Fufluns

Background

Do you find yourself stretching your neck after using your phone? Around 65% of phone users have experienced this. The average head weighs around 10-12 pounds, each additional 15 degree tilt forward places more than double the amount of strain and weight on the neck. Repetitive use over long periods of time can result in neck stiffness, soreness, and radiating pain from the shoulders and back.

Here at Fufluns we wanted to develop an app which gamifies and rewards behavior that is beneficial to your health without making it feel like a chore. Through notifications and in-app rewards, our goal is to target text neck and bring peace to your posture. 

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User Pain Points

To validate the existence and extent of this issue, we interviewed 9 users and their phone use habits. We found that most users use their phones while waking up or after work or focused studying. We also found 55% of them deem fitness as important, while 44% of them were not actively pursuing it. The main takeaway was that 66% of users have experienced neck pain and are looking for ways to improve their posture, but have difficulty improving due to inconvenience and unawareness of their posture during phone use. 

What we also understood was that pure notifications were not enough to motivate these users, as many deemed just notifications as unnecessary and intrusive. Users were looking for meaningful notifications to stay on track and users were looking for ways to stay motivated in their journey to better health. 

From this research we were able to define our target persona and develop solutions through a human centric approach. 

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Landing on the Solution

The goal for our team is to help users be engaged in their journey to better health by correcting their posture. We found many users experience this pain and for 3 of them, this pain impedes their day to day lives. 

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The Solution

Fufluns hopes to help users by keeping them engaged and in control of their health through the following features: 

1. Notification Engine: We will provide interactive notifications which can be actioned within the popup for ease of use
2. Reward Engine: To help the user remain engaged, users will be in charge of growing a plant powered by positive interactions with the notifications and their daily goals set by the user
3. Time Based Activation: To reduce interruptions, the user will be able to decide when they will notified and at what frequency
4. Performance Tracker: To help keep the user engaged, the home page will show their progress on a daily basis and the stages the plant is in over a two week cycle. If the user does not complete the cycle within 30 days, the plant will be reset. 
5. Instructional Page: To help educate, a separate tab will provide tips and tricks on proper phone use to help the user alleviate pain in safe manner

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Images 

Homepage (with plant growth)

Settings page:

Instructional Page:

Next steps

Our team has decided to continue with the development of the application to its completion over the next few months with the goal of publishing the application onto the app store.