• Sets customized goals for users to encourage the building of meaningful human connection.
• Coaches users through conversational AI that provides guidance and support in alleviating loneliness.
• Stimulating a listening friend, provides company and empathy for users looking to vent about their difficulties.
• Character creation allows for user to build their companion.

Observe the problem space to find opportunities, set goals, and get to know users.

• What causes loneliness?
• Which demographic is the lonelinest?
• What is loneliness?
• Which digital tools exist to address loneliness?
• How do users feel about current market solutions?
• How does current social culture affect loneliness?

Reflect on research findings to find areas of opportunity and gaps.

Primary Research
Questionnaire to record demographic specific opinions on loneliness and AI, and 2 focus groups run on competitor products.

Secondary Research
Articles, competitor blogs, mental health organizations, social media posts/forums, StatsCan, WGSN trend analysis.

Make a plan: schedule and KPIs to ensure completion of prototype.

How might we help people combat loneliness and find community through digital-first tools?

Red Thread Innovation’s requirement: Find a market that was unsaturated and projected to grow. Artificially Intelligent (AI) companions was our opportunity.

Observe initial thoughts on AI companions and competitors in the market through focus groups.

“There's a part of me that when I was talking to the AI, I was a lot more open because I knew that there wasn't a person that could judge me on the other side of it.”

“I feel like human conversation is better... I'll be able to talk to the AI [but it] won't feel genuine and I won't really feel better at the end of the conversation. I feel like it is a waste of my time personally.”

Participants independently had a conversation with Beta Character AI’s psychologist chatbot, and shared their experiences with focus group.

Personas and value propositions reflect gathered data.

Make initial prototype- parts of the product to be tested with users.

Observe user testing session and record feedback.

Update user flows and prototype to reflect user feedback, then meet with focus groups again to gather last thoughts.

“It doesn't make itself look like it's trying to force you to fix your problems, but rather it gently holds your hand and guides you… It's very nice. ”  -Participant that was initially skeptical

Make our pitch and celebrate!

Working on Tomo with Electric Boogaloo gave me insight on leading a team, specifically which practices lead to success. Being able to rely on team members to fill gaps in my abilities, is what I believe I owe our success to. I especially gained insight into how much I love to research and work directly with users & stakeholders.

During the pitch presentation I was confident in conveying our solution to Red Thread Innovations and answering their questions. Ok Ikejiani said he would use our application, we won the semester-long design sprint, and later found out we were nominated for a 2023 Student Generator Award.

What I would do if I were to continue developing Tomo:

• Establish clearer roles: Towards the end of the semester when stress was high and we were developing our product, responsibilities became blurred. This caused repetition in output and affected the quality of our work.
• Developing a universal vision for Tomo: During the define phase of the project, we all had different perspectives as to what the potential for Tomo was. This made running progress meetings and establishing tasks as we transition into development more difficult.

Learn more about me and my collaborative design approach: