Mango Sticky Rice

1. Prototype link (Please submit a link to a playable prototype, not a link to your design file)

2. Describe your project (max 150 words)

College students juggle many responsibilities, from looming academic deadlines to neglected creative projects. With distractions everywhere, staying motivated to complete tasks can be tough—especially for students who crave in-person accountability but find working with friends too distracting. Our app, To-Duo, connects students in real life to work side by side, fostering accountability so that students can effectively tackle their to-do lists. The concept is inspired by parallel play, but for productivity— so whether you're studying or crafting, you and your To-Duo partner keep each other on track. In an age where AI tools make it easy for a student to isolate themselves and take last-minute shortcuts while completing their tasks, To-Duo encourages students to spend time fully engaging in their work. Additionally, users have the opportunity to interact with people they usually wouldn't. Our platform helps defeat procrastination, and reinforces the need for human connection in an increasingly AI-driven world.

3. Describe your research process and findings. If you conducted any surveys or interviews, please include the survey form and/or interview questions here. If you conducted secondary research by pulling from online sources, please include a link to your sources. (Max 500 words)

To better understand students' productivity habits, struggles with procrastination, and AI use, we surveyed over 40 college students from various majors and age groups using Google Forms. Our goal was to identify the factors behind procrastination and explore how accountability partners might reduce procrastination and reliance on AI.

One key finding was that many students struggle to make progress on hobbies or creative projects, citing lack of motivation as a common barrier. One respondent shared, "It’s hard for me to motivate myself to start and research everything by myself."

When working independently, 40% (17 students) of respondents reported feeling bored and prone to procrastination. Notably, 76% of students use to-do lists and planners, while 43% work with study groups or friends. This led us to explore how combining these behaviors by working with others and staying organized through to-do lists could help reduce procrastination.

However, when asked about the quality of their study sessions with friends, 74% of respondents mentioned being distracted by their friends, with comments like, "I tend to just talk and hang out instead of doing work." Despite these distractions, many students highlighted the positive impact of accountability when working alongside others. As one respondent put it, "My friend is doing work at the same time so I need to feel productive," while another shared, "I like being in the company of people who share the same goals because we motivate each other." Given these insights, we saw an opportunity to incorporate the benefits of studying with someone while reducing the distractions that often come with working alongside friends.

One student even noted that their friend group was built around study sessions, "so we slowly formed a closer bond outside academics." This suggests that in-person accountability partner sessions not only promote productivity but can also deepen personal connections.

Interestingly, of the students who use AI for tasks or projects, 82% reported using AI only when working alone. Some students specifically mentioned relying on AI during solo work sessions. This insight led us to consider that study buddy sessions might have the unintended, yet beneficial effect of reducing reliance on AI for tasks like homework, promoting more active and meaningful engagement with a task.

In our secondary research, we found a study from Dominican University that supports the effectiveness of goal-setting, making commitments, and having accountability in boosting task completion. This research reinforced our decision to incorporate explicit goal-setting features into the app. By allowing students to view each other’s tasks and set clear, tangible goals, To-Duo aims to further enhance accountability and productivity.

4. Describe your most important design decisions. What research findings and/or user testing results led you to make these decisions? (Max 500 words)

In-Person vs Virtual Meetings: When designing To-Duo, one of our most important decisions was implementing the feature of scheduling in-person meetings over virtual ones. Our research indicated that human connection significantly boosts accountability and motivation; having someone physically present creates a sense of obligation that helps individuals stay focused, especially when working on a task they may otherwise procrastinate or sideline entirely, such as a creative project. This real-time, in-person interaction creates an immediate, tangible form of accountability. In contrast to online video chats or group chats, where students might feel disconnected from other accountability partners or tempted to multitask, the in-person element ensures that both partners are fully present and committed to the task at hand. This design choice addresses the challenge of staying human in an increasingly AI-driven world, where technology can easily lead to isolation and lower levels of critical thinking.

Accountability: Additionally, a decision we made to ensure accountability for completing a task was to implement the partner verification feature when a Duo session is completed. Instead of having users report whether they completed their own goal, their accountability partner checks whether their partner’s goal has fully been met. This feature prevents dishonesty and encourages users to remain committed to completing their task throughout the session. To further encourage simultaneous accountability and to help structure the Duo sessions, we implemented customizable timers to keep partners on task. These design elements work together to ensure the app serves its primary goal of reducing procrastination.

Isolating Tasks: Focusing each meeting on a single task instead of a list of tasks was another design decision aimed at improving depth and quality of work. By encouraging users to commit to one project at a time, we hoped to inspire deeper thinking, creativity, and more meaningful engagement. This helps students to not only complete tasks but also put more thoughtful effort into them.

Personalization: To make the app more personalized, we implemented a swipe function for matching with accountability partners. Users can browse profiles based on shared interests like major, year, or project type, offering them a chance to choose partners who either share similar goals or provide a diverse perspective. This customization was informed by our user interview feedback, with 73% of interviewees expressing a preference for partners with similar tasks. The ability to view these details before matching ensures users feel they’re making a more satisfactory choice that aligns with their own goals for completing a task.

Visual Theme: Visually, we chose a doodle-inspired design to keep the app more playful and appealing to college students, and to tie into the theme of a personal journal or to-do list. To complement this, we used a warm color scheme that feels reassuring and welcoming to students.