Week 2 - Homework

Homework                                                                                  
Comparative Analysis - compare competitors products
Personas - each person do 1 persona




Competitive Analysis                                                                  
Astrid - Amy
TeuxDeux - Renee
Reminders - Isaiah
AwesomeNote - Nick
Task Radar - Kyle
Wunderlist - Cindy

Information needed for the Analysis:

App Name About the product Features Design     -Layout     -Color Scheme     -Typography Usability     -Organization     -Navigation     -Labeling

Kyle
Task Radar

About the product:
Product Presentation - Home screen shows tasks in horizontal positions. The priority the user sets on a task is placed at the top. User can switch to radar mode showing tasks on radar. The radar shows tasks as a dot with the most important and upcoming deadlines being the closest to the center.

Features
Page Type – Dynamic
Media Types – Icons and sounds

Design:
Layout 
Tasks are laid out in horizontal columns. The add new task is located on the top right of the user’s screen as a + symbol. The radar layout takes up a large portion of the screen making submarine radar noises while scanning tasks.

Color Scheme
Home page is almost all white. The only colors present are the ones next to the tasks varying on the priority of the task (green low, orange medium and red high). The radar view is a large green radar that scans and the dots (tasks) that show up are different colors (again changing on the priority of the task).

Typography
Simple san serif type throughout. The type is very easy to read.

Usability
Organization
 Task Radar has fairly simple organization. Click + button to add task (button is easy to spot). View all tasks and when they are do in a single column grid. Can click the radar button at top to switch task mode.

Navigation
Navigation is at the top of screen. User can choose one of three options: radar mode, add new task and sort tasks by category.

Labeling 
There is a label above the tasks that says what category the user is looking at. There are also three small icons at the top and are not overly obvious what they stand for except the + for new task.

Cindy

Wunderlist

About The Application:
A To-Do list application available for the iphone, ipad, android, windows, mac. It has a simple interface designed to be compatible between your computer, online and on your phone. Just create a list and add tasks to that list. Lists may be shared between multiple users.

Features:
-Works on multiple platforms and shares information. So update it on your phone and see it on your computer.
-Can create multiple lists and add tasks to each list
-To do lists may be shared with other wunderlist users
-Notes can be added to tasks
-Deadlines may be added to specific tasks
-Task are checked when completed and removed from the list
-A task may have a star added for priority
-Tasks can be sent via email or printed

Design:
The design is a simple 2 pane window with tasks on the left hand side and the to-do lists on the right hand side. Click on a To-Do List and it will bring up the tasks in the left hand window pain against the wood panel background.

Usability:
Organization
The list of to-do's on the right hand side are simply organized by the date they are organized. In the same way, tasks created for that list are listed by date they were created. In order to add a task at the top of the list, a star is clicked to add priority and sent to the top of the list.

Navigation
The navigation is created on the right hand side where the list of to-do's are. There are some navigational elements that are not used on an everyday basis on the bottom where you can see past tasks by date.

Labeling
When a to-do list is clicked, the title of the list is placed at the top followed by an input bar to add a task. The right hand pane holds the labels/title of each to-do list.



Nick
Awesome Notes

About the product
This product allows users to do a variety of productivity task including:
quick notes, calendar, to do check list, journal, folders with different subjects, pictures.

Features
quick notes, calendar, to do check list, journal, folders with different subjects, pictures.

Design
Layout
rows of subjects that you create that look like real folders.

Color Scheme
wood is the background. The color scheme is customizable , you can have a different color for each folder

Typography
standard iphone font

Usability
Organization
the organization is customizable, you can arrange your folders, or notes as you wish. The calendar journal and quick note icons are at the top

Navigation
there is setting and preference icons at the bottom and your calendar journal and quick note icons are at the top

Labeling
Labeling is customizable, you chose your names for folders and notes.



Renee
TeuxDeux


About the product
What sets TeyxDeux apart from other to do apps is that it is purposely simplified with few extra features. The idea was to build a bare-bones, but visually compelling and highly usable to-do app.

Features
- week overview
- check off, delete, or move tasks
- someday bucket
- jump to a date in the future
- automatic rollover of unchecked tasks
- edit existing tasks
- sync with mobile version (iPhone app)
- Multiple accounts (iPhone app only)

Design
Color Scheme- Black, White, Grey, Red. Very simple, besides black and white the only color used is red.
Organization - You only have 2 categories to write to - Someday Bucket or Week Overview. When you do not complete a project it is automatically added to the next day.
Labeling - no labeling

Usability
TeuxDeux is designed to be extremely simple to use. Color is used to show what day it is and the current list items. The browser based version and the mobile app version are pretty much the same thing. It is very easy to use and fun to navigate through the different day's to do lists.


Isaiah
Apple Reminders

About:
Reminders is a fairly simple, lightweight but effective task management application built
into iOS5 on the iPhone.

Features:
It allows the user to input tasks and other various reminders manually through typing, or
by using the voice assistant; Siri. Users can divide to-dos and reminders by creating
separate categories or pages to better organize the lists. Once the user has finished a
task, they simply touch the checkbox and the application moves the item from that list to
the completed list. This allows the user to feel good and keep track of everything that
they’ve accomplished. There is a simplified list view when you open the app that gives
the user the title of the reminder or event, but the user can touch the title and bring up
additional information on it including: dates, time, notes, priority, and how often to
reminder the user.

DESIGN:

Layout
The app is encompassed by a dark grey texture acting as a border for the list. The title
of each reminder category is larger than the list items for hierarchy purposes and
colored red. There are three buttons at the top of the screen, the first being the master
“lists” button that shows the user all of the list categories that they’ve created. The next
two buttons sit next to each other centered on the screen that allow the user to organize
the screen either by individual list or by date (which combines all the lists together).

Color
The color on the Reminders app is well done. It has been kept to a minimum and kept to
neutral colors outside of the list title, which is red. This really helps to set a clear
hierarchy of the screen. The list page themselves are the color of paper, with a paper
texture laid in to simulate the look and feel of an actual physical agenda keeper. There
is a small thin vertical red line down the left side of the screen that separates the
checkboxes from the list items. The buttons, when highlighted, are turned off white
against the dark grey background to make it easy for the user to determine which one is
highlighted.

Typography
Just like everything Apple, the typography is Myriad pro. This is a san serif that has high
readability and legibility. The typography only changes in color and size depending on
what that type is used for.

USABILITY:

Organization
The organization of this app is kept fairly simple. You have the list category title at the
top of the screen, larger and in red. Underneath that is simply a vertical list of all the
user’s list items, this can be scrolled through using the devices touch screen. Every list
item has a checkbox on the left side, separated by a thin double line. When the user
touches the master list icon (top left of screen) it gives them the options to add, modify,
or delete list categories, which again, are displayed in a vertical fashion.

Navigation
Due to the unique smooth abilities of the physical device (also made by the same
designers), navigation is rather intuitive. If the user wants to scroll down the page to
view all list items, they simply touch the screen and move their finger in a upward
motion. If the user is viewing the lists by date, there is a date bar that appears at the
bottom. The user can choose a date by touching that particular date, touching the left
and right arrow, or by scrolling through the dates with their finger.

Labeling
Theres not much to say about this part of the usability. The labeling is kept simple, as
with everything else in the app. Simple, yet effective design. I’ve covered the
checkboxes for each list item. I’ve covered the larger and in red category titles, the top
display buttons, etc.







Personas                                                                                    
Age group 18-30

• 18 works at a Salon - Isaiah

• 30 Business woman who hates smart phones but her work requires that she use the app. She works for a gas company - Cindy

• 26 Male working for fathers business, doing side projects - Kyle

• 24 Male solider from Iraq who lost an arm and starting an awareness group - Nick

• 28 year old female with visual impairment (color blind). She is a homemaker with 3 children. She needs a reminder list to keep track of appointments. - Renee

Information needed for the persona:

Name Marital Status Age Occupation Education Hobbies Personal Details/Description (A paragraph about that person)  Wants (Make a list of what they want out of a To Do app)

Headshots for the personas

Airika Manwoman

Andrea Singleton

Lisa Miller

Brad Sacco

Drake Smith

Personas

Renee's Persona
Lisa Miller
Married
28

Occupation:
Homemaker

Education:
College Graduate - Bachelors of English

Hobbies
Cooking, Gardening, Pilates, Steampunk Cosplay

Description:
Lisa has been married for 7 years and is a mother to 3 young children. She is a stay at home mom and homeschools her youngest child who has learning disabilities. Lisa has blue-yellow colorblindness and has to ask her older children to sometimes help her distinguish certain colors. She is very active and manages her family's schedules and finances.

Wants:
• Wants a way to remember appointments for each of the family members
• Would like to have some items on the list repeat every month.
• Needs to be able to add nested list elements like a shopping list to the to do list.



Kyle's Persona
Brad Sacco
Single
26

Occupation:
Works for father's investment business doing side projects.

Education:
College Graduate - BA in Marketing

Hobbies:
Softball, Running, Gym, Piano

Description:
Brad has always planned on following in his father's footsteps. His father recruited him out of college 2 years ago. He lives in an apartment with his best friend who he hired to work below him. They both go for runs and talk business. Brad is a driven guy who left his partying days behind him. He is still single because his career is taking priority.

Wants:
- Wants to schedule appointments with clients
- Wants to communicate with his small marketing team
- Wants to be able to oversee his team's progress
- Wants a notes section so he can have detailed descriptions of tasks

Cindy's Persona
Andrea Singleton
Single
30

Occupation:
Andrea works at the Gas Company in the pipeline division overseeing multiple employees.

Education:
College Graduate - BA



Hobbies
Reading, running, spending time with her boyfriend and blogging.

Description:
She is in charge of updating multiple databases as well as keeping everyone up-to-date with changes in procedures.
Andrea is single and living with her best friend in an apartment. She has a boyfriend whom she loves spending time with. She lives in very close proximity to her family because they are all very close.

Wants:
Andrea absolutely hates using her phone for anything other than phone calls. She has noticed that many of her family members are stuck looking at their phones rather than participating in good conversation. So she has made it a point to use her phone solely for phone calls. She is required to use a group collaboration app for her phone.
- Something that is easy to use
- Ability to go in and out of the app in a snap.




Nick's Persona
Drake Smith
Married
26
Occupation

 project manger

Education

 USC

Hobbies

 Racket ball

Description:

Drake is a successful business leader. He enjoys hiking and playing racket ball with his friends. At work he leads teams of 5-15 in group projects. He fines that it is difficult to cola berate with everyone at the same time and wishes there was an app to help him communicate out of the office with his team.

Wants
To help communicate with his team out side the office.
To tell where everyone is at on their part of the project


Isaiah's Persona
Airika Manwoman
Single
18

Occupation:
Hair Stylist

Education:
High School / Certified by Paul Mitchell

Hobbies:
Styling, Coffee Shops, Maltese puppies, yoga

Description:
Airika is all about change, nothing can stay the same. She’s only 18 but has lived a
rather full life so far. Right after high school she pursued her dream of working in a hair
salon making people look beautiful. She is the youngest of four siblings, all sisters. Her
future goals are to one day open up her own salon in LA and contract with advertising
agencies doing hair for photoshoots.

Wants:
• an easy to read, easy to navigate task system to keep up with all her appointments
• wants a system to be able to delegate salon appointments to different stylists
• wants an application that keeps her up to date with reminders, push notifications, and
alerts in case she forgets
• wants a system that will allow her to not only track her professional life, but her
personal life as well.