Design Sprint - Mobile operating System for Kids
This project was given as a part of design sprint where the we have to finish the project in 5 days i.e. from Dec 7 -Dec 11. Each day we had to complete the given task.
Given Objective
Currently kids are using the original operating systems that comes with smartphones. We need a better solution for the operating system which makes its appealing, easy and secure for children
to use smartphones.
DAY 1 Tuesday
Day 1 was all about user research where we had to approach the people and the kids and get to know their problem, concerns and opinions on the usage of mobile phones by children. I created a survey to know answer for some of the key questions around how kids use cell phones. I have explored when parents typically buy their kids a phone and the reasons why. I also got an idea about how much time on average per week kids spend on their phones. I also got some suggestions on what feature do they require for safe usage of phones by the kids.
User Research
I got to know the main reasons for which parents give mobile to the kids, which are 83.3 % give for education and entertainment purpose and 50% give for the purpose of staying in contact which their child
and to track them
In the 6 people I surveyed 2 children use mobile less that 5 hrs. per week, 2 children use mobile phone for more that 20 hrs. and 33.37 % use mobile phone between 5-20 hrs.
User Interview
All the people I surveyed said that usage of mobile phones by the kids are equally useful and harmful. I also got few suggestions from the people on the feature they would expect in the new operating system like Age limit, Child lock, usage time alerts, restricting unwanted contents etc.
I also interviewed couple of the parents and children's about the mobile phone usage. I opinions the received where
Difficult to monitor the child activity on mobile
Making use of useful content on internet without getting misled
Alert on the screen time usage
Pain in eyes duo to more screen time
General Research
I also made some general research one effects of the mobile phone usage. There where both positive and negative effects. Lack of sleep, limiting creative mind, addition and expose to violence where some of the negatives.
Some of the positive applications where using as guide, locating or tracking a child, very helpful during pandemic.
DAY 2 Wednesday
The second day was all about:
Mind mapping
mood boarding
explanation of the idea
Mind mapping
Sketching
I have put down all my ideas related to the features and the styles of the interface in the operating system
Mood Boarding
created a mood board to get design inspiration on various interface styles, icons styles, layouts, typography and color pallet
The idea
"Pupil Operating System"
"Pupil" means person who is taught by another, especially a school child or student. This operating system is created for the children between 6-14 years. The main purpose of this operating system is to ensure safe usage of mobile phone by children. Pupil operating system has student friendly interface. It also contains many safety features to ensure safe, guarded and productive usage of mobile by the child.
Features of pupil operating system
The pupil os can be switched between existing one or this os can be installed as main os.
This operating system initially must be set up by a parent by his/her email id
The parent should set certain rules like screen time alert, app access control by adding apps. Parent can delete it any time form the os.
Parents can also track/monitor what apps are being used when
Once the student start using the phone, timer starts and phone locks itself at the end time set by the parent.
When sharing personal information of child the parents will be alerted
Any activity done by the student on the os cannot be deleted without parent consent.
The other feature is parents can track students academic progress and interact
with the teacher.
There will be option of playing creative games, watching movies and access to various learning apps chosen by parent.
he interface design will have pleasant color pallet, clean solid rounded buttons and focused clean layout.
DAY 3 Thursday
The 3rd day tasks was to :
Create Sketches
Prototype
Explanation of Solution
Sketching the layout
Sketched out the rough layout of the operating system interface
Wire Framing
Converting the rough sketch to wireframe model to get more detailed view.
Choosing Color Pallet
I went with the colors which are visually pleasing and liked by the kids.
The two typography styles I used where milky clean and kingthings clarity. I choose this typeface because of its round shape and adaptability towards the theme of the app
Sample prototype Screens
These are the initial sample screens. The wireframe was converted into the prototype working model.
Explanation of Idea
The pupil os can be accessed by pressing power button or you can make a choice during
booting of the phone.
Once the pupil os is selected it loads up with the logo.
The next screen will be welcome screen with a option "I'm a Kid " or "I'm a Parent".
During first time usage a child can't access his/her interface. Any parent must set up the child's
profile initially.
During setup, the parent must login with her credentials, parent can sign up for new account or continue with existing one.
In the next step the parent must create child's profile by adding child's credentials like name, age and date of birth.
The next process is to set safety controls for the kid like app access, screen time control, setting up suitable content for the child etc.
Once the sign in process and parent control setting is done. The home screen interface appears. In the home screen interface the child can explore various of apps. There will also be screen time display which shows the amount of screen time. Once the bar is full the screen will automatically unlocks itself.
The below two screens are the app screens and learning zone app. The apps screens contains various apps where some of the apps are locked which can't be accessed by the child. The learning zone is the special app of pupil operating system where the topic related to the online school classes are shown.
Mock ups
DAY 4 Friday
The tasks on Friday are
Feedback from target group
Complete Documentation
Reflective analysis
Feedback
I got a feed back on couple of people on the operating system .
Reflective Analysis
This project was a part of design sprint, where we where given brief of the project and was told to come up with the solution in 5 days. This project was a test for us on how fast can we come up with a complete solution in a less time. I leant lot of skills and time management capabilities in doing this project. I leant the process of doing user research. Gathering the ideas, opinions and concerns of different target group and developing a solution was a very interesting process. In the project I leant how to work with photoshop and illustrator in a faster way. Overall this project was complete test of my creativity, time management and the skill of fast thinking.
