HomeGroup
Problem?
HomeGroup is a mobile platform that allows addicts to find honest accountability and connect with their support groups.
• It is confusing, daunting, and hectic to try and find the right support group. • Support groups cannot offer support unless they’re in a meeting. • Addicts cannot find accountability on what can be a very lonely journey.
Our Design Methodology What is Ethnography? Embracing human-centered design means believing that all problems, even the seemingly intractable ones like poverty, gender equality, and clean water, are solvable. Moreover, it means believing that the people who face those problems every day are the ones who hold the key to their answer. Humancentered design offers problem solvers of any stripe a chance to design with communities, to deeply understand the people they’re looking to serve, to dream up scores of ideas, and to create innovative new solutions rooted in people’s actual needs. -IDEO Field Guide For Human Centered Design
Our team chose to follow the Ideo Field Guide to Human-Centered Design. IDEO’s methodology is an expansive and flexible guide that allows designers to select the tools and experiences that meet their circumstances. INSPIRATION In this phase, you’ll learn how to better understand people. You’ll observe their lives, hear their hopes and desires, and get smart on your challenge. IDEATION Here you’ll make sense of everything that you’ve heard, generate tons of ideas, identify opportunities for design, and test and refine your solutions. IMPLEMENTATION Now is your chance to bring your solution to life. You’ll figure out how to get your idea to market and how to maximize its impact in the world.
Insights After researching millennials and addiction for 10 weeks utilizing Contextual Research methods, we found these insights, which drove the execution of our mobile app.
Exposure
Education
Expectations
Not only are we on set to be the most educated generation yet, we are the most knowledgeable about our health and consequences, yet we continue to make bad choices.
Millennials have had high expectations of achievement as they grew up and that expectation is not always being met. This is causing anxiety and a physical dependency on parents into early adulthood.
Individualization We are becoming an increasingly individualized generation. From the way our parents raised us to the way we are legislating. There is a greater focus on the individual.
TV, social media, texting – this technology we have has put a spotlight on drinking, doing drugs, watching porn, and other possibly unhealthy behaviors. Extreme behavior has become more normalized and accepted.
Connections Millennials say they are more connected because of technology, but in many cases, phones get in the way and have entered into very intimate areas of life, sometimes damaging relationships.
Tracker The landing page features the core mechanic of the app – a tracker. The user can log how many days he has been sober and see their progress on a timeline. They can also log the severity of their urges as well as what time those urges appear. After collecting enough data the app will begin to send reminders and motivational messages to the user during the times of biggest temptations.
Gamification of sobriety, rewards with icons and levels
Timeline to view sobriety
Log daily urges
Map Finding groups and meetings for support is at minimum, confusing. In the maps feature of HomeGroup, users can filter groups by addiction, location, time, gender, and program. In addition, they can also quick view each group and read reviews.
Quickview of group rating and location
Filter meetings on time, location, and addiction
Map - Group Quick View In the quick view of each group users can browse the different time each group meets and read reviews current and previous members have left. This gives the user a bit of relief knowing they won’t have to walk in blind to what can be a very nerve-wracking experience. Users can also sync these meetings to their calendar. Most first-timers are recommended 90 meetings in 90 day; that’s a lot of scheduling. The meeting reminders also serve as motivation to go.
Persistent panic button connects to emergency hotline
Browse meeting times and add them to your calendar
My Group - Feed Once users have attended a meeting, they can get approved into their group’s page. The inner navigation features a feed the group members can post to, a discussion board, and a list of meeting times.
Group members can post and comment to the feed
In the feed, group members can share articles, discuss their victories and struggles, and bring up topics from previous or future meetings. Icons instead of pictures to provide privacy and unity
My Group - Feed The feed is also a place for users to find accountability. On the tracker page users had the opportunity to log whether they used or not that day. The app will prompt the user to either celebrate their victory if they did not use or reach out for support if they did use. This feature offers addicts to stay connected even beyond meetings.
Users are encouraged to post whether they used or not
My Group - Discussion Board The discussion board provides an area for group members to have discussions either public or private. This is a place to form connections and learn from each other, even if it is not about addiction. Discussions can be public or private.
My Group - Times The times page of the group page is where users can review meeting times and add meetings to their calendar. There is also an RSVP feature that asks you to alert the group whether you are going to your next meeting or not. It serves as a reminder, provides some accountability, but mainly offers the opportunity to reach to each other if they are not going.
RSVP for the next meeting
View other members who are going
Reading To provide distractions for users if they have urges and to educate them there is a reading feature. They can filter by their interests at the top search bar to see specific topics or view all. Quizzes and surveys are also featured, allowing them to check on their progress and knowledge. The user can save articles they want to read later as well as share articles with their group on the group feed.
Choose what topics you want to see
Save or share articles with the group
Reading To provide distractions for users if they have urges and to educate them there is a reading feature. Every article features illustrations, images, and even quizzes and surveys are available.
Read articles or take quizzes
HomeGroup offers a platform for anonymous groups to stay accountable beyond meetings and encourage consistency. Trackers are available as well as educational and motivational reading.
Meet the Team
Alex DelleMonache Industrial Design Marine Design
Eduardo Dodge Industrial Design
Clayton Gwinnup Industrial Design Furniture Design
Riley Knight Illustration Service Design
Savanna Walker Graphic Design Service Design Motion Design
Sources Brown, Laura Lewis. “When to Introduce Your Child to a Smartphone or Tablet.” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service,
Thank You
Wartella, Ellen A., and Nancy Jennings. “Children and Computers: New Technology. Old Concerns.” The Future of Children, vol. 10, no. 2, 2000, pp. 31–43., www.jstor.org/stable/1602688.
Thank you to the team members, the participants in our research, the member of NA that allowed us into their group, and the people who shared their problems so that we might find a solution.
Hoop, Katrina C. “Comte Unplugged: Using a ‘Technology Fast’ to Teach Sociological Theory.” Teaching Sociology, vol. 40, no. 2, 2012, pp. 158–165., www.jstor.org/stable/41502738.
Thank you to IDEO for providing tools and resources that allowed us to explore and experiment. Thank you to Kwela Hermanns, the one who introduced Contextual Research and Ethnography and for pushing us to embrace the ambiguity and never assume. This project was created in the class Contextual Research Methods, IDUS 215 taught by Professor Sabine Kwela Hermanns Spring Quarter 2017 at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Corgnet, Brice, Antonio M. Espin, and Robert Hernan-Gonzolez. “Creativity and Cognitive Skills among Millennials: Thinking Too Much and Creating Too Little.” Frontiers, 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2016. Akkucuk, U. Mobile Use and Online Preferences of the Millenials: A Study in Yalova. Journal of internet banking and commerce : JIBC 21.1 01 Apr 2016: 1-11. ARRAY Development. 04 Apr 2017. Behrens, William. Managing millenials. Marketing health services 29.1 22 Mar 2009: 19. American Marketing Association. 04 Apr 2017. Warner, Russ. “Who Wastes More Time at Work: Millennials, Gen X’ers or Boomers?” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Feb. 2013. Web. 05 Apr. 2017. Adweek_edit. “Survey: 90% of Millennials Believe Technology Creates More Opportunity.” – Adweek. Adweek, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2017 “Millennials: Technology = Social Connection.” Millennials: Technology = Social Connection. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2017. Sweeney, By Richard. “Millennial Behaviors & Demographics.” (n.d.): n. pag. University Librarian, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2006. Web.
Sources
Sources
Bolser, Karen. Millennials: Multi-Generational Leaders Staying Connected (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
Fry, Richard. “Americans Are Moving at Historically Low Rates, in Part Because Millennials Are Staying Put.” Pew Research Center. N.p., 13 Feb. 2017. Web. 30 May 2017.
Morad, Renee. “Survey: More Than One-Third Of Working Millennials Have A Side Job.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 01 Oct. 2016. Web. 30 May 2017.
Szalavitz, Maia. “Drugs in Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work?” Time. Time Inc., 26 Apr. 2009. Web. 30 May 2017.
Raphelson, Samantha. “Amid The Stereotypes, Some Facts About Millennials.” NPR. NPR, 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 30 May 2017.
Adams, Char. “President Obama and Macklemore Talk About Drug Abuse, Dangers of Addiction in New MTV Documentary.” PEOPLE.com. Time Inc, 10 Oct. 2016. Web. 30 May 2017.
Kingkade, Tyler. “A Record 21.6 Million Millennials Living With Parents.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 01 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 May 2017.
“Alcohol Facts and Statistics.” National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Feb. 2017. Web. 30 May 2017.
Marsh, Sarah. “The Rise of Vegan Teenagers: ‘More People Are into It Because of Instagram’.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 27 May 2016. Web. 23 May 2017.
“Drugs Most Frequently Involved in Drug Overdose Deaths: United States, 2010–2014.” Canadian Journal of Statistics 44.4 (2016): n. pag. National Vital Statistics Reports. 20 Dec. 2016. Web.
Popken, Ben. “Average Legal Pot Buyer Is 37, But Millennials Buy The Most.” NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, 27 July 2016. Web. 30 May 2017.
Experts, Your Tango. “9 Facts You Need To Know About Sex Addiction.” World of Psychology. N.p., 12 July 2014. Web. 30 May 2017.
Trend Team, FONA’s. “Millennials & Alcoholic Beverages.” Millennials & Alcoholic Beverages | FONA International. N.p., 18 Jan. 2016. Web. 30 May 2017.
“State Marijuana Laws in 2017 Map.” Governing. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2017.
Stern, Jake. “Cracked Out and Plugged In: America’s Emerging Culture of Addiction.” New Errands: The Undergraduate Journal of American Studies. N.p., Spring 2015. Web. 30 May 2017. Sallis, Moriah. AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION IN MILLENNIALS. N.p., 3 May 2013. Web. Soat, Molly. “Social Media Triggers a Dopamine High.” AMA. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2017.
Abuse, National Institute on Drug. “Marijuana as Medicine.” NIDA. N.p., Apr. 2017. Web. 30 May 2017.