Spotless
A task tracking app that helps roommates who struggle with sharing household chores.
Let’s Talk About Cleaning With Roommates
I spoke with 4 people currently living with roommates to understand how they manage household tasks. My goal was to learn about their frustrations, what’s working, and what can be improved.
Uncovering Communication Issues
• All 4 participants admitted to bottling things up to avoid confrontation
• 3 out of 4 participants felt frustrated that they were cleaning more than their roommates
• 2 out of 4 participants said they are more likely to clean when their roommates notice and thank them
Design To Bridge The Communication Gap
Based on the interview findings, I came to the conclusion that the goal should be; to give recognition to roommates who are helping out and make roommates who aren’t pulling their weight aware that they could be doing more. The app should handle confronting those who aren’t helping out by sending cleaning reminders.
The App Must Have
• Point system for completing tasks
• Shared household to do list
• Like/comment on completed tasks
• Push notifications/reminders
Color Considerations
It was important that the color palette helped to give the app a cheerful
mood without feeling loud or overwhelming.
Home Screen Actions
The incentive for completing tasks is earning points and seeing how helpful you’ve been compared to other roommates. The selected layout prioritizes viewing roommate point values at first glance. The to do list, completed tasks and monthly roommate overview are all available from the home screen and can be accessed in one tap.
Push Notifications
Users will get notified when their roommates have completed a task or if they are sent when a message within the app. If a user has not completed a task in a while, they will receive a reminder to help out.
Add, Delete, or Edit Tasks
Users are able to edit or delete tasks in the to do list by swiping on the desired task. New tasks can be added by selecting the “+” button on the Home screen.
