01

Background

After entering its maturity phase in 2019, Forest attracted users from 126 countries worldwide. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there was an unprecedented increase in user numbers, especially in Europe, America, and Southeast Asia. Due to changes in the global environment and the influx of users from diverse cultural backgrounds, we observed significant shifts in user's demand for our current focusing  features and an expansion in the scenarios where these features are used. Consequently, our team decided to conduct user interviews to explore the advantages brought by the "pandemic dividend," address the shortcomings of existing functions, and reposition our product's operational strategy.
App Design
Product Designer
Product Manager
Mar 2019 — Now
02

Define

" What are the use cases for Stopwatch? "

Many competitors offer  "stopwatch" feature, but it has not been incorporated into the core functions in Forest due to its "low enforcement" conflicting with product positioning '' reduce phone dependency''.
Additionally, the core function includes  " Count exceeded time "  ( continuing to record extra time after a timer ends), raising the question of whether the scenarios for using Stopwatch differ from those of exceeded timing. Through qualitative research, these aspects aim to validate whether the use scenarios for the "Stopwatch" function conflict with the existing feature.

03

Challenge

‘‘ Does the forward timing feature contradict the product's initial concept? ’’

Through qualitative research, determine whether the "Stopwatch" feature blurs the core values of the product, leading to "reduced enforcement and increased user distraction," resulting in tasks not being accomplished.

04

UX Research

Survey
In a preliminary survey (initial categorization proposal for the habits background of Stopwatch users), we conducted quantitative questionnaire surveys with users from China and the UK/US regions. Through the survey results, we made basic assumptions and identified opportunities to help us understand the scenarios and pain points of users using Stopwatch through subsequent detailed user interviews.

Hypothesis assumptions

Chinese users have a greater need for Stopwatch compared to overseas users.
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Female Chinese users have a greater need for recording and Stopwatch compared to male users. Regarding Stopwatch, overseas users place more emphasis on the design of reward mechanisms compared to Chinese users.
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If a limitation on the number and duration of pauses is designed for the easily distracted group, it will increase their acceptance of Stopwatch
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Extended timing does not satisfy the needs of those who complete tasks ahead of time; therefore, it cannot increase satisfaction for users who propose Stopwatch.

Key findings

The proportion of Chinese users suggesting Stopwatch is higher compared to that of overseas.

In terms of gender ratio proposing Stopwatch, a particularly high percentage is observed among Chinese females, whereas overseas, the ratio is higher among males.

Suggesting Stopwatch does not seem to have a clear correlation with occupation (possibly due to insufficient data).

Overseas workers use the timing function in work scenarios much more than Chinese users.

Chinese users still focus primarily on concentration-driven and rigid learning.

The duration of single use by Chinese users is nearly 30 minutes longer than that of overseas users.

Among users who request Stopwatch, the proportion using competitors' products is much higher than the average.

Heavy users are generally more stringent than light users, and those who favor Stopwatch features tend to gravitate towards the median.

05

UX Research

Quantity Interview

Usage Scenarios

After the initial survey, we made key discoveries and proceeded with further hypotheses. During qualitative interviews, we gained deeper insights into the scenarios in which users utilize timer / stopwatch and found that the contexts in which users extend timers significantly differ from those of Stopwatch.
Across various professions, ages, and usage scenarios, Stopwatch effectively expanded users' needs, indirectly proving that the fundamental seasons of users who use exceeded time and those who use Stopwatch are different, validating the hypotheses generated from the survey.
Furthermore, we resolved the concerns regarding the conflict between the Stopwatch function and the product concept, gaining more confidence in designing features through two personas.

Persona

Validating Assumptions

  • Demand for Stopwatch : Compared to the sole focus of eliminating smartphone addiction, users with a demand for Stopwatch wish to improve their focus planning and execution by recording their concentration time and state. The majority of users with a significant need for Stopwatch are light users of Forest, primarily because it lacks a Stopwatch feature.
  • For users needing stopwatch, its logic differs fundamentally from exceeded timing, making them non-interchangeable. Developing a stopwatch MVP is a more effective choice than altering the exceeded timing mechanism.
  • Reward Mechanism Design: Users in the EU / US are more receptive to differentiated rewards than users in China: EU /US users focus on the process of growing trees, while Chinese users focus on the outcomes. Particularly, Chinese users are less accepting of changes to the dead tree mechanism, presumably because the dead tree is a key differentiator among many forward timing competitors; however, there is not much opposition to having more rewards for countdown timing.
06

Delivery

06

Result

  • Three months after launching the forward timing feature, both Chinese and US / UK users have shown steady growth in data, especially with a 13% increase in downloads among Western users.
  • The retention rate also improved from seven days to approximately two weeks. By supplementing the basic timing functionality and synthesizing evaluations from previous projects, we confirmed the foundation for subsequent transformations and accumulated many loyal users, facilitating our exploratory user research.