For our project, my team (Team 3) decided to focus on reducing the stress our friends and peers experience when making decisions. In our baseline study, we asked participants to document the different decisions they made throughout the day—as well as the choice they ultimately made—and their reflections on those choices at the end of the day. Overall, we noticed that college students face multiple smaller decisions throughout the day, and are more nervous about decisions that either involve other people or have long-term impact on their lives.
Proto-Persona
For my proto-persona, I wanted to deep dive into a state of mind many of our participants are in: preparing to leave college. Participants who are graduating seniors or coterms not only face important decisions surrounding their careers and future living situations, but they also tend to place more weight on relatively minor social or personal decisions because it’s their final year at Stanford.
Journey Map
This journey map catalogues a single day in the life for “Anne.” I chose to track her stress level, noting when decisions had an impact on that level.
After completing this journey map, I noticed that the inherent social network and routine of college can make thinking about important decisions easier, but that ongoing deadlines and expectations can make time spent alone more stressful. Furthermore, socializing requires possibly disappointing those around you!
