New Design Concept

Move it Mousepad

Summary: TLDR

Leaders at Prime Digital Academy needed a new, more meaningful welcome gift for their new Full Stack Engineering students. After conducting research to better understand needs of full stack students, a key insight emerged. Developers often experience negative health effects related to a career that requires so many hours seated at a desk. Additionally, the intense focus that the job requires makes it difficult for developers to remember to take movement breaks throughout the day. From this idea, the Move it Mouse concept was born. A computer mouse that lights up and vibrates in customizable intervals, aims to alert (subtly, yet noticeably) users to pause and take a movement break. Usability testing revealed that Full Stack students loved the overall concept of a movement reminder tool and felt they needed something like it, but already had a favorite mouse that they would be unlikely to stop using. Thus, the concept pivoted to a related product with similar features. The Move it MousePAD is a universal pad that works with any mouse (or no mouse at all) by providing a haptic and visual reminder to developers to take a well earned break, when they can.

Role:

UX Research & Designer

Methods:

AEIOU Research, Heuristic Evaluation, Desirability Testing, Think Aloud Protocol

Client:

Prime Digital Academy

Tools:

Figma, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Zoom, Leonardo’s Basement

The Problem

Prime Digital Academy, an educational institution in Minneapolis, transforms students’ lives through an immersive experience that prepares them for new, life changing careers in tech. I was given the opportunity to design a new welcome gift for Prime’s Full Stack Engineering students. Currently receiving a water bottle on their first day of class, the gift has proven to be less usable and meaningful (through Heuristic Analysis) than intended. I aimed to design a new gift,  one that Full Stack students would use often and that would aid in Prime’s true mission, to transform student’s lives for the better. 

Research

My first step in creating a gift that would be both useful and meaningful, specifically for Full Stack students, was to better understand them and their needs. Using the AEIOU method, I observed students’ work and learning environments by watching videos of students in their home offices, as well as exploring the Full Stack classrooms on campus at Prime. 

Additionally, I attended a virtual event focused on maintaining physical health in the context of software and tech. The speaker and several attendees shared their concerns and experiences surrounding this topic.

Through these experiences, I was able to gain valuable insights about the unique wants and needs of the Full Stack students.

Key Insights:

  • Software engineers are concerned about the negative health effects that sitting at a desk all day might have on their health. 

    • They are looking for ways to incorporate more movement and feel better

  • They spend many hours sitting at their desk (40+ a week)

    • This takes a toll on their bodies

  • They have a mixture of many things on their desks/in their office

    • items needed for doing their job (ie. multiple monitors, mice, notebooks, post its)

    • personal artifacts that bring joy or balance (plants, picture frames, fidgets)

Design Concepts 

With a much clearer understanding of my user’s needs, I created three possible design concepts that fit with the user goals.

  1. Nifty Notebook- A customizable notebook that would both aid with organization of tools (post its, pen, paper) and bring joy and balance. 

  2. Prime Pen Pal- A fidget pen for more than just note taking, that would also increase focus, productivity, and provide students with a sense of community.

  3. Move it Mouse- A computer mouse that lights up/vibrates in customizable intervals to remind students to get up and move throughout the day.

All three design concepts were centered around key user values:

  • The importance of focus and productivity

  • The importance of balance between work and personal life

  • The importance of movement in a job that requires sitting and intense focus for long periods of time

Which product to move forward with?

In collaboration with 16 other UX researchers, we implemented a voting system to collectively decide which product would have the most meaningful impact on our Full Stack Students. Move it Mouse was chosen as that product, and I moved forward by creating a low fidelity prototype.

Prototype

When creating the Move it Mouse prototype, I thought about which key functions I wanted to include, given the limited timeframe and low fidelity nature of it. I decided it was important that the prototype could light up, to simulate that key feature during user testing. I also wanted users to see how they would adjust the customizable settings, even if they couldn’t physically slide or push actual buttons. The exact shape, size and technical specifications of the final product were less important for purpose of this low fidelity prototype.

Light not engaged

Light engaged

Light not engaged

Light engaged

Simulated customizable settings

Usability Testing

With the prototype complete, I was ready to move on to the essential process of testing it with users.

  • Three test sessions (2 remote and 1 in person) were conducted

  • Three users (2 full stack students and one Prime staff member)

  • I also conducted an additional session with a senior software developer to get additional insights from users working in the field

  • The Desirability Testing method was used:

    • I wanted to get an idea of how the concept/design made users feel

    • I felt that it would meet my evaluation goals despite the low fidelity of the prototype

    • Users chose 3-5 adjectives to describe their feelings about the product/interaction after completing tasks with the prototype.

  • I also asked users to think aloud as they completed the tasks, to gain more information about immediate thoughts, questions and reactions.

  • View the full evaluation protocol

Evaluation Goals

  1. To better understand how I can make this product most meaningful and usable for Full Stack Students.

  2. Gain insights around the ease of which users can use and manipulate the product and how they feel about its impact on their experience

  3. Identify.. Possible pain points or features that need to be adjusted (or features they really like)

    1. Related to manipulating the mouse and knowing how to adjust the settings (simulation)

    2. The overall impact of the mouse on the user

Evaluation Results

Users had overwhelmingly positive reactions to the concept and prototype.

During Desirability Testing, participants chose:

Users said:

“Oh I actually love this.. with the timer, so it’s like intervals of working and moving without having to look back at the timer while trying to work.”

“Sometimes I’m just focusing so intensely that I have no idea how much time has passed without me moving, this would really help with that.”

23 POSITIVE Adjectives:

  • Useful (x3)

  • Innovative (x2)

  • Effective (x2)

  • Understandable

  • Engaging

  • Useful (x2)

  • Relevant (x2)

  • Usable (x2)

  • Customizable (x2)

  • familiar

  • Understandable (x2) 

  • Helpful

  • Simplistic

  • Accessible

1 NEGATIVE Adjective:

  • Annoying

“However, the annoying factor is minimized by the subtleness of the reminder, and would be outweighed by the benefits of taking the movement break.”

Users liked:

  • The subtleness of the reminder

    • it wouldn’t completely disrupt focus/flow

  • Users thought it was noticeable enough to get their attention

    • Combination of haptic and light

    • unlike prototype, the whole mouse could light up

    • liked that the mouse would stay lit until user presses the done button

  • 3/4 users rated the usability of the adjustable settings as very easy to use

  • 3/4 users said they’d be likely to use this product and felt it would have a positive impact

Users didn’t like:

  • The possibility of not noticing it light up

    • The low fidelity prototype only had the front part of the mouse glowing, would need to be the whole mouse

  • Having to stop using their favorite mouse

    • This would most likely cause them not to use the product

Final Solution

The final product design is a pivot from the original concept, and an idea that came straight from the mouth of one of the full stack testing participants.

The “Move it MousePAD”


“I’m very particular about my mouse, so unless it was exactly the same model as I have, I wouldn’t feel compelled to use it as much. I’d be tempted to say a mousepad or something that still gets the point across.”

Same key functions & benefits

  • A subtle, yet noticeable way to remind users to get up & move

  • Light & Vibration component- improved visibility due to larger size

  • Customizable settings 

More Versatile

  • Can be used with any mouse- users can still use their favorite!

  • Can be used without a mouse and still be viewable on a users desk

Next Steps & Learning

My next step would be to prototype the mousepad version and do usability testing to determine what new needs or challenges might arise with the pivot to a different product. 

I learned a lot about creating user centered products through this process, and the idea of always keeping the users’ needs at the forefront. Design ideation will lead to many possibilities and changes both big and small. I feel that the most important thing we can do as designers is truly listen to our users with an open mind and let them, along with our insights gained from research and testing, guide our design decisions.