Spark: Goal-tracking App with Gamification

Three questions for the project team

What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
Unlike other goal-tracking apps, Spark aims to help people enjoy achieving goals for their own sake and turn it into a habit, rather than relying on extrinsic motivation such as rewards or competition. This involved designing features that allow users to quantify their performance metrics, use habit stacking to combine new goals with existing habits, and provide personalized encouragement through pre-written messages. Furthermore, the introduction of gamification elements to visually illustrate user growth and adjust mission difficulty progressively with each level-up enhances the overall user experience.

What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
Understanding how people set and pursue goals was a major challenge in our research. We used an online diary study where testers can immediately share their actions and emotions via messages. Initially, real-time sharing didn't provide many insights as testers refined their thoughts before sharing.

However, this moment became a turning point. By requesting screen recordings of the app in use, we obtained raw data and gained a better understanding of how testers were using the goal-tracking app. From this, we found that excessive push notifications led testers to ignore them. This insight guided us to simplify the design, focusing on displaying key information—like goal achievement rates—on the home screen.

Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
As UX designers, we have a passion for understanding people's challenges and using design to address them. This passion drove us to create Spark. Many of us, including myself, tend to hesitate and even give up before attempting something new due to overthinking.

We are committed to collaborating with developers to launch the Spark app, igniting the passions that people hold within but hesitate to act upon. Through Spark, we aim to inspire courage in those who hesitate to start something new.