My mom maybe suffering from what is called Empty nest syndrome, a psychological condition that affects principally women, producing grief when one or more of the children leave home.[2] Most commonly it occurs when children leave for school, college, or university (usually late summer and autumn), or when children marry and leave home to live with their spouse.
Problems/Goals: What is the user trying to solve? In identifying this, I had to observe her and interview to uncover some behavioral patterns:
- She values time with friends. She also finds that going out and her work makes her distracted.
- As a single parent, she is alone most of the time. Most of her kids are working and living abroad, and has only one kid left in college who doesn’t live with her anymore.
- When she has time alone, she starts really feeling sad, and this is sometimes confusing for her.
I’ve researched more on the topic of Empty Nest Syndrome, and many of the recommendations were:
- Occupy oneself with tasks like visionboarding, taking up hobbies, or volunteering.
- Consider keeping a journal to document your journey. Prayer or meditation may also help.
- A support system – a listening ear and confirmation that what they are going through is real, does matter, and in time, will pass.
I started brainstorming possible ideas using the “How Might We” exercise:
- HMW build a chatbot that does the job of a therapist?
- HMW use an app that helps the user track her feelings and activities?
- HMW help the user plan future goals?
User Flow
I really loved learning further about User Journey Mapping from this site:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXNeO06u-v0.
I drafted a Customer Journey Map that is an overview of an interaction between my Mom and an app that helps her with her goals of overcoming Empty Nest Syndrome.
Happy Path Journeys 