Tracking Effectiveness of Meditation

Role

UX Researcher

The Challenge

Although most meditation apps have the ability to track the number of minutes or days of meditation, few have the ability to keep the meditator accountable. Our challenge was  to create a way to track progress. By creating a reward system, meditation becomes a more constant practice, thereby, using a way to stay accountable.

Competitor Research

The purpose of this competitive analysis was to understand effectiveness and progress in meditation. Although Strides and Period tracker are not meditation focused, they do provide some alternative ways to track sessions.

In regards to trackers, Strides was the most helpful, with notes on sessions. Period tracker was also nice with notes, emotions, and feelings.

In regards to meditation apps, the only tracking was the number of minutes, days but no evaluation of how well they did. However, Chopra had some nice programs. Plum village was organized in a very nice way from short to long, introductions, and variety for timers. Tergar was the only meditation app that had an evaluation with a notes section on particular sessions.

(Conducted by Mitva)

Personas and User Journeys 

Rachel

Mark

Wireframe Screens

Thanks to the expert design skills of Mitva and Staci, they created wireframes based off of the secondary and competitive research, as well as the personas and user journeys.

Wireframe Usability Test Results

Each member of the team conducted wireframe usability tests, using network contacts, as well as those from a survey that Staci conducted.

Onboarding included a chatbot, as a way for getting users onboard through a conversation about mediation needs.

Issue

Onboarding is taking too long.

Solution

Issue

Solution

Provide clear & familiar navigation within onboarding

Issue

Solution

Issue

Solution

Modified-Delphi Card Sort

Our stakeholder was interested in us doing a card sort to identify categories for the meditations. In most card sorts, they are either open or closed. The other option is a Modified Delphi Card. It was based on the research method, called the Delphi Method, a methodology used for consensus or forecasting. I conducted the Delphi Method in my dissertation.

To learn more about the Delphi Method, go to this page from the Rand Corporation, who originally developed the method.

The "seed" was an individual who was an Information Architecture. He was given a set of cards and created categories and arranged them according to how he saw fit.

Screenshot of the first card sort by the seed.

After the seed had completed the sort, the board was copied and shared with the next participant. Each participant had a chance to iterate (moving cards around, adding new cards, adding or changing category names. After each card sort, the board was copied and sent to the next participant. There were a total of 10 participants in the card sort, including the seed. 

To analyze the card sort, a whimsical board was created from all boards, including moves and name changes.

Hi-fi Screens

Staci and Mitva graciously conducted the hi-fi designs and the prototype

Hi-fi Usability Test Results

Iterations included:

• User can select one of 6 focuses rather than any number of 9 focuses.

• Goal reminder info has been condensed to one page

• Pop up goal set notification

Findings Include:

• New goal should take you to goal setting page not the focus page of the chatbot

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• Chatbot at onboarding is unusual for most people

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• Users are looking for more information about the Rewards system.

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• Bottom Navigation Clock symbol now links to Goal Setting based on User Feedback

Recommendations

• Pop-up at completion of meditation

• Change up Bottom Nav Icons.  Example: clock as goal tracker

• Description for meditation, courses, & instructors

• Filters for any meditation, and “Featured”

• We started by looking for a way for Deeply to become a part of the users everyday life.

• We identified gaps with tracking in meditation apps 

• Explored a personable chat feature for onboarding

• Iterated on design based on user feedback

• Found great interest in the tested method of goal tracking

• Business impact would include less stress, health issues, and better focus

Coming Soon

To analyze the card sort, a whimsical board was created from all boards, including moves and name changes.

To analyze the card sort, a whimsical board was created from all boards, including moves and name changes.

Card Sort included:

•  6 Categories to start with: Editorial Pics, Time of Day, Mood, Personal Growth, Health & Relationships, and Spirituality.

• Some categories were combined or added.

• “Spiritual” and “insignificant” moved the most

• “Binaural” was one of the original cards which no participant knew what it was

• Filtering was important to most participants

To analyze the card sort, a whimsical board was created from all boards, including moves and name changes.