Steve is a junior computer science student taking a heavy course load of 18 credits. He has commitments like a video game club and trying to set up an internship. He often struggles to balance his class assignments with these other commitments. In the past, he handed in an assignment late after procrastinating on it, which hurt his grade. He wants a way to better track when he should be working on assignments so he can turn them in on time consistently.

1. Apptimization
Assignment Manager
Students need help scheduling their time
to complete their course assignments on
top of all their other commitments.

2. Persona - Steve the Struggling Student
Steve is a junior at the Michigan, majoring in Computer Science. He is
taking a heavy course load this semester (18 credits) and the class that
takes up most of his time is EECS 445 (Machine Learning). On top of his
classes, Steve has a lot of other commitments. He is a member of the
Video Game Club, he is trying to set up a summer internship at Google,
and he parties with his friends every Friday night.
Last week, Steve had an EECS 445 homework due on Friday at 11 PM.
He thought about starting on Monday but he decided to put it off because
he had a club meeting, had other homework, and thought he would have
more time later in the week. Steve didn’t start until Thursday night.
Consequently, he completed the homework one day late, resulting in a
10% deduction of his grade. Steve thinks he is good at managing his time,
but he wonders if he could do a better job. Steve is motivated to do well in
his classes but he does not always schedule his time optimally and often
struggles to balance his classes with his other commitments.

3. Key Takeaways
Think -He is fairly good (but might not be perfect) at managing his time
-There should be an easy automated way for him to manage his time
Feel -Stressed out about all his commitments
-Regretful that he can’t devote as much time and energy to each of
his classes and his other commitments as he would like
See -Constant reminders that an assignment is due on the calendar
-Grades declining due to his inability to complete course
assignments on time
Do -Decides on the fly whether or not to work on class assignments
-Occasionally hands in assignments late
-Makes sacrifices he FEELS he needs to make due to his schedule

4. Use Case
As Steve, a struggling U of M undergraduate student,
I want to keep track of when I should be working on my class
assignments
so that I can turn them in on time, consistently.

9. Hypothesis
Apptimization will help students like Steve manage their time
by feeding them measurable, concrete schedules for
completing their work and adapting to their personal needs.