Focus Buddy: Co-Designed with ADHD
A participatory UX research journey to support focus, motivation, and structure for neurodivergent students.
Overview
Graduate students with ADHD face unique challenges in managing academic responsibilities due to executive functioning difficulties. Traditional productivity tools often add to their cognitive load rather than easing it. This project aimed to design an adaptive task management solution by co-designing directly with students navigating ADHD in graduate school.
Through contextual interviews, journey mapping, and participatory design, we created Focus Buddy — a low-cognitive-load app that supports time awareness, task initiation, and accountability.
Categories
Co-design
UX Research
Wireframing
Date
Dec 2024
Collaboration
Ruchica Sinha, Urvi Varma
My Role & Impact
My Role:
Co-led the end-to-end UX research and design process
Facilitated contextual interviews, journey mapping, and co-design workshops
Created empathy maps, thematic syntheses, and gap analysis
Designed low-fidelity wireframes and UI prototypes based on participant insights
Collaborated closely with two research partners to translate findings into actionable design features
Impact:
Enabled students with ADHD to directly shape a tool built for their unique cognitive needs
Surfaced underrepresented emotional challenges (like guilt around productivity tools) that informed the final design
Introduced the StudyBro concept to foster peer accountability — a feature highly valued by participants
Advocated for low-cognitive-load design through iterative testing and synthesis
Laid the groundwork for future development features, including AI-based task segmentation and adaptive prioritization
Introduction
🎯 The Problem
Graduate students with ADHD often abandon traditional productivity tools because they:
Require high cognitive effort
Fail to support task initiation
Don’t facilitate external accountability
Aren’t customizable for ADHD-specific needs
💡 The Solution: Focus Buddy
A flexible, ADHD-informed productivity app designed to reduce friction and improve follow-through:
Customizable Focus Sessions
Structure deep work time with adjustable breaks and timers.StudyBro: Social Accountability Built In
Team up with peers for shared study sessions and task check-ins.
“Because everyone needs a buddy who keeps them on track.”AI-Driven Task Breakdowns
Automatically divide large assignments into manageable chunks.Low-Cognitive-Load Interface
Minimalist design that’s distraction-free and easy to navigate.Seamless Calendar + LMS Integration
Syncs schedules and academic deadlines for holistic task tracking.
Final Figma Prototype
Research Approach
We used a participatory design methodology, centering the voices and lived experiences of our users.
Step 1: Discover – Understanding Neurodivergent Needs
Conducted literature review on ADHD in academic settings
Identified challenges: task initiation, focus disruptions, time awareness, external accountability gaps
Held contextual interviews with:
P1: Doctoral engineering student (26 y/o)
P2: Master's design student (28 y/o)
Key quotes:
“I work when I can focus.”
“Group projects keep me accountable — not solo tasks.”
Noticed emotional fatigue and cognitive overload with traditional tools
Participants shared current tools: P1 used complex Excel trackers; P2 highlighted a preferred app with features they struggled to access due to poor interface design.
Step 2: Map – Visualizing Daily Struggles
Created journey maps to visualize daily task flows and breakdown points
Mapped executive function challenges (procrastination, overwhelm, task-switching)
Developed empathy maps capturing mental states, needs, goals, and frustrations
Discovered recurring patterns of:
Overcompensating with overly complex systems
Abandonment due to lack of alerts or feedback loops
Thematic Analysis: Holistic Approaches to Productivity and Self-Management for Graduate Students with ADHD
To maintain a human-centered perspective amidst an analytical process, we turned to storyboarding. Visualizing our participants’ experiences highlighted their emotional journey and uncovered additional pain points and opportunities.
We created journey maps with participants, tracing their daily interactions with productivity tools. This collaborative process helped our research team visualize their pain points, workarounds, and moments of friction throughout their day.
Step 3: Co-Create – Designing with Users, Not for Them
Ran co-design sessions using a custom UI component kit
Participants built DIY mockups of their ideal productivity tool
Revealed clear design preferences:
Minimal interface, clear visuals
Automation with optional manual control
Peer-based accountability tools
Generated deeper understanding of mental models around focus and task tracking
DIY Screens created by P1 and P2
Below are the key insights from our solution building phase, highlighting both the underlying ADHD-related challenges and specific design implications for our product development.
We explored two design directions based on participant needs: one prioritizing daily structure and visual motivation, the other offering smart, adaptive task planning.
Concept 1:
This concept focuses on quick priority visualization, accountability features and focus sessions. It combines traditional task tracking with social study features, allowing students to see their daily tasks, upcoming deadlines, and scheduled study sessions all in one place. The interface prioritizes simplicity while offering powerful organization tools through easy task entry and clear priority indicators.
It also allows users to view their daily achievements and add new “study buddies” — people who can provide accountability and support. Integration with digital calendars and LMSs lie Canvas, streamlined information capture and retrieval.
The “Accountability” feature is where users can set a title, select an accountability partner, and specify a date, time, and priority for a task they want to complete.
It includes a built-in timer to track focus session durations, as well as a calendar view to schedule focus blocks in advance on specific dates and times. Users can select the task they want to focus on, customize break schedules and focus environment settings like sounds and disturbance levels, and preview their configured session before starting.
Concept 2:
Key features include adding tasks with priority levels, due dates, and recurrence settings, calendar integration to view and plan tasks, and the ability to break down complex tasks into subtasks. The intuitive interface, sorting options, and prominent display of high priority items streamline task management for users.
Helps users prioritize tasks when multiple deadlines are approaching by displaying a prompt. Users can select which of the conflicting tasks to tackle first based on their importance and urgency. The task order is then updated in the main deadlines view, ensuring the user focuses on the right priorities.
Notifies users when they complete a task and prompts them to reschedule the next occurrence. Users can easily shift the task to today, tomorrow, or a later date through a pop-up dialog. If they choose to reschedule, a reflection screen allows them to note what went wrong in their planning.
Testing Insights:
Empathy Mapping
The empathy maps from our co-design sessions allowed us to deeply understand how graduate students with ADHD navigate their academic responsibilities. This understanding directly shaped our design decisions, leading us to create features like Focus Sessions and StudyBro that specifically address their needs for structured support and social accountability, while maintaining a low-cognitive load interface that respects their mental energy limits.
Step 4: Prototype – From Insights to Interface
Built 2 concept prototypes addressing ADHD-specific challenges
Concept 1: Dashboard with daily task list, StudyBuddy system, visual wins, focus sessions
Concept 2: Smart task manager with breakdowns, auto-prioritization, and calendar view
Designed key features:
Focus Timer with environment presets
StudyBro accountability pairing
Reflection prompts post-task completion
Adaptive notifications and intelligent rescheduling
Step 5: Validate – Testing, Gaps & What’s Next
Conducted gap analysis across task initiation, focus, time tracking, and collaboration
Mapped out unmet needs and future features:
AI-based task segmentation
Predictive time estimation models
Expanded user base beyond women 25–30
Reflections:
Emotional attachment to failed systems revealed design opportunity
Remote, participatory methods increased authenticity and idea quality
Focus Buddy has potential to support:
ADHD students
Professionals with executive function challenges
Anyone seeking low-friction, personalized productivity
Focus Buddy: Co-Designed with ADHD
A participatory UX research journey to support focus, motivation, and structure for neurodivergent students.
Overview
Graduate students with ADHD face unique challenges in managing academic responsibilities due to executive functioning difficulties. Traditional productivity tools often add to their cognitive load rather than easing it. This project aimed to design an adaptive task management solution by co-designing directly with students navigating ADHD in graduate school.
Through contextual interviews, journey mapping, and participatory design, we created Focus Buddy — a low-cognitive-load app that supports time awareness, task initiation, and accountability.
Categories
Co-design
UX Research
Wireframing
Date
Dec 2024
Collaboration
Ruchica Sinha, Urvi Varma
My Role & Impact
My Role:
Co-led the end-to-end UX research and design process
Facilitated contextual interviews, journey mapping, and co-design workshops
Created empathy maps, thematic syntheses, and gap analysis
Designed low-fidelity wireframes and UI prototypes based on participant insights
Collaborated closely with two research partners to translate findings into actionable design features
Impact:
Enabled students with ADHD to directly shape a tool built for their unique cognitive needs
Surfaced underrepresented emotional challenges (like guilt around productivity tools) that informed the final design
Introduced the StudyBro concept to foster peer accountability — a feature highly valued by participants
Advocated for low-cognitive-load design through iterative testing and synthesis
Laid the groundwork for future development features, including AI-based task segmentation and adaptive prioritization
Introduction
🎯 The Problem
Graduate students with ADHD often abandon traditional productivity tools because they:
Require high cognitive effort
Fail to support task initiation
Don’t facilitate external accountability
Aren’t customizable for ADHD-specific needs
💡 The Solution: Focus Buddy
A flexible, ADHD-informed productivity app designed to reduce friction and improve follow-through:
Customizable Focus Sessions
Structure deep work time with adjustable breaks and timers.StudyBro: Social Accountability Built In
Team up with peers for shared study sessions and task check-ins.
“Because everyone needs a buddy who keeps them on track.”AI-Driven Task Breakdowns
Automatically divide large assignments into manageable chunks.Low-Cognitive-Load Interface
Minimalist design that’s distraction-free and easy to navigate.Seamless Calendar + LMS Integration
Syncs schedules and academic deadlines for holistic task tracking.
Final Figma Prototype
Research Approach
We used a participatory design methodology, centering the voices and lived experiences of our users.
Step 1: Discover – Understanding Neurodivergent Needs
Conducted literature review on ADHD in academic settings
Identified challenges: task initiation, focus disruptions, time awareness, external accountability gaps
Held contextual interviews with:
P1: Doctoral engineering student (26 y/o)
P2: Master's design student (28 y/o)
Key quotes:
“I work when I can focus.”
“Group projects keep me accountable — not solo tasks.”
Noticed emotional fatigue and cognitive overload with traditional tools
Participants shared current tools: P1 used complex Excel trackers; P2 highlighted a preferred app with features they struggled to access due to poor interface design.
Step 2: Map – Visualizing Daily Struggles
Created journey maps to visualize daily task flows and breakdown points
Mapped executive function challenges (procrastination, overwhelm, task-switching)
Developed empathy maps capturing mental states, needs, goals, and frustrations
Discovered recurring patterns of:
Overcompensating with overly complex systems
Abandonment due to lack of alerts or feedback loops
Thematic Analysis: Holistic Approaches to Productivity and Self-Management for Graduate Students with ADHD
To maintain a human-centered perspective amidst an analytical process, we turned to storyboarding. Visualizing our participants’ experiences highlighted their emotional journey and uncovered additional pain points and opportunities.
We created journey maps with participants, tracing their daily interactions with productivity tools. This collaborative process helped our research team visualize their pain points, workarounds, and moments of friction throughout their day.
Step 3: Co-Create – Designing with Users, Not for Them
Ran co-design sessions using a custom UI component kit
Participants built DIY mockups of their ideal productivity tool
Revealed clear design preferences:
Minimal interface, clear visuals
Automation with optional manual control
Peer-based accountability tools
Generated deeper understanding of mental models around focus and task tracking
DIY Screens created by P1 and P2
Below are the key insights from our solution building phase, highlighting both the underlying ADHD-related challenges and specific design implications for our product development.
We explored two design directions based on participant needs: one prioritizing daily structure and visual motivation, the other offering smart, adaptive task planning.
Concept 1:
This concept focuses on quick priority visualization, accountability features and focus sessions. It combines traditional task tracking with social study features, allowing students to see their daily tasks, upcoming deadlines, and scheduled study sessions all in one place. The interface prioritizes simplicity while offering powerful organization tools through easy task entry and clear priority indicators.
It also allows users to view their daily achievements and add new “study buddies” — people who can provide accountability and support. Integration with digital calendars and LMSs lie Canvas, streamlined information capture and retrieval.
The “Accountability” feature is where users can set a title, select an accountability partner, and specify a date, time, and priority for a task they want to complete.
It includes a built-in timer to track focus session durations, as well as a calendar view to schedule focus blocks in advance on specific dates and times. Users can select the task they want to focus on, customize break schedules and focus environment settings like sounds and disturbance levels, and preview their configured session before starting.
Concept 2:
Key features include adding tasks with priority levels, due dates, and recurrence settings, calendar integration to view and plan tasks, and the ability to break down complex tasks into subtasks. The intuitive interface, sorting options, and prominent display of high priority items streamline task management for users.
Helps users prioritize tasks when multiple deadlines are approaching by displaying a prompt. Users can select which of the conflicting tasks to tackle first based on their importance and urgency. The task order is then updated in the main deadlines view, ensuring the user focuses on the right priorities.
Notifies users when they complete a task and prompts them to reschedule the next occurrence. Users can easily shift the task to today, tomorrow, or a later date through a pop-up dialog. If they choose to reschedule, a reflection screen allows them to note what went wrong in their planning.
Testing Insights:
Empathy Mapping
The empathy maps from our co-design sessions allowed us to deeply understand how graduate students with ADHD navigate their academic responsibilities. This understanding directly shaped our design decisions, leading us to create features like Focus Sessions and StudyBro that specifically address their needs for structured support and social accountability, while maintaining a low-cognitive load interface that respects their mental energy limits.
Step 4: Prototype – From Insights to Interface
Built 2 concept prototypes addressing ADHD-specific challenges
Concept 1: Dashboard with daily task list, StudyBuddy system, visual wins, focus sessions
Concept 2: Smart task manager with breakdowns, auto-prioritization, and calendar view
Designed key features:
Focus Timer with environment presets
StudyBro accountability pairing
Reflection prompts post-task completion
Adaptive notifications and intelligent rescheduling
Step 5: Validate – Testing, Gaps & What’s Next
Conducted gap analysis across task initiation, focus, time tracking, and collaboration
Mapped out unmet needs and future features:
AI-based task segmentation
Predictive time estimation models
Expanded user base beyond women 25–30
Reflections:
Emotional attachment to failed systems revealed design opportunity
Remote, participatory methods increased authenticity and idea quality
Focus Buddy has potential to support:
ADHD students
Professionals with executive function challenges
Anyone seeking low-friction, personalized productivity
Focus Buddy: Co-Designed with ADHD
A participatory UX research journey to support focus, motivation, and structure for neurodivergent students.
Overview
Graduate students with ADHD face unique challenges in managing academic responsibilities due to executive functioning difficulties. Traditional productivity tools often add to their cognitive load rather than easing it. This project aimed to design an adaptive task management solution by co-designing directly with students navigating ADHD in graduate school.
Through contextual interviews, journey mapping, and participatory design, we created Focus Buddy — a low-cognitive-load app that supports time awareness, task initiation, and accountability.
Categories
Co-design
UX Research
Wireframing
Date
Dec 2024
Collaboration
Ruchica Sinha, Urvi Varma
My Role & Impact
My Role:
Co-led the end-to-end UX research and design process
Facilitated contextual interviews, journey mapping, and co-design workshops
Created empathy maps, thematic syntheses, and gap analysis
Designed low-fidelity wireframes and UI prototypes based on participant insights
Collaborated closely with two research partners to translate findings into actionable design features
Impact:
Enabled students with ADHD to directly shape a tool built for their unique cognitive needs
Surfaced underrepresented emotional challenges (like guilt around productivity tools) that informed the final design
Introduced the StudyBro concept to foster peer accountability — a feature highly valued by participants
Advocated for low-cognitive-load design through iterative testing and synthesis
Laid the groundwork for future development features, including AI-based task segmentation and adaptive prioritization
Introduction
🎯 The Problem
Graduate students with ADHD often abandon traditional productivity tools because they:
Require high cognitive effort
Fail to support task initiation
Don’t facilitate external accountability
Aren’t customizable for ADHD-specific needs
💡 The Solution: Focus Buddy
A flexible, ADHD-informed productivity app designed to reduce friction and improve follow-through:
Customizable Focus Sessions
Structure deep work time with adjustable breaks and timers.StudyBro: Social Accountability Built In
Team up with peers for shared study sessions and task check-ins.
“Because everyone needs a buddy who keeps them on track.”AI-Driven Task Breakdowns
Automatically divide large assignments into manageable chunks.Low-Cognitive-Load Interface
Minimalist design that’s distraction-free and easy to navigate.Seamless Calendar + LMS Integration
Syncs schedules and academic deadlines for holistic task tracking.
Final Figma Prototype
Research Approach
We used a participatory design methodology, centering the voices and lived experiences of our users.
Step 1: Discover – Understanding Neurodivergent Needs
Conducted literature review on ADHD in academic settings
Identified challenges: task initiation, focus disruptions, time awareness, external accountability gaps
Held contextual interviews with:
P1: Doctoral engineering student (26 y/o)
P2: Master's design student (28 y/o)
Key quotes:
“I work when I can focus.”
“Group projects keep me accountable — not solo tasks.”
Noticed emotional fatigue and cognitive overload with traditional tools
Participants shared current tools: P1 used complex Excel trackers; P2 highlighted a preferred app with features they struggled to access due to poor interface design.
Step 2: Map – Visualizing Daily Struggles
Created journey maps to visualize daily task flows and breakdown points
Mapped executive function challenges (procrastination, overwhelm, task-switching)
Developed empathy maps capturing mental states, needs, goals, and frustrations
Discovered recurring patterns of:
Overcompensating with overly complex systems
Abandonment due to lack of alerts or feedback loops
Thematic Analysis: Holistic Approaches to Productivity and Self-Management for Graduate Students with ADHD
To maintain a human-centered perspective amidst an analytical process, we turned to storyboarding. Visualizing our participants’ experiences highlighted their emotional journey and uncovered additional pain points and opportunities.
We created journey maps with participants, tracing their daily interactions with productivity tools. This collaborative process helped our research team visualize their pain points, workarounds, and moments of friction throughout their day.
Step 3: Co-Create – Designing with Users, Not for Them
Ran co-design sessions using a custom UI component kit
Participants built DIY mockups of their ideal productivity tool
Revealed clear design preferences:
Minimal interface, clear visuals
Automation with optional manual control
Peer-based accountability tools
Generated deeper understanding of mental models around focus and task tracking
DIY Screens created by P1 and P2
Below are the key insights from our solution building phase, highlighting both the underlying ADHD-related challenges and specific design implications for our product development.
We explored two design directions based on participant needs: one prioritizing daily structure and visual motivation, the other offering smart, adaptive task planning.
Concept 1:
This concept focuses on quick priority visualization, accountability features and focus sessions. It combines traditional task tracking with social study features, allowing students to see their daily tasks, upcoming deadlines, and scheduled study sessions all in one place. The interface prioritizes simplicity while offering powerful organization tools through easy task entry and clear priority indicators.
It also allows users to view their daily achievements and add new “study buddies” — people who can provide accountability and support. Integration with digital calendars and LMSs lie Canvas, streamlined information capture and retrieval.
The “Accountability” feature is where users can set a title, select an accountability partner, and specify a date, time, and priority for a task they want to complete.
It includes a built-in timer to track focus session durations, as well as a calendar view to schedule focus blocks in advance on specific dates and times. Users can select the task they want to focus on, customize break schedules and focus environment settings like sounds and disturbance levels, and preview their configured session before starting.
Concept 2:
Key features include adding tasks with priority levels, due dates, and recurrence settings, calendar integration to view and plan tasks, and the ability to break down complex tasks into subtasks. The intuitive interface, sorting options, and prominent display of high priority items streamline task management for users.
Helps users prioritize tasks when multiple deadlines are approaching by displaying a prompt. Users can select which of the conflicting tasks to tackle first based on their importance and urgency. The task order is then updated in the main deadlines view, ensuring the user focuses on the right priorities.
Notifies users when they complete a task and prompts them to reschedule the next occurrence. Users can easily shift the task to today, tomorrow, or a later date through a pop-up dialog. If they choose to reschedule, a reflection screen allows them to note what went wrong in their planning.
Testing Insights:
Empathy Mapping
The empathy maps from our co-design sessions allowed us to deeply understand how graduate students with ADHD navigate their academic responsibilities. This understanding directly shaped our design decisions, leading us to create features like Focus Sessions and StudyBro that specifically address their needs for structured support and social accountability, while maintaining a low-cognitive load interface that respects their mental energy limits.
Step 4: Prototype – From Insights to Interface
Built 2 concept prototypes addressing ADHD-specific challenges
Concept 1: Dashboard with daily task list, StudyBuddy system, visual wins, focus sessions
Concept 2: Smart task manager with breakdowns, auto-prioritization, and calendar view
Designed key features:
Focus Timer with environment presets
StudyBro accountability pairing
Reflection prompts post-task completion
Adaptive notifications and intelligent rescheduling
Step 5: Validate – Testing, Gaps & What’s Next
Conducted gap analysis across task initiation, focus, time tracking, and collaboration
Mapped out unmet needs and future features:
AI-based task segmentation
Predictive time estimation models
Expanded user base beyond women 25–30
Reflections:
Emotional attachment to failed systems revealed design opportunity
Remote, participatory methods increased authenticity and idea quality
Focus Buddy has potential to support:
ADHD students
Professionals with executive function challenges
Anyone seeking low-friction, personalized productivity
