My Goals: An Application for Android

Screenshot of the My Goals application.

My Goals is a prototype for an android application that helps with goal setting.

Its purpose is to aid a user in keeping track off and achieving goals. Not just a to-do list, it also is designed to link users to resources that can help them achieve their goals, providing a gamified system to encourage success.

Reseach notes for My Goals application.
Reseach notes for My Goals application.

I started the project with research into gamification, and how it could be applied to software applications. I brainstormed with other people to determine what kind of functionality would prove useful. I also researched other applications of this sort, reading reviews and taking note of what worked and what did not.

Persona storyboards for My Goals application.
Persona storyboards for My Goals application.

I then developed a group of personas for reference during development. These personas were based on the type of people I talked to when brainstorming and some of the users I encountered when researching the project.

For these users, I developed storyboards to better understand how some of their use cases might play out.

Paper prototype for My Goals application.
Paper prototype for My Goals application.

A paper prototype was developed. This I used to run usability testing. Users were given a list of tasks; I took notes on their success, and they filled out a questionnaire evaluating the experience.

Screensots of the My Goals application.
Screenshots of the My Goals application.

I used a minimalist style for the visual design. I also used android interaction conventions to keep buttons obvious and intuitive for android users.

Conclusions: For a goal-setting application, I think bolder colors would be more motivating. Overall, the functionality of this application works well. Further development of simple games that integrate with goal progress and a dynamic reward system is needed to really make the application function as envisioned.