Chorganized
Solving chore-related tensions between young adult roommates by creating a digitized chore management system that alleviates struggles around planning, maintenance, and accountability.
my Role
As the product designer, my task was to navigate the current state of household chore systems and get on the ground level with young adults living with roommates. My responsibilities include user research, journey mapping, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing.
Company
Chorganized
Timeline
June 01, 2024 - June 20, 2024
It's just chores but…
Chores and cleanliness is the most common conflict point for people living in cohabitation. Between busy schedules, conflicting expectations, and a lack of accountability, tension becomes inevitable.
While some roommates are able to set up traditional chore systems through charts, assigned responsibility, or unspoken rules, they are difficult to maintain and enforce. Since there are no concrete motivations or guidelines, chores are often forgotten or ignored.
Why does this happen?
Roommates often do not have clear expectations surrounding chores and find it difficult to hold each other accountable. Young adults don't love the idea of parenting after their roommates, whom they want to remain friendly with. The ineffective communication leads to prolonged tensions and avoidance between roommates, along with a resentment that builds beneath the surface.
What can I do as a product designer?
How might we foster a sense of teamwork and cooperation in order to achieve a harmonious household dynamic where roommates no longer have to deal with conflicts surrounding chores?
Solution
Everyone does their share
An automated chore list is evenly distributed among roommates each week, ensuring that everyone shares the workload equally on a rotating basis. I used color coding to personalize the chores, helping each individual take responsibility for their tasks.
Create and manage chore list
Add, edit, and delete chores as needed. Keeping track of all chores means everyone remembers what needs to get done. This can help households planning and reduce argument as expectations are clear on what needs to get done.
It’s purely business
The app will keep a thorough record of what chores were finished and who has yet to finish their tasks. The idividual will no longer have to play the bad cop!
Problem Discovery
Starting broad, I conducted surveys and market research to see where the most common roommates conflicts stemmed from. Amongst all the issues, there was one that stood out most prominently.
56% of respondents on the survey reported that conflicts over chores and cleanliness are a common source of tension in shared living situations. Equipped with this data, I decided to focus on pursuing this particular problem.
While many households tried to establish a system, the participation was short lived and began to decline as members are preoccupied with other life matters. This suggests that the most impactful solution would be one that eliminates the mental load of maintaining a chore system.
Approaching a Solution
Identifying the point of decline provided insight into what preventive measures required to prevent chore incompletion Roommates need a system that handles the logistic of the chore system, which in turn allows them to focus solely on finishing the chores.
A dedicated section for adding subtasks ensures no steps are overlooked and the entire chore is completed thoroughly. This allows everyone to follow set standards and prevents tasks from being unintentionally left incomplete.
By establishing a system that automatically handles agreed-upon rewards and consequences, it removes the burden of one person having to enforce accountability or act as the enforcer.
If someone appears to have missed a chore, you can send them a gentle reminder with a note. This allows for easy communication specific to chores without feeling awkward or out of place.
Final Screens
View and edit your chores as needed on the Chores page. Never forget to add even the most obscure chores to your rotation!
Chorganized will remind you to finish chores before the deadline, and make it very obvious when you've missed one. No longer do you have to write notes for yourself or put it manually into a calendar!
Send a friendly reminder to your roommates by Nudging them to finish their chores! There's also a notes function send a little message with more details. It'll be way less intimidating to address chore related issues through the chores app than addressing them in person or through text messages.
Another Direction
Another angle I tried exploring was gamifying the chore system through personal cleaning robots avatars. Through the pixel currency rewarded upon completing chores, participants can decorate their robots with items to show off their efforts. I wanted to challenge myself in making the app more fun and therefore intriguing for users.
However, due to time constraints, I found that fleshing this idea out to it full potential would be difficult. Usability testing also revealed that while participants did find the idea fun, they felt it was distracting from the overall goal of managing chore systems, especially for their busy lifestyles. They also felt the incentive and accountability aspect was not strong enough to motivate them to complete their chores.