Why this Problem?
A Learner
The problem from this perspective:
Rishabh has a tough time as a first-year student, especially with the added stress of attending college lectures online during the pandemic. It's hard for him to keep track of which classes are on which platform, and he feels self-conscious about participating in class for fear of being judged. Even when he does speak up, his thoughts spiral and he has a hard time focusing on the lecture afterwards. It's a lot for anyone to handle, and we can only imagine how difficult it must be for Rishabh.
An Employee
The problem from this perspective:
Ananta is a busy business analyst who is always on the go, juggling team meetings and client requests. It's tough for him to fully focus during conference calls because he's often multitasking, and he doesn't have much time to reflect on how he can improve his performance. By the end of the day, he's so exhausted from dealing with Zoom fatigue that he can't be as productive as he'd like the next day. It's a lot to handle and it's understandable that Ananta might feel overwhelmed at times.
But... Are real people affected?
Before I could start to really understand my target audience and what they wanted, I had to do some extensive research. This included looking at social media to see what kind of conversations were already happening and what people were saying. I also gathered quantitative data through surveys to help me prioritize which problems were most important to solve. But in the end, I realized that the best way to truly understand my audience was to conduct interviews and establish empathetic connections.
I got some great insights from my user interviews! Here are some excerpts:
"Online meetings are not at all like real meetings …. everyone can read everyone’s emotional expressions, which mediate the group’s behaviour. In Online, sudden silence makes me go on a downward spiral.."
Shalini, Employee
After weeks and weeks of research...
All in all, after conducting 5+ user interviews and surveys, I gathered a lot of information which I then processed and turned into the following insights:
Solving questions, instead of statements.
Distilling my research into problems I can solve.
Introducing...
Reframing thoughts and emotions.
With the help of conversational UI, users can articulate and respond to questions, by either voice or text input, making it accessible for all. Reframing your thought process is like getting a brain massage. The questions are intelligently generated through your responses and the emotions from your answers are recorded as your keywords. This allows you to see the situation from a different perspective.
All your meetings, at one place.
Starting off on the right foot is important for keeping motivation and spirits high, that's why greeting the user with their statistics and goals when they first open the app is important. Users join a meeting directly from the web app, but they can also add or edit meetings from both the mobile and web versions of the application!
A chance to reflect.
All the meeting transcripts and MOMs you note are stored in a secured cloud service, also showing before and after-meeting feelings. And what would be better than being able to access those on the go? Ease phone application has your back.
Next Steps
My learnings and takeaways.
Ease will redefine how online meetings and classes are perceived, being a permanent escape from the hustle and bustle many people have grown so accustomed to.
It is designed to offer users a chance to slow down, calm their minds, reflect on past accomplishments, become more confident in themselves, and look forward while they continue growing.
With a little care, it's possible to enjoy digital devices without worrying about mental health problems.