Inspiration
We have grandparents that struggle with getting about and day to day things, and we want to make things easier for them by making an app to help with their needs and hopefully help others too.
What it does
Task.ly connects elderly residents with local volunteers or groups who can help with everyday tasks. The elderly can post a request for help and volunteers nearby can browse and accept those tasks. This app is designed to be minimal and easy to use. Hence that anyone regardless of how comfortable they are with technology can use it confidently.
How we built it
We used Cursor AI to help generate the base code, which let us move quickly and focus on shaping the app. We then used Xcode on a MacBook to simulate and test the iOS experience, iterating on the interface as we went.
Challenges we ran into
We faced several challenges along the way. We had to research what elderly people struggle with day-to-day, making sure we did not miss any issues and getting that right was essential to building something genuinely useful. Designing a minimal, user-friendly interface was its own challenge too. Any unnecessary screen or button is a barrier for someone not comfortable with technology, so we had to make tough calls about what to cut out. One feature we really wanted to include was food delivery, but handling payments proved too complex to navigate within our timeframe, so we had to set it aside for a future version.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud that we went from an idea rooted in personal experience to a working iOS prototype in such a short amount of time. More than the technical achievement, we are proud of building something for our elderly community, this app that could genuinely improve the daily lives of elderly people in our community and give volunteers a meaningful way to give back.
What we learned
We learnt that building for someone else’s needs, especially for a demographic very different from ourselves, requires empathy and research not just good intentions. We also grew a lot technically, learning to navigate Xcode, debug unfamiliar code and work efficiently as a team under time pressure.
What's next for task.ly
Next, we would love to add verified volunteer profiles to build trust and safety for elderly users, as well as a rating system so families can feel safe and confident about who is helping their loved ones. We also want to bring in the food delivery feature we had to shelve, which means tackling payment integration properly.
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