MICROSOFT

INDIA DESIGN
CHALLENGE
Varsha Gajula
Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of
Technology, Hyderabad
82% of Indians are
stressed out today.
 PROBLEM STATEMENT 40

30

My goal was to identify a problem in the

area of "Well-being" and create a digital 20
solution and good design to promote well-
being and help an individual deliver an 10
effective output.
0
DEC JAN FEB MARCH APRIL
The problem that I have decided to work on
is Stress Management for well-being. To
enhance well-being by reducing stress and
building resilience.
 STRESS MANAGEMENT
“People are disturbed not by a thing, but by their perception of a thing.”
EPICTETUS

People have very different ideas with respect to their

definition of stress. Probably the most common is,
“physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension”.
Another popular definition of stress is, “a condition
or feeling experienced when a person perceives that
demands exceed the personal and social resources
the individual is able to mobilize.”
 USER RESEARCH
In order to gain insights on managing stress, I have done a survey among different age groups. I got
to understand the pain-pleasure points of the users.

Throughout the entire design thinking

phase, I have followed the double
diamond design process, a human-
centric design .

I conducted a survey with 50+ responses

on Stress Management among the
students and employers.
 SURVEY
Results of a few survey questions

Some insights I drew

from the answers are that
Most of them already
people are more often
have more than 4 hours
stressed which could lead
of screen time, so I should
to health issues.
involve some activities
which does not let them
have much strain on their
eyes.
The graphs here depict the reasons of
stress, their symptoms and how they
are trying to reduce it
 USER PERSONA

Based on my research, I made a user

persona to represent target user
groups.

Persona gave me a kickstart to my

brain storming and ideation process. It
helped me to understand what the
user could expect from the application.
 IDENTIFIED PROBLEMS
IMPROPER SCHEDULE
People are unable to schedule their tasks efficiently which leads to
hurrying up in the last moment and being stressed

PRESSURE
This is due to unsatisfied employment among employers, exam
stress among students and family concerns for a few others.

NO PROPER SELF CARE

Most of them ignore their stress levels which could harm their
brain's functionality thereby leading to health issues.

NO PROPER COUNSELLING
People ignore reaching out to the counsellors in the fear of being
judged and unavailability of them,
 SOLUTIONS
TASK MANAGEMENT
Users can schedule their tasks effectively using the task
management tool, which would help use their time efficiently
thereby reducing the burden on them,

MUSIC
Music can have a profound effect on both the emotions and the
body. A slower tempo can quiet your mind and relax your muscles,
making you feel soothed while releasing the stress of the day. Music
is effective for relaxation and stress management.

JOURNALLING
Journaling allows people to clarify their thoughts and feelings,
thereby gaining valuable self-knowledge. It’s also a good problem-
solving tool; oftentimes, one can hash out a problem and come up
with solutions more easily when jotted down.
 SOLUTIONS
RELEIVING ACTIVITITES
Meditation, exercise, walking, reading, playing games could reduce
the stress and increase resilience among the users.

INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE

Socialization, or enjoying other people's company and maintaining
a sense of connectedness to others is an important component of
stress reduction. Joining a club or group, chatting online, calling a
friend on the phone, or hanging out with family are all examples of
socialization. These activities decrease a sense of loneliness while
promoting feelings of safety, security, belonging and enjoyment.

TALKING TO A COUNSELLOR
Talking to a therapist about stress can also be a key part of
addressing and reducing it in the long-term. After getting to know
you, a therapist may recommend healthy strategies for dealing with
stress. They might personalize these to best suit your needs.
IDEATION AND WIRE FRAMES
USER FLOW
HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPES

HOME PAGE
Access to Music, Relieving activities,
finding friends, counsellor chat.

User can also manage their tasks and

check their progress from the task bar.
COUNSELLORS
Details of the best counsellors available,
also mentioning their rating and
problems they would be treating, so
that user gets a clear idea of which
counsellor to go to.

Users can chat by sending text

messages , voice message or a
photograph if needed help solve their
problem.
TASKS
Daily highlight is that task which is
utmost important. Choosing a highlight
gives users a chance to be proactive
about how they spend their time.

The To-Do list helps user get an analysis

of the tasks yet to be completed. The
tasks are reminded according to
priority basis,

User can mark his busy days on the

calendar so that it doesn't concur with
other events.
BEING GRATEFUL
Research has shown that people who feel
gratitude are happier, report more life
satisfaction, and report less stress.

Grateful people are less likely to be

depressed, anxious, lonely, and neurotic.
But it also appears that grateful people
don’t live in a world of denial. They don’t
ignore the negative parts of their lives.
JOURNALLING
Journaling can help user organize
thoughts, clear your mind, facilitate
problem solving and gain perspective.

It can reduce stress by serving as an

escape or emotional release of negative
thoughts and feelings.

User can add a new note and can make

changes to the previous notes.
SOCIALIZING AND PROGRESS
Users can chat, call or video call their
friends here.
There are also a few groups where people
with the same issues come over to speak
with each other and feel free.
Users can join the groups to interact with
like-minded persons.

A graph analysis is made based on the

mood of the user. They are notified about
the same and devise a plan to help them
improve in a better way.

Games are a fun activity which could be

stress relieving.
PROFILE
Profile page enables users to view their
details.

The user is expected to fill in their

interests and the reasons of feeling
stressed so that we could devise a better
plan for them.
 CONCLUSION

StressLess will ensure that all it's

users get a seamless experience
and reduce their stress.

They will also be developing long term

habits of reading, writing, exercising
which would keep them healthy and
strong.