Zimizam

Case Study

Product design UX/UI

Zimizam is an app designed for children on the spectrum, to encourage exploration of mindfulness, physical activities and learning all in one holistic platform.

For this project, I worked as the sole designer. 
I took zimizam, through the  design process, from  research, identifying problem areas in the existing beta, prototyping and testing new features, through to delivery.



The result of this journey was the delivery of a new feature in the app that allowed parents to customise the routine helper section of the app to the individual needs of their children.

iPhone showing Zimizam app

Discovery

Stakeholder Meeting

The client brief for this project was to perform a general UX audit of the existing MVP of the app.

The aim of this audit was to identify any issues with the current build of the app, as well as to giude further development of new features.

Its primary focus is on physical activity, but it also serves a secondary function as a tool to help parents/educators cope with social behavioural challenges by helping to focusing the child.

User Interviews

I conducted a number of user interviews with both existing users of the beta version of the app as well as non users in the target group, which for this test was parents and educators of children aged 4-11.

Due to pandemic restrictions, user interviews took the form of remote calls.

collection of Zimizam app screens
page divider

Define

Affinity Mapping

The feedback from the user interviews was then taken and organised based on themes.
These themes and trends could then be used to provide insight and help identify any problem areas

During this process Several trends began to emerge, with one major theme forming around being able personalise the app to each users individual needs.

affinity mapping board

USER Personas

Based on the user interviews I developed three personas to reflect the three main types of users. These user groups were parents, educators and children.
‍

I decided to focus on the parent as this seemed to be the user who was facing the most challenges, and also the user we could make the biggest difference with.

I created several experience maps of the situations Sarah would be in where Zimizam could help.

user persona profile

Insights

An interesting insight emerged around the morning and evening routine helper.
Some parents found it to be an indispensible resource, with one user even going as far as to say:
‍

‘before, our morning routine felt more like a negotiation , or bribery than parenting.’
‍

On the other hand, some parents didn’t use this functionality at all as it just wasn’t relevant to their needs.
‍

‘Each childs routine is different’

This was confirmed by examining the customer journey around the relevant functionality.
Based on these findings it was decided to focus on adapting the routine helper functionality to make it more relevant for users.
This seemed to be the area where we could make a large direct impact on the existing users of the app.

The problem statement

Parents struggle to find tools that fit into the individual routines of their children, this adds to further anxiety.

Develop

NEW FEATURE IDEA

A routine builder feature, that would allow parents to personalise the routine helper function.
This would allow the routines to be tailored to the individual needs of each child.

Wireframing

I started by sketching on paper, this allowed for rapid quick sketches of several approaches.

Once a suitable prototyope appeared these then  were translated into a  mid fidelity prototype.

TESTING AND ITERATION

Testing was carried out at all stages of development.
Feedback from testing was used to inform the design of further iterations.

High Fidelity

Once a suitable build was identified, I created a high fidelity prototype, which went throught the testing cycle again.

Testing

usability testing

A clickable prototype was created based on user feedback and user testing of wireframes and low fidelity mockups

This prototype could be tested with users either remotely or in a workshop session.
Each user was asked to complete a task that reflected what Lisa would be trying to achieve, by using Zimizam.
‍
User interaction with the prototype was observed and and these observations were used to inform any design changes during iteration.

Patterns

How the tasks flow is not immediately apparent.

Not all users found the drag to delete function instinctively.

Confusion around landing page headers.

INsights

Signifiers needed to show drag and delete.

Users liked the simplicity of the app.

Landing page needs to be re-evaluated

Changes Implemented after testing

Tapping on an activity now activates a bump animation to show the drag to delete function.
Drag handles have been added to the activity cards to indicate that they're draggle.

iPhone showing Zimizam app

Routine Builder

NEW FEATURE

The new routine builder allows parents to personalise the routine helper function of the app to their childs individual needs.

They will now be able to set up a custom routine or edit the existing morning/night routine to fit their needs.

Parents with multiple children will be able to set up a seperate routine for each child.

Adding an activity

A new Edit Routine on the main activity screen will now open up routine builder. This screen will present the active routines.

Selecting the routine Lisa wants to edit will display the current activities in that routine in the order they would be presented to Lisa's child.

Tapping the Add activity button opens an overlay with a library of activities, tapping on one of these closes the overlay and adds the activity to the routine.

Once Lisa is happy that the routine accurately reflects her child's needs she can just exit out of the routine by clicking back to bring her to back to the activity page

Rearrange an activity

Any activities can be rearranged in the routine flow, by tapping and dragging into the desired position.

Deleting an activity

Activities can be deleted by swiping the relevant activity to the left.
Users will then briefly have the opportunity to undelete, in the event that this was done in error.

page divider

Deliver

FEATURE

A high fidelity prototype of the new session builder  feature has now been made and has been delivered to the client along with notes for the developer, ready to be implemented in the next development cycle.

Design System

I have codified a design system comprising all the existing design components and styles. This will help to eliminate any small inconsistencies in the app going forward, which was an issue that became apparent with the initial audit of the MVP.

Future improvements

Research where the app could benefit from further personalisation to individual user needs.
Explore the implementation of a dashboard feature where users can track their activity over time.
Redesign of existing elements from the MVP, to ensure they fit the design system, and to make sure they make the best use of current typical screen real estate.

  • Research where the app could benefit from further personalisation to individual user needs.
  • Explore the implementation of a dashboard feature where users can track their activity over time.
  • Redesign of existing elements from the MVP, to ensure they fit the design system and to make sure they make the best use of current typical screen real estate.