Project Overview

This project was part of the User Testing course within the UX Design MasterTrack™ Certificate at the University of Minnesota (UMN). Our job was to design an app with a social impact. I chose this project for the following reason.

According to the American Medical Association, ADHD is “one of the best-researched disorders in medicine, and the overall data on its validity are far more compelling than for most mental disorders and even for many medical conditions.” In spite of this, many of the most common and most debilitating symptoms of ADHD remain woefully under-addressed. I see the potential for assistive technology to improve the chances of graduation as well as the overall career outlook for college students with ADHD.

Language

For the purposes of consistency and identity affirmation, I will be using the term "ADHDer" to mean a person with ADHD. This term is meant to be inclusive of all people who experience the symptoms of ADHD to the extent of impairment including those who are not diagnosed with ADHD.

Curb Cut

While this app is being designed specifically for ADHD users, I expect to observe a "curb-cut" effect. In other words, I anticipate that this app's integrated features will improve the lives of many people without ADHD as well.

That said, while an app like this may be appreciated as a convenience by some, I believe that for many with ADHD, it is a necessary accommodation.

Secondary Research

ADHD is a neurological development disorder that affects 5-8% of the global population. Just 5 percent of college students with ADHD will graduate, versus 41 percent of their nondisabled peers, according to a 2008 report in the The Journal of Learning.

"ADHD is a disorder of self-regulation, and when the support system of parents and teachers is no longer there, it's challenging.” —George DuPaul (US News & World Report)

“College Students with ADHD Have Lower Grades, Higher Dropout Rates.” US News & World Report, https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-03-03/college-students-with-adhd-have-lower-grades-higher-dropout-rates.

Hemenway-Forbes, Meta. “For ADHD Students, Transition to College Is Tough.” Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, 10 July 2018, https://wcfcourier.com/news/local/for-adhd-students-transition-to-college-is-tough/article_950df28a-ac05-5b50-8768-2ed34aa05376.html.
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TEDxTalks. “Failing at Normal: An ADHD Success Story | Jessica McCabe | TEDxBratislava.” YouTube, YouTube, 9 Oct. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiwZQNYlGQI.

Research Question

Why is it difficult for college students with ADHD to get homework done?

Task Switching

ADHD minds struggle to process internal cues to stop one task and begin another that others respond to instinctively. In other words, ADHDers struggle to move tasks out of the "Not Now" box into the "Now" box without external stimuli.

For college students with ADHD, that looks like unintentionally procrastinating homework, because nothing external is prompting them to start.

Distractions

The world around them is constantly throwing distractions at them. Distractions impair their ability to stay on tasks or even begin them.

For students, those could be anything from social distractions like friends or social media to sensory distractions like the sound of an air conditioner or an uncomfortable shirt.

Disorganization

ADHDers have an impaired working memory, struggle with prioritization, and tend to leave tasks unfinished, which often leads to disorganization.

For a student, that manifests in forgetting to what homework you have and when it's due, not knowing which assignment to start on first and then not completing the ones you start.

Adjusting The Scope

Environment

Something that users frequently mentioned as being important to their ability to focus was their environment. Being in a quiet place where they could work either by themselves or with one other person.

There are many methods that have been proven to help ADHDers focus on certain kinds of work such as body-doubling, meditation, and green-time.
(body-doubling: doing a task with another person present.
green-time: spending time in an environment with plants and nature.)

Why not address these practices in this app if they have also been proven to be so successful? They deserve their own app.

Integrated Features

Why not make separate apps?

By integrating these three pieces in one application, the features can pass information to each other prompting the user to engage with a different feature at key points in the user flow.

When a focus block is scheduled, it will prompt the user to open the app and begin a focus session.
After each module (30 minutes) in a focus session it will ask if the user would like to update the progress status of the assignment to “Doing” or “Done”.
If a student skips a focus block, Hatch will ask the user to reschedule it for later in the week upon reopening to avoid the student falling behind.
If a user has completed their last focus block for the week, but still has unfinished assignments it will ask if they would like to schedule a new focus block so they don’t leave anything unfinished.

This intuitive flow across each feature is essential to the student’s continued use of the app and therefore their success throughout the semester. The system won’t work if it requires too much mental labor and frustrates the student to the point of abandoning it.

Project Overview

Language

Curb Cut

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