together — Family Chore Sharing Service Design

together is a service that allows family members to share, manage, and communicate about household chores together. We observed various issues arising from chore sharing among family members and designed a service to solve these problems through various insights.

Unequal Chore Sharing Despite Perception

While the perception that household chores should be shared equally among family members is on the rise, the actual rate of equitable chore distribution remains very low. This has led to ongoing conflicts among family members, which have been exacerbated especially after COVID-19.

Survey on Chore Sharing Among 107 Couples

Lack of Ownership and Motivation

A common characteristic of families where chores are not well distributed is the tendency for one person to take on most of the work. In these cases, the spouse who is less involved in household chores tends to see helping as more of a favor rather than a shared responsibility, and there is also a lack of ongoing motivation.

Interviews on Chore Sharing Among 4 Couples

Role Assignment and Fairness Lead to Better Chore Sharing

In couples where one person primarily handles the household chores, it was common for the person to frequently request help from other family members. On the other hand, couples who shared chores more equally were more likely to assign specific roles based on each person's abilities. This shows the importance of clear role assignment in chore sharing.

Comparison of Chore Sharing Methods Among Couples

Understanding and Empathy are Key

Through analyzing the research results, we identified various challenges in household chores, the importance of attitude, and methods for efficiently performing chores. Among these various insights, the most important was understanding and empathizing with the thoughts, situations, and tendencies of others.

Insights Derived from Research

Two User Types in Situations of Concentrated Chore Burden

We identified two user types as personas in situations where the burden of household chores is concentrated on one person. Based on these personas, we created scenarios where user problems become apparent and applied these user needs to the service concept.

Two Types of Personas

Clear Role Assignment and Ongoing Motivation

To alleviate the burden of household chores concentrated on one person, we set clear role assignment as a key concept of the service. We also focused on visually representing achievements and fostering a sense of shared responsibility through family praise and encouragement to ensure ongoing motivation.

Service Concept and Direction

A Simple Service Structure Usable by the Whole Family

We designed the service for the entire family, simplifying the structure to ensure intuitive use regardless of age or familiarity with IT devices. We also focused on designing core functions that effectively express the service concept.

Service Information Architecture

Adding and Completing Chores, Leaving Comments

Any family member can add chores for themselves or others, and the added chores are shared with everyone for clear role assignment. Once a chore is completed, it can be marked as done with a simple gesture, and comments can be written to express praise and encouragement among family members.

Adding and Completing Chores, and Comments

Tracking Completed Chores and Managing the Family

Once the family has completed household chores together, they can visually track their achievements through various charts and data. This helps maintain ongoing motivation and facilitates the coordination of chores. Family members can also be easily added and managed via links.

Family Insights and Management

Checking Notifications and Managing Profiles

Notifications allow users to check whether chores have been added or completed and to view comments. Additionally, the service offers various functions such as managing the profile used within the service and setting up notifications.

Service Notifications and Profile Management

Maintaining Ongoing Interest in Household Chores

We provided push notifications and widget features to encourage ongoing interest in household chores even when not actively using the app. This ongoing interest naturally leads to a shared sense of responsibility, allowing family members to take ownership of their household chores.

Push Notifications and Widget

Positive Expectations from Actual Interviewees

We designed the service to alleviate the burden of household chores and to foster ongoing motivation and responsibility. We showed the designed service to the interviewees, and all of them provided positive feedback, saying, "If this app were developed, it would be very helpful."

Family Chore Sharing Service together