I'm using Prototyping to explore how SaaS can help Couples in Long Distance Relationship with Communication Barrier.
It is mysteriously obvious that whoever include "Long-distance relationship (LDR) " in any project topic must have, or have had, a memorable long-distance relationship her/himself. I picked this topic because it hurts, because I care, and because I care about the feeling that it hurts.
I had been in a long-distance relationship for 3 years and had been taking initiatives to improve this relationship ever since I recognized the challenge -- Yes, all long-distance relationship inherently suffers from a lack of inter-relatedness(1), which puts it in the status of "swim or sink".
Identifying "communication barrier" as the main reason that burdens LDR, I started a small personal project trying to see if there were better ways for me and my ex to communicate, despite our inflexible schedules, limited time for phone calls, and pathetically few chances to see each other. The idea I came up with is a mobile app featuring virtual letter delivery: A "high-quality intimate communication with less frequency but stronger relatedness" as I branded it.
By the time I put this project in my portfolio, I was still with my ex. When an interviewer asked if I had thought about adding extra stimulus such as gamification to motivate the couples using this app, this is how I replied: I designed the app to be less interfering and neutral in tone, leaving the decision making parts to the couple themselves.
Apparently, I was not that good at product design at that time.
But as Julie Zhuo's advice on exploring ideas said: "The more attention you pay to the moments of struggle in your own life and the lives of people you meet, the more aware you’ll be of the opportunities all around us." Introspecting and reviewing this topic again makes stronger my ability to discover pain points and opportunity points. Mismatch in time is only a tiny part of the whole problem. What about communication skill training? What about the financial issue behind? A better understanding of the topic will equip me with a much more comprehensive approach to product design.
Steven Dziedzic, founder of Lasting, a marriage health startup noted that in an age where people do everything in apps, there was a surprising lack of apps to help people build their relationship and marriage health. "If we succeed, in 10 years, proactively working on your marriage will be a cultural expectation."(2)
This scope informs my exploration topic similarly: Although helping LDR couples with their relationship is not world-saving, it can push forward the concept of "designing your life". Your life is up to you and you could have numerous ways to remold it. A successful solution to this LDR topic should empower couples in making changes. This trend in self-empowerment could result in another positive social concern. On the other hand, we can explore better design practices for products whose users are highly subjective when using the service.
Sources:
What is the most challenging thing about long distance relationships? by Gregory Guldner, Long Distance Relationship Frequently Asked Questions, Apr 2018
First-of-Its-Kind Marriage Health App Helps Couples Build Healthier, Happier Marriages by The Knot, Nov 29, 2017
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