I came into this class with the assumption that it would be a place where we create a fully functional app, release it into the wild, and watch real users interact with it. Instead, I soon discovered that this is about much more than just churning out an app. The lectures, which were insightful , reminded me of the sketchnotes from CS247G that I had loved so much, and it was a pleasant surprise to see them here again.
I focused on designing Postura with my team, an app intended to promote better posture through social encouragement, rewards, and gentle nudges. My foundation in courses like CS147 and CS247G had given me some sense of what methods worked best, but here, the emphasis felt more nuanced. As we built and refined the Postura user interface, I learned that it wasn’t enough to have a visually pleasing layout; we needed to communicate the app’s value proposition clearly, integrate social features delicately, and remain transparent about billing and device usage.
When we conducted our usability study, we discovered some particularly revealing issues. There was confusion around the premise of the app, which was surprising because we thought our initial onboarding screens were adequate. Instead, users were genuinely very confused at having to input billing information without a clear explanation of how the posture tracker worked and why it was beneficial. In response, we introduced a sequence of pages showing the physical device, describing how to wear it, and explaining the practical benefits of posture correction.
Going through these design challenges has been a fascinating journey, especially when I found myself focusing more on the underlying motivations of the users: What drives them to improve their posture? How do social influences impact their daily habits? How comfortable are they disclosing personal health data to a digital system, even if it’s only posture-related? That was liberating in some ways, because it allowed me to reflect more deeply on the human factors at play, rather than the purely technical ones.
Thinking about what I loved during this quarter, I have to say that my team collaboration stands out as a highlight. We communicated openly, shared ideas, and helped each other whenever anyone was stuck. This synergy was refreshing, especially since the quarter has been personally challenging for me. I also appreciated how we laughed a lot in class while having great discussions, which kept the mood from getting too intense.
There were some frustrations, though, and one of the main ones was the initial lack of clarity in the assignments. I remember feeling overwhelmed, thinking, “What deliverables are required for each milestone?” Over time, the teaching team began clarifying things in class, dedicating time to lay out exactly what the scope of each assignment should be. That shift in communication reduced so much stress for me. Slowly, the workload felt more manageable.
The teaching team’s willingness to let us get started on assignments in class was a game-changer, because it meant we could align our schedules, get immediate feedback from each other, and push the design forward without letting tasks pile up.
During our project, we encountered a specific problem regarding the broader vision of how Postura might integrate with restaurant partnerships as a means of providing incentives or meal discounts to posture-conscious customers. Funding those partnerships was something we never fully resolved, especially when we explored the concept of subsidizing the posture tracker for individuals who might not afford it.
There was also a dimension of potential bullying or negative social dynamics if group members were penalized for failing their posture goals. We tried to mitigate that by anonymizing certain data points so that it wasn’t obvious who missed their goal, but we recognized it might still be possible to guess. Our design partially addressed these issues by focusing on group accountability in a more supportive rather than punitive way, though I wouldn’t say it’s fully solved.
This project also connects to my other academic work at Stanford, specifically some psychology courses that explore behavior change, habit formation, and external incentives and intrinsic motivations. Designing Postura made me realize how easily these psychological levers can be implemented in an app—sometimes so subtly that users might not even realize they are being nudged. It felt a bit like I was pulling strings behind the scenes to get people to adopt better posture. Ethically, that gave me pause, because it was a live demonstration of how technology can shape user behaviors in ways that might feel paternalistic or manipulative if done poorly.
Ten years from now, I think I’ll recall the fun experiences with my team. I do wish we could have coded a working version of Postura, if only to see it in action and gather feedback from real users at a larger scale. Given more time, I would have loved to do it all: design thoroughly and then code thoroughly.
If I were to redesign this project, I would incorporate actual interviews with potential real-world stakeholders, like restaurant owners, to learn more about offering posture-based discounts or other sponsorship tie-ins. That would give us clearer insight into how viable these partnerships are and whether they truly resonate with both the business and the user base. Regarding ethical considerations, I’d also spend more time exploring the boundary between acceptable nudges and manipulative tactics. Right now, we rely heavily on color cues, social proof, and the fear of missing out. If certain user segments are highly susceptible to group pressure, then an app like Postura might inadvertently push them into uncomfortable territory. It’s not easy to draw a perfect line between helpful accountability and manipulative peer pressure, but I see it as a necessary conversation for any design that leverages social motivation. We currently say we don’t sell user info, but that is a fairly bare-bones approach to privacy. As the project grows, we might store more detailed posture data or do deeper analytics on user behaviors, which could open up new vulnerabilities. Users might not be aware of the extent to which their posture data can reveal aspects of their personal routines, health, or daily habits. If in the future someone tries to monetize that data for targeted ads or to partner with insurance companies, it could cross ethical lines.
All in all, this quarter has been an eye-opener about the power and responsibility that designers hold in influencing behavior. If I had to pick a single lesson that stands out, it’s that design is never really done. There’s always another usability test, another user context to explore, and another ethical question to address.
