Reflection

The course of this project allowed each of us to grow as UX professionals. We gained a deeper understanding of the design framework and learned to apply it more effectively throughout the project. Additionally, this experience helped us reflect on our roles as team members, enhancing our ability to collaborate, adapt, and communicate more efficiently. Overall, it was a valuable opportunity to not only improve our design skills but also strengthen our teamwork and problem-solving abilities.

1. What Methods Were Useful 

Strong leadership and effective organization played a key role in the success of the project. By leveraging Google folders, we were able to stay on top of all the moving pieces, ensuring clear communication and efficient collaboration within the team. In addition, we adopted a user-centered design approach, focusing on the problem space we identified among UW students. This approach allowed us to shape our idea around the specific needs and challenges of the users. We continuously iterated on our designs based on user feedback from testing, ensuring that the final product reflected users’ expressed wants and needs. Our empathetic design approach enabled us to better understand users’ experiences and pain points, ultimately resulting in a solution that was more aligned with their expectations and delivered a much more effective outcome.

2. What we would do differently

While research is always an ongoing process, one key takeaway from this project is the importance of gathering more insights during the research phase. If given the opportunity, we would have conducted additional interviews to better understand how people interact with schedules and goals. This extra research would have provided a deeper understanding of our target users, allowing us to refine our approach and identify a more precise scope for the app’s audience. By gaining more comprehensive insights, we could have tailored our solution even more closely to user needs and behaviors.

3. What we would do if we had more time 

If we had more time, we would have loved to see SeeSaw evolve into a fully functional application. After all the time and thought we’ve invested in the project, we believe it could be incredibly helpful for users, and it would be exciting to see it come to life as a real app. With additional time in the design process, we would have spent more time iterating on initial research to refine our ideas and ensure we created something we truly loved. Towards the end, we faced time constraints while shifting our ideas, and the pressure of the time crunch limited our ability to explore all potential design options fully.

4.  Our biggest challenge

Our team faced a significant challenge during the design phase in deciding how we wanted the app to function. As deadlines approached, we found ourselves caught in endless brainstorming sessions that often felt unproductive, and we struggled to find a clear direction. Despite creating multiple wireframes, none of them felt quite right. The turning point came after an influential user test that gave us crucial insights into what users truly wanted. We realized that to move forward, we needed to set aside our egos, preconceived ideas of what the app should be, and any biases. This shift allowed us to fully embrace the principles of User-Centered Design, which, while essential, can also be one of the most challenging aspects to maintain throughout the design process.

5. What the most surprising thing about this project was

The most surprising aspect of this project was how much user research and user feedback could truly influence design decisions. We discovered just how deeply user input could reshape our approach, often leading to significant changes even late into the process. It was eye-opening to realize that large design shifts could still be made based on users' needs, highlighting the importance of staying flexible and responsive to what users actually want, rather than relying solely on our initial ideas or assumptions. This reinforced the power and necessity of user-centered design in creating truly impactful products.

6. How our team worked together

Throughout the project, we navigated different working styles and types of engagement, learning how to adapt and collaborate effectively. While some moments required extra effort to ensure alignment and accountability, we ultimately found ways to bring our strengths together and push the project forward.

Through brainstorming, iteration, and teamwork, we created a final product that reflects our collective efforts. This experience reinforced the value of communication, adaptability, and shared responsibility in the design process. Despite the challenges, we’re proud of what we accomplished and the skills we developed along the way.