The MemoryCache

Overview

This 4th year capstone project was centered around the idea of social connectedness and personal informatics. The challenge was to investigate a problem at the intersection between social interaction and personal data and to create a physical and/or digital solution to address these issues. I chose to focus on the issues of bereavement and mourning caused by the loss of a loved one as this issue was rooted in social connectedness as well as personal informatics.

Area of Focus

Research into grief management and how they are connected with social connectedness led me to discover new insights. Through my research evolution I discovered that storytelling and the sharing of memories and memorabilia were extremely enriching and beneficial for people who were mourning.

Project Timeline

Research Planning

I began by creating a research plan outlining the overview of what I wanted to understand from the user. I broke down the research plan from problems to goals, and then to research questions. After creating the research questions I divided them into interview questions and survey questions as some were more qualitative and others were more quantitative.

Data Analysis

I utilized a variety of data analysis methods to synthesize the interview and survey data into clear and understandable themes. I used affinity diagrams to organize and group the data collected from user research, this allowed me to identify key themes and insights. Next I transcribed the interviews and used data coding to further analyze and identify patterns in the data.

Results From Data Analysis - Data Visualization

After synthesizing the data into key themes and insights the results were very informative. Using diagrams and journey maps I was able to highlight how the data correlated and what the main learning outcomes were. The Journey map also helped showcased what area of the user journey could be improved and where the most amount of effort should be focused. The data was shown to stakeholders and professors who were able to understand the problem through these visuals.

Design Brief

The research phase helped uncover many areas of improvement and key considerations that should be made when tackling this problem. Utilizing the research gained I put together a design brief to serve as a roadmap for future development.

• Who: Universal
• What: Physical Product With Digital Component
• When: 1 year of post death
• Where: Home Environment
• Design Objectives:
  • Facilitate close friends and family to connect through an interactve medium.
  • Allow users to add stories and memorabilia.
  • Decrease the emotional barrier to reach out by creating a non-alarming indicator of intereset.
  • Increase frequency of social interactions and sharing among users.
  • Help users feel more supported during bereavement by increasing the people involved.

Concept Development

How It Works - Concept

Check out this video (3min) to see the concept use cycle.

How It Works - Final

Check out this short video (1min40s) to see how the device works!

Looks Like Model

Final Poster

Results & Take-aways

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