Context
UpBeing provides valuable insights into users’ moods through daily mood check-ins and passive data collection. Upon joining the team, my primary responsibilities included actively contributing to the maintenance of the Design system, enhancing the Check-in experience, assisting with research initiatives, and successfully launching the Social feature.
The Check-in
UpBeing’s primary feature, check-ins, serves as a link between users’ activities and their emotions. However, our goal was not merely to create an emotion-tracking app. Capturing users’ emotional input in a minute posed a challenge, but we aimed for more than just collection. We aspired to encourage users to reflect deeply and differently on their emotions within that minute.
The objective was for UpBeing to help users comprehend the connection between their actions and emotions, unraveling the ‘why’ behind their feelings. Various models were explored, including Likert scale questions, mood wheels, and emoji scales. Likert questions proved too cumbersome for multiple daily check-ins, while the emoji scale oversimplified nuanced emotions. The mood wheel, with its representation of primary and secondary emotions, emerged as a strong contender and remains a preferred mental model.
The problem
When I joined UpBeing, the product faced a critical challenge: an alarming churn rate of nearly 100% within the first three days of use. Originally designed as a desktop experience with a data-heavy dashboard, users quickly disengaged and abandoned the app.
Through direct user interviews, we uncovered several key pain points:
Difficulty with numerical representation of well-being: Users found it challenging to quantify their emotions or well-being in numerical terms, making it hard for them to engage meaningfully with the data presented.
Time-consuming check-ins: While most users expected the check-in process to take one minute or less, they expressed that anything longer than five minutes would discourage continued use. This created a friction point in maintaining engagement.
Confusion between energy and attitude: During testing, users struggled to distinguish between their energy levels and their emotional attitude. This blurred distinction made it difficult for them to provide accurate responses.
Unclear emotional quadrants: Users lacked an intuitive understanding of where specific moods or emotions fit within each quadrant of the mood grid, which led to further confusion and hindered their ability to complete the check-in process.
The goals
To address the user pain points and drastically improve engagement, we established the following strategic goals:
- Design a robust information architecture: Create a clear, scalable framework that not only simplifies navigation but also lays a strong foundation for future feature expansions without overwhelming users.
- Match the mental model of users: Restructure the user experience to align with how users naturally think about tracking their well-being, ensuring that interactions feel intuitive and seamless.
- Reduce churn rate: Tackle the high churn by making key improvements that would increase user retention and provide immediate value within the first few days of use.
- Eliminate confusion: Streamline the check-in process and data presentation to minimize confusion, making it easy for users to understand their progress and the insights provided by the app.
The solutions
INTRODUCED THE CONCEPT OF MOOD WHEEL
We designed a tool that allowed users to explore and better articulate their feelings. By pressing and holding on any emotion, users could read its definition and determine if it accurately captured how they were feeling. This gave users the freedom to explore their emotions in relation to everything they could be feeling, encouraging deeper reflection and connection with the app.
SIMPLIFIED EMOTIONAL CHECK-INS
We restructured the check-in process by breaking down the complexity into two simple binary questions—positive or negative, and high or low—making it easier for users to engage with the app without feeling overwhelmed.
PAST DAY EXPLORER
We introduced a feature allowing users to explore their mood changes over different time frames—daily, weekly, or monthly. Users could also take notes on events or circumstances that influenced their mood, providing deeper insights into their emotional well-being.
The results
The solutions we implemented led to significant improvements in user engagement and retention:
92% decrease in user churn: By addressing the key pain points and simplifying the user experience, we saw a dramatic reduction in churn, improving user retention and long-term engagement.
Average of 3 daily check-ins per user: The redesigned check-in process encouraged consistent user interaction, resulting in an average of 3 check-ins per user each day.
1,000 daily check-ins within two months of launch: Just two months after implementing the changes, the app reached a milestone of 1,000 daily check-ins, demonstrating strong user adoption and engagement.
The Social Feature
Aligned with our OKRs, we aspire to launch the “Your Orbit” social feature, a purpose-built MVP designed to enhance interactions among UpBeing users. This feature will enable users to share their moods, fostering genuine support within their intimate circles. Our vision is to cultivate an environment where UpBeing users can connect meaningfully, providing mutual support and understanding.
The challenges
UpBeing’s initial value proposition focused on helping users understand their well-being and empowering them to make positive changes by recognizing how their behaviors and emotions impact their health. However, this approach was limited to a ‘Single Player Experience,’ preventing users from sharing their journey or engaging with a community.
As a result, there was a significant risk of user churn. Many users felt they had ‘seen it all’ or had made improvements based solely on their personal data, leading to disengagement and reduced motivation to continue using the app.
To address this challenge, we identified the need to introduce social features—or a multi-player experience—to enhance community engagement. This enhancement aimed to increase daily active users and improve overall user retention by fostering connections among users, allowing them to share experiences and support one another on their well-being journeys.
Concept testing
We conducted a concept testing to help inform the My Circle product direction, specifically understanding how people manage their emotional wellbeing through connections.
Feature Fit: Understand if there is a willingness to share the status of an individual’s wellbeing, and what relationships are being represented in that sharing.
Boundaries: Define what should be shared and what should never be shared. What will make users say, “Yes, please!” or conversely, “Not for me!”?
Expectations: Identify what users expect to be able to see and do when using UpBeing’s social features.
Opportunities: Understand our biggest opportunity – what can we act on quickly.
Research findings
Exploring solutions
To address the challenges identified through our research, we opted to start with an MVP that would allow us to move forward confidently with a core feature:
Feature 1: INVITE PEOPLE TO THE ORBIT
We began by introducing the ability for users to invite up to 5 individuals into their inner circle, called their “orbit.” This feature fostered a sense of connection and shared well-being within a trusted group. The permissions for sharing within this circle were equal, meaning everyone had the same level of access to each other’s mood updates and insights. Once an invitation was accepted, both individuals were automatically added to one another’s circle, creating a two-way connection that encouraged reciprocal support and engagement.
Feature 2: ADD CONTEXT AND OFFER SUPPORT
To enhance emotional expression and connection, we introduced the ability for users to add context to their mood or orb. This context could be shared in the form of text or images, allowing users to provide deeper insights into what might be influencing their emotions.
Additionally, users gained the ability to signal whether they did or did not need support, empowering them to communicate their emotional needs clearly. In response, others within their circle could offer support by reacting to the person’s mood or orb, providing a sense of connection and empathy within the group.
Feature 3: ABILITY TO SEE THE ORB ALL THE TIME (DAY/ WEEK/ MONTH)
We recognized users’ desire to observe emotional patterns over time, not just within themselves but also within their inner circle. To address this, we introduced the ability to view how a person’s orb (or emotional state) has changed over various time frames—daily, weekly, and monthly.
This feature allowed users to differentiate between temporary mood fluctuations (like one low day) and more concerning, long-term patterns (such as several weeks of low mood). This was especially valuable for users who interacted with family members, particularly teenagers, as it enabled them to monitor emotional well-being over time and provide support where needed. The ability to see how orbs changed helped users feel more connected and informed, enhancing their emotional awareness within their trusted circle.
Additionally, users gained the ability to signal whether they did or did not need support, empowering them to communicate their emotional needs clearly. In response, others within their circle could offer support by reacting to the person’s mood or orb, providing a sense of connection and empathy within the group.
FINAL DESIGN
The impact
User Feedback from Pre-Launch Diary Study
To gather in-depth insights about user behavior and interactions with the app, we conducted a pre-launch diary study. This research method involved participants journaling their daily experiences with the app over a set period, offering us valuable, real-world feedback about how they engaged with the features and navigated their emotional well-being.
