By Adeline Hamon in taskly —

3.2. Research and analysis

Define the Strategic Foundation: Product & UX Strategy (Stage 1)

This phase focuses on defining the product's vision and aligning it with user needs to ensure its long-term success.

1.1 Data collection & Review

Data Collection: In this phase, the goal is to gather all relevant data to better understand the environment, users, market trends, and expectations for the tool.

A. Market Research

The goal here is to understand the competitive landscape, the task management app market, and user expectations.

Competitors:

  • Trello: A very popular Kanban tool for task management. It's easy to use and visually clear, but lacks customization and automation features. It is often criticized for its feature limitations in the free version.
  • Todoist: A simple and effective task management app with reminders, labels, and priorities. Users appreciate its clean interface, but some find it too basic for team collaboration.
  • Asana: Designed for team project management, Asana offers many advanced features, but can be overwhelming for individual users. Its interface is sometimes seen as cluttered.
  • Notion: More than just a task manager, Notion allows for creating customizable databases. It’s flexible, but learning how to use it can be a bit more difficult.

Opportunities for Taskly:

  • Offer a simple but modular interface.
  • Create a product focused specifically on individual users (BtoC) while keeping the interface intuitive and straightforward.
  • Focus on smart reminders, simple visual updates, and a Kanban view.

B. User Research (Qualitative)

Since we don’t have real user interviews yet, I’ll base this research on educated assumptions.

Assumptions about Target Users:

  • Students, freelancers, and professionals are looking for simple task management tools without a steep learning curve.
  • Users prefer a clear interface with a quick overview of their tasks.
  • Reminders are crucial to avoid missing deadlines, especially in a multitasking context (e.g., balancing work, personal life, and school).

C. Competitive Analysis

To understand user expectations and identify gaps in existing products, we need to do a detailed analysis of user feedback on platforms like:

  • App Store / Google Play: Review ratings and feedback on similar apps (Trello, Todoist, Asana). For example, users often complain about complexity, information overload, or limited features in free versions.
  • Reddit / Forums: Browse forums like Reddit to see how people discuss their task management tools. For example, many users complain about a lack of flexibility or features for personal task management in B2B tools like Asana.

1.2. Setting problems and goals

Once we have an overview, it’s time to define the problems to solve and the goals to achieve for Taskly’s first version.

A. Problems to Solve

  1. Overload of features in existing tools: Many task management apps (like Asana, Trello) are seen as too complex or too feature-rich, which can overwhelm users. Taskly’s goal is to simplify this experience.
  2. Lack of flexibility in popular tools: Many tools are either too simple (Todoist) or too complex (Asana, Trello). Taskly should fill this gap by offering an interface that is minimalistic yet customizable.
  3. Lack of intelligent notifications: Users need reminders and alerts that help them stay organized without bombarding them with unnecessary notifications. Taskly’s smart reminder system should meet this need without causing cognitive overload.
  4. Difficulty in visualizing tasks: Many users complain about not having a clear, simple view of their tasks. Taskly should offer an effective and easy-to-understand Kanban view where task progress is visually obvious.

B. Goals to Achieve

  1. Simplicity and clarity in the interface: Create a clean interface that allows users to quickly add, track, and organize tasks. Ensure minimal clicks for ease of navigation.
  2. Smooth Kanban view: Develop a Kanban view where users can easily drag and drop tasks between columns (To Do, In Progress, Done). Also, allow for filters by priority or due date.
  3. Intelligent notifications: Implement a reminder system that triggers at relevant moments based on the user’s habits. The goal is to help users stay productive without overwhelming them with notifications.
  4. Achieve a minimum engagement rate: Target 10,000 active users in the first 6 months by providing a simple interface and engaging features. In the launch phase, the focus will be on the interface and ease of use.
  5. Gather early positive user feedback: Collect positive feedback from users on the first version of the app, particularly regarding ease of use and effective notifications.

C. Creation of a Conceptual Product Idea

In this phase, we move from the research phase to an actionable idea. The goal is to conceptualize how Taskly will serve the user needs identified in the earlier stages. The conceptual product idea will focus on being a lightweight, user-friendly task management tool aimed at individuals (B2C). It will include the following features:

  • Simple task creation and management: Tasks can be easily added, edited, and completed with a clean interface.
  • Kanban view: A clear, visual way to manage tasks in "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done" columns.
  • Smart notifications: A system that reminds users of tasks based on priority and deadlines.
  • Cross-platform synchronization: The ability to use the app on different devices (mobile, desktop) seamlessly.
  • User customization: Basic customization options like themes, task labels, and colors.

The product should focus on simplicity while being feature-rich enough for individual productivity needs.

1.4. Analysis of Input Data

Now that we have a conceptual product idea, we need to analyze the collected data (user needs, competitor analysis, etc.) to refine the concept and understand its implications.

A. Key Data Analysis

  • User Pain Points: Overloaded apps with complex interfaces, lack of personalized features, and inefficient task visualization.
  • Competitive Data: Competitors like Todoist, Asana, and Trello have been analyzed, showing strengths in simplicity (Todoist) and project management (Asana), but weaknesses in user flexibility and ease of use.
  • Market Trends: A growing preference for minimalist interfaces, smart reminders, and task visualization tools in the task management space.

B. Actionable Insights

  • We need to prioritize ease of use over complex features.
  • Taskly must stand out by offering an intuitive Kanban interface with smart notifications for personal productivity.

1.5. The "How Might We" Approach

This method is used to translate the identified user problems into opportunities for design and development. We will frame the challenges as open-ended questions.

A. Key Questions

  1. How might we make task management easy and intuitive for individual users?
  2. How might we simplify the Kanban view while maintaining flexibility?
  3. How might we create a reminder system that is helpful, not overwhelming?
  4. How might we ensure seamless cross-platform synchronization?

These questions will guide us toward the right design and development direction.

1.6. Discussion and Agreement Stage

  • Title Only: Align the team on insights from the "How Might We" phase and confirm product direction.

1.7. Creating a Decision Tree

At this stage, we will create a decision tree to prioritize which features should be built first. The goal is to make decisions based on user needs, technical feasibility, and market differentiation.

A. Decision Tree Example

  • Task Management: Must-have (Core feature for task creation and management).
  • Kanban View: Must-have (Visual task management is key to differentiation).
  • Smart Notifications: Nice-to-have (Depending on development complexity, this can be phased in).
  • Customization Options: Low priority (First focus on core functionality, then move to customization).

1.8. Analysis of Competitors (General)

This step involves an in-depth look at competitors in the task management space, aiming to pinpoint their strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in their offerings.

A. Competitors Overview

  • Trello: Great for visual organization with Kanban, but limited customization and automation in the free version.
  • Todoist: Simple task management with good cross-platform support, but lacks advanced collaboration and customization.
  • Asana: Strong for teams and project management, but too complex for individual users and offers more than necessary for personal productivity.
  • Notion: Flexible, but can be overwhelming and requires more learning time for individual users.

B. Gaps Identified

  • Taskly should prioritize simplicity without sacrificing essential features like task organization and notifications.
  • It needs to offer a clean and flexible Kanban view, with smarter reminders than existing solutions.