PeerHouse is an interactive learning tool that guides children (ages 3-5) through their daily routines.
The Challenge
How might we make morning and evening routines a time of fun and genuine connection for parents and children?
How might we make morning and evening routines a time of fun and genuine connection for parents and children?
My Role
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My Team
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Key Questions
What are moments of strong emotional swings (i.e. stress) for parents in a day?
How might we align parents and children on the purpose of their time together?
What are opportunities to foster positive socio-emotional learning for the children?
How might we align parents and children on the purpose of their time together?
What are opportunities to foster positive socio-emotional learning for the children?
Research Plan
As I embarked on the year-long master's project, my number one priority was to solve a real need. I had been introduced to the field of early childhood education through a previous user research project (see details here: Kinedu). I knew parents with young children have many challenges and the early years are critical for lifelong learning outcomes. However, I did not know a specific need that would benefit parents/children.
Fortunately, I took a needfinding course with Professor Michael Barry at the d.School and a qualitative research course with Professor Denise Pope at the Graduate School of Education while I was exploring for needs. Both courses emphasized the importance of immersion and "fly-on-the-wall" observation. Their influence is evident in my research design.
I started with 60min 1:1 interviews with parents of children ages 0-6. By virtue of living in graduate student residences, I had access to many parents and I conducted interviews with 35 parents. Of the parents I interviewed, I gained permission from 6 to observe their families' interactions during their evening routines, from dinner to putting their children to bed.
I was able to gain actionable insights from the interviews and observations, and decided to hone in on the pain point around getting children to sleep during bedtime for prototype design and testing. This decision was aided by literature research on learning science and the importance of quality sleep for the developing brain. Throughout this process, I kept a close relationship with all the parents and iterated quickly from an initial concept to a much more robust concept. For the second concept, which became PeerHouse, my partner and I conducted tests of various lengths, including 7 week-long user tests, 4 evening routine user tests, and 3 hour-long user tests.
Fortunately, I took a needfinding course with Professor Michael Barry at the d.School and a qualitative research course with Professor Denise Pope at the Graduate School of Education while I was exploring for needs. Both courses emphasized the importance of immersion and "fly-on-the-wall" observation. Their influence is evident in my research design.
I started with 60min 1:1 interviews with parents of children ages 0-6. By virtue of living in graduate student residences, I had access to many parents and I conducted interviews with 35 parents. Of the parents I interviewed, I gained permission from 6 to observe their families' interactions during their evening routines, from dinner to putting their children to bed.
I was able to gain actionable insights from the interviews and observations, and decided to hone in on the pain point around getting children to sleep during bedtime for prototype design and testing. This decision was aided by literature research on learning science and the importance of quality sleep for the developing brain. Throughout this process, I kept a close relationship with all the parents and iterated quickly from an initial concept to a much more robust concept. For the second concept, which became PeerHouse, my partner and I conducted tests of various lengths, including 7 week-long user tests, 4 evening routine user tests, and 3 hour-long user tests.
Process of Learning and Testing
Phase 1.1 Ethnographic Research
I recruited 35 parents for interviews and conducted 6 in-home observations. As part of the interview, I asked parents to draw the ups and downs of their emotions and energy during the course of a typical day. A clear pattern emerged through these journey maps where parents' emotional wellbeing and energy level dip significantly before their children go to sleep, and experience a noticeable uptick after their children to go bed.
Caption: Samples of emotion maps drawn by parents I interviewed
In addition, there was a big discrepancy between the 6-8:30pm routine that parents described during the interviews, and the reality of stretched timelines during my observations.
Caption: Family evening routine based on my routine observations
Phase 1.2 Literature Research
Early childhood is a critical period for learning that lays the foundation for healthy growth. Sufficient sleep each night is important for the child's brain development. Nobel-winning economist, James Heckman, conducted extensive research showing the youngest age group yields the highest return on investment, up to $7 for every $1 invested.
Phase 1.3 Market Research
Existing solutions are not built from the children's perspective, therefore unintuitive. They do not address the tension between a parent and a child with opposite desires. The alternative is an expensive service offered by sleep consultants, who set up routine schedules for families to follow diligently.
Caption: Existing solutions for parents who struggle with putting their children to bed
Phase 2.1 Concept Testing: Bedtime Soundtracks
The first concept was inspired by research on the positive effects of music on sleep as well as children's natural need for "transition" from one activity to the next. The idea of providing parents with on-demand bedtime soundtracks was born. I learned from the interviews that some parents play lullabies on Youtube, and I was amazed to find 100M+ views on baby lullaby playlists! I know the user experience of opening up a video app, which emits blue light that negatively affects sleep, is suboptimal.
My concept, Baby Lotus, would provide an alternative that allows parents to effortlessly access that type of bedtime soundtracks they like, and create playlists based on their preferences. I had discovered from my interviews the 5 main categories of soundtracks are 1) Bedtime stories, 2) Deep sleep music, 3) Nature sounds, 4) Lullaby, 5) Story with breathing exercises.
My concept, Baby Lotus, would provide an alternative that allows parents to effortlessly access that type of bedtime soundtracks they like, and create playlists based on their preferences. I had discovered from my interviews the 5 main categories of soundtracks are 1) Bedtime stories, 2) Deep sleep music, 3) Nature sounds, 4) Lullaby, 5) Story with breathing exercises.
Caption: Example of the bedtime sound tracks sent to a family for 5 days
I recruited 5 parents to test this concept for 5 evenings . Each evening, I sent them a soundtrack based on their preference for the soundtrack type. Parents would listen to the soundtracks with their children after story time. Diary study was used to record parents and children's experiences.
Caption: Prototype screens of the bedtime track player and the text notification each night
“The overall experience of getting the message at bedtime and having a track to click was really convenient" - father of 4 and 6 year olds
“They took it as a bedtime signal... Time to go to sleep” - Mother of 3 and 7 year olds
Overall, parents appreciated the text notification at the same time each night as a reminder. Children started to look to the bedtime track as a signal for bedtime. However, families all had distinct tastes for the content type and length of the tracks. I noticed from the diary entries that the greatest benefits of the concept were the increased consistency of the routine because of the notifications sent to the parents at the same time every evening.
Phase 2.2 Concept 2 PeerHouse
In between concept 1 and concept 2, I teamed up with my project partner, who was a master's student in the engineering school. We found inspiration in research about the benefits of imaginative play (Marjorie Taylor, 2001) and the influence of behavior modeling (Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, 1986) for young children. PeerHouse was born. We switched our focus from designing for the parents to designing for the children. PeerHouse leverages children's innate imagination and tendencies to model their behavior after peers.
Caption: Key features of PeerHouse
Caption: Close-up examination of the peering hole feature
The peering hole is a key feature of the design. It acts as a magic portal like the wardrobe in Narnia. The world outside is normal. The world inside is different...magical, in the eyes of 3-5 year olds. The tactile nature of the concept appealed to young children. The character inside the house is a whimsical puppet that goes through routine activities the same way that the children do. We first asked parents for their routines and sequenced the puppet's activities to mirror them.
Caption: A sample sequence of puppet activities
PeerHouse was put inside people's homes for testing. We completed in total 7 week-long user tests, 4 evening routine user tests, and 3 hour-long user tests.
Over the course of the testing, children (3-5 year olds) engaged with the prototypes with imagination and sustained interactions. The transition signals (flashing lights and church bell sounds) helped both parents and children stay on schedule for their routines. We were concerned about both the novelty effect and the influence of our presence as an excitement factor during the user tests. By conducting week-long user tests, we removed ourselves from the scene and gained more confidence in children's sustained engagement. The prototype still needs improvement and long-term tests need to be conducted, but the early tests showed potential in creating a new dynamic between parents and children during the transition moments.
Over the course of the testing, children (3-5 year olds) engaged with the prototypes with imagination and sustained interactions. The transition signals (flashing lights and church bell sounds) helped both parents and children stay on schedule for their routines. We were concerned about both the novelty effect and the influence of our presence as an excitement factor during the user tests. By conducting week-long user tests, we removed ourselves from the scene and gained more confidence in children's sustained engagement. The prototype still needs improvement and long-term tests need to be conducted, but the early tests showed potential in creating a new dynamic between parents and children during the transition moments.
Caption: The interdependent relationships among parent, child, and PeerHouse
Caption: Introductory video I designed and created using Powtoons