Part 1: Impact Case ​

Team Contract ​

Team Contract

Problem Area ​

We decided to tackle the problem area of Hoarding and Cluttering. Over our lives, we accumulate numerous miscellaneous goods that we don't always need, and sometimes it's hard to figure out what to get rid of, and when. Some people have extreme difficulty doing this, resulting in what we would call "hoarding". This can result in a lot of wasted space and organization issues in one's home.

The particular problem we are tackling is helping users to evaluate which items they want to keep or discard in an environmentally sustainable and financially beneficial way.

Tentative Solution ​

Proposed Solution ​

Our solution to address this problem is to create an app that incentivizes people to catalog the items they may no longer need so that they can get rid of them in an environmentally sustainable and financially beneficial way. Our app will allow users to organize items by category (i.e. locations, uses, descriptions, tags) and also keep track of the last used date. We also believe a points-based app to help people triage their items is a good solution because it creates incentive for users to upload the items they have onto our app. Moreover, over time, we will prompt the user to complete a questionnaire regarding certain items and whether or not they've been used since they were cataloged. If not, we ask if the user has thought about the item(s) in question. Using the user's responses, we will encourage the user to consider putting the item(s) up for sale or discard them.

Outcome Measurement ​

We can use the number of items a user puts up for sale, and the proportion of the number of items put for sale to the number of items kept, to measure how successful our solution is. Putting an item up for sale represents the user being willing to give up an item, even if it hasn't been sold yet.

Impact Case ​

The problem of helping manage people's hoarding disorder is important because hoarding can significantly impact a person's quality of life. Moreover, there are also people who have trouble organizing items and problems with accumulating a lot of items that can greatly benefit from our app. Our solution to address this problem is to create an app that incentivizes people to catalog the items they may no longer need so that they can get rid of them in an environmentally sustainable and financially beneficial way. Our app will allow users to organize items by category (i.e. locations, uses, descriptions, tags) and also keep track of the last used date. We believe a points-based app to help people triage their items is a good solution because it creates incentive for users to upload the items they have onto our app. We could measure how many items a user puts up for sale to prove that this method is a good solution to help people manage their issue of accumulating a lot of not frequently used items.

Interviews ​

Adrian Interview

Caleb Interview

Lauren Interview

Rachel Interview

Research ​

Research Notes

VSD Analysis ​

Stakeholders ​

• People who use the app to declutter
  • Since they are the primary audience, our app needs to take into account what these people would want/need, as well as what would be the most helpful for them.
• People who want to obtain thing from the app
  • A group of stakeholders created as a side-effect of our app allowing users to put things up for sale/donate them
  • While this group is important to take into account (we want people to be able to actually get rid of what they want to) we need to be careful as to not let this group become the dominant stakeholder in our app, since it is not its intended purpose.
• People who have hoarding disorder
  • While our app may be aimed at preventing someone from developing this disorder, it is useful to think about how our preventative measures can also be interventionary.
• People who just want to sell things
  • A group of stakeholders who explicitly use the app for a purpose it's not intended for.
  • We should think of ways to encourage people to take part in all of the app's experiences, potentially raising the barrier to use the app as just a storefront.
• People who are acting as a proxy for someone else
  • Oftentimes, people may not see how much clutter they've accumulated themselves, and it is someone else who may bring it to their attention.
  • We need to consider if people can act as proxies for others, and if so, how we help them to balance their ability/want to help someone, with respecting the boundaries and feelings of who they're trying to help

Time ​

• Reappropriation
  • Since our app has a marketplace feature, users might use the app as an avenue for selling instead of decluttering.
• Long Term Health and Wellbeing
  • Our app will encourage a more minimalist lifestyle in its users by encouraging them to sell/discard items they do not use. This could be healthy/helpful for users that have a lot of items they do not use.

Pervasiveness ​

• Environmental
  • Widespread usage of the app might contribute to more waste if people feel pressured to get rid of things more often
• Cultural
  • Increasing shift toward fast fashion, since getting rid of things is incentivized (buying things to get rid of them)

Values (Rachel) ​

• Empathy and Understanding
  • For an app designed to support individuals in managing or preventing hoarding disorder, a mental health problem, it is crucial that our core values prioritize the mental well-being of our users.
  • Empathy and understanding towards those struggling with hoarding disorder, steering clear of any stigmatization.
• Motivation
  • The app should aim to kindle motivation and instill a sense of hope for transformative change.
  • Providing educational content and inspire users to take small steps to declutter and effectively manage hoarding tendencies.
• Value Conflicts
  • Privacy vs Seller Transparency
    • In the context of an app designed to assist individuals with hoarding tendencies, it is paramount to prioritize the value of privacy.
    • When considering the potential inclusion of a store feature within the app, intended to motivate users to sell items they no longer need, a potential conflict arises with the values of trust and verification, especially if sellers remain anonymous.
    • Balance between safeguarding confidentiality and ensuring transparency in seller interactions if the store feature is to be integrated.
• Autonomy vs Intervention
  • Users value their autonomy and may resist external intervention, even if it's in their best interest.
  • Balancing these conflicting values involves providing guidance and support while respecting the user's autonomy, allowing them to decide the extent of external intervention they are comfortable with.
  • Balance that empowers users without making them feel pressured or coerced into seeking help.

Revised Impact Case ​

The problem of helping to prevent hoarding disorder is important because hoarding can significantly impact a person's quality of life. Moreover, there are also people who have trouble organizing items and problems with accumulating a lot of items that can greatly benefit from our app.

Our solution to address this problem is the development of an app designed to assist individuals in decluttering and preventing hoarding disorder. We achieve this by incentivizing users to catalog items they may no longer need through gamification, ultimately encouraging them to discard these items in an environmentally responsible manner. This app aims to tackle two key challenges that individuals with hoarding disorder often face: a lack of awareness of their condition and difficulties with executive function.

Through item cataloging and a self-assessment survey, users can evaluate whether they possess an excessive number of items. The app also provides features allowing users to organize their possessions by various categories, such as location, purpose, descriptions, and tags, as well as keeping track of when each item was last used. This data is then utilized to create semi-personalized action plans for users, helping to compensate for the executive function deficits they may experience.

We believe creating an app is a good solution because automating the reminders and using incentives can help people stay on track with their goals, as well as bring a potential developing problem to their attention. We could measure how many items a user decides to discard against the amount of items they should, to prove that this method is a good solution to help people manage their issue of accumulating a lot of not frequently used items.