If you are the parent of a teen or pre-teen, then you've seen this before: the eye roll, the face palm, the this-is-not-fair big-eyes-and-open-mouth combo, the shrug, the melodrama, the shrieks. I know it doesn't make your life any easier, but we've all been there in our parenting journey. Like you, we were getting nowhere fast in regards to the kids in your lives and their ability to perform even the most mundane of household chores on an ongoing basis. Enter CARROT: a task management app that cuts down on the drama and ups initiative and follow-through.
the challenge
Getting teens and pre-teens to do their chores is a full-time job. Getting them to do it consistently, on time, and with minimal conflict (and nudging!) is, well, fantasy land.
Seriously, but why?
There are as many reasons as there are individuals and households. There are also as many commonalities:
Developmental changes
Inconsistent behavior/enforcement
Ineffective communication
Unreasonable expectations
Lack of clarity and/or transparency
Mismatched goals
“Even though their brains are learning at peak efficiency, much else is inefficient, including attention, self-discipline, task completion, and emotions. So the ‘one thing at a time’ mantra is useful to repeat to yourself.”
The Solution
Carrot is more than an app: it's a system for managing household tasks. Carrot empowers teens to administer their time, to take responsibility, to comply with chores, tasks, and even tackle bigger household projects. Created by a team of Teen and Family behavior experts, and based on the principles of Positive Parenting, Carrot offers customized flows with varying degrees of strictness and control. It supports adults with daily tips, and bridges the divide with teens through humor and memes.
the pitch
From a Chore to a Care
process
We conducted user interviews of three key groups:
parents and parent figures (guardians, family members who are parenting)
teens and pre-teens
behavior and teen psychologist experts
insights
What adults want:
For tasks to be done well and in a timely manner
Not have to repeat themselves and/or escalate into conflict
For teens to take initiative and do more than bare minimum
What teens want:
More freedom
More trust
Fairness
user personas
User Flows
Alice Persona
Toby Persona
POP Testing
POP Testing was instrumental in finding the balance between the shortest number of steps and the right amount of information for each user. After POP Testing, we scaled down on both the screen and click counts for the onboarding process. POP Link.
Wireframes
Using Figma, these wireframes can be endlessly iterated upon; making it easy and convenient to collaborate, comment, edit, and submit for approval.
Clickable Prototype
Learning Outcomes
Fail often and early on
Iterate, iterate, iterate -- repeat
Good enough is good enough: perfect doesn't exist
If you know how to ask and how to listen, your users know what they want
You can always use more time, more money, and more talent