Redesigning Goalden Hour's Tasks feature to apply to schoolwork
Overview

The problem

In 2021, Goalden Hour launched its beta app. Since launch, Goalden Hour users have shared their need for the Tasks feature to be more conducive to the "step by step" format of completing schoolwork tasks.
Goalden Hour is an all-in-one productivity tool to help people manage their whole lives in one place. While its target market is college students, the main task feature was not useful in laying out schoolwork tasks to be completed.
I designed an improved Tasks feature that allowed Goalden Hour users to break down their tasks into more manageable subtasks.
The outcome

My solution enabled users to break down larger tasks into more manageable subtasks, in order to manage their time more effectively.

My contribution

I led the full design of this case study.
3 Nexus 5X phone screens, with Goalden Hour mockups on the screens, on a dark orange background.
Discovery
Most productivity apps do not allow the user to customize their tasks in a way that makes sense to them. Users express that they are missing the ability to break down their tasks or goals into smaller more manageable tasks.

There is a business opportunity in redesigning the task feature in order to allow the user to create subtasks within each task, which will allow Goalden Hour to market "ability to beat procrastination."

College students expressed the need to break down tasks into smaller subtasks in order to successfully complete the overall task.

As a result, students abandon Goalden Hour and return to their previous method of tracking their tasks and the necessary subtasks.
Tying it all together
My goal was to redesign the task feature to allow Goalden Hour target users to break tasks into subtasks.

Goalden Hour task feature focuses too heavily on the individual task and doesn't allow for the addition or customization of subtasks necessary in order to complete the task.
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How might we be able to help students break down daunting tasks (like studying for an exam or writing an essay) into bite sized chunks and follow through on them?
User interviews
To gain a deeper understanding of the problem, I interviewed 6 college or graduate school students. The goal was to identify if and how students were breaking down schoolwork tasks.

Two key findings stood out:
Here's what users had to say:
When faced with large tasks to complete, users find breaking down tasks into subtasks to be a crucial step in accomplishing daunting tasks. Currently, the Goalden Hour Tasks feature only allows users to create overall tasks.​​​​​​​
Information architecture & wireframing
Goalden Hour Storymap

Click to enlarge storymap

I looked at 8 mobile applications that similarly allowed goal management and breakdown.
Competitor's logos: Habitica: Gamified Taskmanager, Tanger: Self-care & Goals, Fabulous-Daily Routine Planner, Trello: organize anything!, TickTick: To-Do List & Calendar, Actions by Moleskin Studio, Todoist: To-Do Lists & Tasks
Through analyzing each of these apps, I found that:
4 out of 8 apps:
- Tag tasks/subtasks with priority level, difficulty, etc
- Set reminders/notifications
- Categorize tasks into groups
3 out of 8 apps:
- Show progress of sub tasks towards large task
1 of 8 apps:
- Allow attachments
- Save goals as templates for future duplication/use

Armed with the information of what competitors allow users to customize while creating tasks and subtasks, I was able to hone in on specific aspects of my story map for the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and began sketching for Goalden Hour.

My ultimate focus was on:
- Identifying large tasks
- Breaking the tasks into the smaller "chunks" (or subtasks) that each large task consists of
- Customizing tasks and subtasks with useful information such as due dates, priority level, and reminders, as well as adding links and attachments for future use
Minimum Viable Product Storymap

Click to enlarge MVP storymap

Sketches
This sketch explores the "new task" and "new subtask" screens, with text fields for name, due date (open calendar), add class/category tag, add priority tag, add subtask, and description/notes.
This sketch explores the "new task" and "new subtask" screens, with text fields for name, due date (open calendar), add class/category tag, add priority tag, add subtask, and description/notes.
This sketch explores a potential "to-do list" or "calendar" view, where users would be able to view and reorder tasks.
This sketch explores a potential "to-do list" or "calendar" view, where users would be able to view and reorder tasks.
This sketch explores a potential "sorting/viewing tasks/subtasks" feature where users are able to view tasks and subtasks by different characteristics such as tags, priority, and due date.
This sketch explores a potential "sorting/viewing tasks/subtasks" feature where users are able to view tasks and subtasks by different characteristics such as tags, priority, and due date.
After sketching and wireframing, I created two low fidelity prototypes to usability test. The first lo-fi prototype focused on creating a task and subtask, while the second prototype focused on marking tasks and subtasks complete.​​​​​​​
Lo-Fi Prototypes
Usability Test Insights
After sketching, wireframing, and building out two low fidelity prototypes (each with a different scenario for the user), I conducted usability tests with 5 college and graduate school students. In the first scenario, users were tasked with first creating a task ("Essay") and subtask ("Write Outline") and then adding in necessary information for each. In the second scenario, the user was tasked with creating another "Essay" subtask called "Proofread," marking the subtask "Proofread" complete, and then marking the overall task "Essay" complete. 
These usability tests brought a few insights to light:
Lack of hierarchy: Cause for misunderstanding
When asked to mark a subtask as "complete," 80% of participants struggled with understanding the differentiation between tasks and subtasks, and incorrectly marked the entire task as "complete." This is because the definition of task and subtask is unclear. Additional hierarchy in UI could solve this.
Task/Subtask Links: Only necessary for some users
While creating a new subtask and inputting its details, 60% of users noted that they personally would not include links on the app, as there would likely be too many to manually input and keep track of in this format. However, 40% of users noted that the links field was a positive for them and they would utilize it.
Overall Flow: Easy to understand
100% of users noted that the tasks and subtasks features were easy to follow, as fields were marked simply and appropriately and in an order users would naturally follow.
The Solution: Subtask Creation
When creating a task in the Tasks feature, users look to break down that task further into manageable subtasks. By allowing users to create subtasks within the Tasks feature, they are able to identify the steps necessary in order to complete the task, and then track their road to completion while managing their time effectively.
Impact
The ability to add subtasks in the task feature allows users to break down their tasks in a way that makes sense to them, encouraging users to return to the Goalden Hour app to check and maintain progress towards their larger goals.
In Retrospect
If I had more time to add features to the solution, I would have included the ability to color-code each task. I found users were interested in this during interviews, and this would provide an even more customizable Tasks feature, which would allow for a potentially clearer calendar view. Additionally, I would have created screens to view all upcoming tasks and subtasks on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, for users to better keep track of what work is on their schedule in the near future. I found in my initial interviews that users are currently doing this in an analog manner, by writing out daily, weekly, and monthly do to lists by hand. Finally, I would have created screens where users would be able to sort their tasks and subtasks by various factors: due dates, priority tags, goals, etc. 

Through the UX process (specifically evident in the storymapping and sketching phases) I found that I was perhaps over-ambitious in the many features I hoped to include in my solution to the problem (How might we be able to help students break down daunting tasks (like studying for an exam or writing an essay) into bite sized chunks and follow through on them?). When I attempted to work through all of these features, I realized I was losing sight of the problem, and in turn diluting the efficacy of all the features I was working on. With this realization, I was able to refocus and hone back in on the most important features necessary to solve the problem at hand: the creation of tasks and subtasks. 

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