WHY a household management app?
I currently live in a house with seven adult family members and it is often overwhelming managing all of our schedules, meals, finances, etc. Recently, we figured out a meal planning system (which I incorporated a more complex version of into this app), but there are so many other aspects to keeping a household running smoothly. I wanted to create an app that would incorporate all of these aspects so that it could not only benefit households like mine, but would be universally useful for all types of households.
USER Research
I conducted a series of in-person interviews with parents who have kids of varying ages. In these interviews, I asked them what are different aspects that they struggle with while trying to manage their family and household. I used these responses to ideate features that can be put into an app that can help make the family management challenge more streamlined for not only parent(s), but for child(ren) as well.
Our Services
User research - MAin Problems
1
Too many calendars
Each family member often uses a different type of calendar to keep track of their upcoming events, making it hard to know each other’s schedules. This app will combine everyone’ calendar into one.
2
Going over budget
Many people have a difficult time budgeting their money and then when kids come into the picture, it makes things that much more difficult. This app will have a finance section that will help users realistically allocate their money.
3
Worrying about meals
The burden of cooking and grocery shopping for the family often falls onto one person. This app will allow all users to add to the shopping list and will organize the meal planning in hopes of removing some of the mental load from the cook.
4
Too many to-do lists
To do lists are usually dispersed between the notes app on the phone, the back of junk mail envelopes, or whatever scrap paper that’s laying around. This app will have a to do list section so that all tasks are kept in one place.
SOLUTIons
Mockups of my design
IMPACT
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, "[c]hildren are engaging in more extracurricular activities like lessons and sports than they did more than two decades ago". With children being more involved in extracurricular activities, the demand for parents' attention and responsibility for getting them to these activities is directly correlated. Parents need a way to stay on top of their own activities while keeping track of their children's activities, and this household management app would allow them to keep their schedules organized while also offering other features that should take off some of the cognitive load of the parents. For example, the weekly menu and shopping list can be a time consuming and energy draining process, but with this being included in the app, parents don't have to do as much thinking, since most organizational processes are already embedded in the app.
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According to a Bank of America Institute survey, roughly half of consumers in the third quarter of 2024 said they were living paycheck to paycheck. This is a rise from about 35% in early 2022. In this economy, it is difficult to barely even scrape by with the money that we have, so it is important to budget and keep track of spending. The household management app takes this struggle into consideration and attempts to improve users' spending habits so that they don't have to be as worried about their finances.