schedule management. "✔ Done" marks show task completion status, allowing users to monitor progress.

Agreement Options, Free to Choose

Following agreement, the initiator will offer a selection of times, locations, etc., enabling easy selection, faster decisions, and clear communication.

Quick Overview, Rapid Replies

Key information is highlighted with formatting, color, and labels (e.g., "High Priority"). "Agree/Disagree" buttons enable quick responses to health check-ups.

Instant Confirmation & Archiving

When the recipient confirms agreement, the sender is immediately notified, easing any concerns about the response, and the related topic is properly archived for future reference.

BEFORE

AFTER

Provide ready-to-use templates

Templates are designed to address common situations, like taking kids to the doctor, throwing birthday parties, planning holidays, and discussing educational plans.

Existing templates are editable

Users can choose a template and adapt it to their child's specific circumstances, including modifying pick-up/drop-off times and locations, and adding any special notes.

One-click task assignment

For co-parents, rapid task assignment and instant notifications streamline communication and facilitate quicker agreements on shared responsibilities.

Syncs with your calendar

By syncing task assignments with calendars, both parties can view health check-up details and times and set reminders, preventing missed appointments.