foca! unites
Phase One | Engage
"During the Engage Phase, the Learners move from an abstract big idea to a concrete and actionable challenge using the Essential Questioning process. The goal is to personally connect with academic content through the identification, development, and ownership of a compelling challenge." The CBL Framework
Big Idea
Music and productivity
Essential Question
How to ally music and productivity?
Challenge
Positively impact a person's productivity with music
Phase Two | Investigate
"Building from the Challenge Learners develop contextualized learning experiences and conduct rigorous, content and concept-based research to create a foundation for actionable and sustainable solutions" - The CBL Framework
Guiding Questions
We developed 24 Guiding Questions to help identify problems and solutions for the app. These questions were categorized into five main thematic groups:
Ⅰ
What does the science say?
Ⅱ
What do people enjoy about music?
Ⅲ
What is the relationship between music and our minds?
IV
What is the relationship between music and activities?
V
What technical skills do we need to acquire?
Guiding Activities & Resources
Next, we categorized the questions into five Guiding Activities and Resources: Desk Research, Surveys and Interviews, Expert Interviews, Articles, and Digital Ethnography.
Synthesis of Surveys and Interviews
The survey received a total of 101 responses, with 76 participants stating that listening to music is essential in their daily lives. Many respondents highlighted how music improves their mood, enhances sleep, relieves tension, makes activities more enjoyable, and boosts productivity. Additionally, the survey results aligned closely with our research findings: while listening to music can be distracting during certain tasks, minimalist music can help create a sense of detachment from external distractions.
Synthesis of Desk research, Expert Interviews, Articles, and Digital Ethnography.
Everyone relates to music differently, so it's important for each person to weigh the pros and cons of listening to music to enhance productivity. Here are some common downsides and upsides of using music for productivity:
Downsides
Music can be distracting: if you’re listening to a song you know well or one with an unexpected twist, it may evoke an emotional response that diverts your attention.
When trying to remember a list, we rely on our working memory. However, if we’re engaged in tasks that require intense concentration to absorb new information, adding music can actually reduce productivity.
When reading, the brain concentrates on retaining as much information as possible. However, introducing music can divide attention between reading and processing the music, which may hinder comprehension.
Upsides
Rewarding yourself with your favorite music can serve as motivation to learn new information.
A positive mood can help you stay focused on the task at hand.
Certain songs can give your brain a boost, helping you retain more information.
Listening to music with colleagues fosters intimacy, enhances collaboration, and helps everyone sync their pace.
Listening to music releases oxytocin, which is associated with reduced anxiety and increased feelings of calm and security.
When working in a group, sharing music is a great way to connect with others on a personal level.
Phase Three | Act
"In the Act Phase evidence-based solutions are developed and implemented with an authentic audience and the results evaluated. The Learners combine a desire to make a difference with a demonstration of content mastery." - The CBL Framework
Value Proposition Canvas
"Identify your customer's major Jobs-to-be-done, the pains they face when trying to accomplish their Jobs-to-be-done and the gains they perceive by getting their jobs done." - Strategyzer
Solution Development
To keep a healthy and exciting workflow we need a music app, a productivity app and a great well-being tool
The Pomodoro is a method for staying focused and mentally fresh, focusing on the work that needs to be done for 3 cycles of 25 minutes and taking a 5 minute break, and for the last cycle you focus for 25 min and take a 25-min break.
Our solution merges the
to boost productivity.
Our app was developed from start to finish in just three months. Here are the features implemented in foca!, each carefully designed to maximize the product's effectiveness while ensuring a quick delivery.
The challenge that guided us during the development of our app was to use the power of music to make a difference in people's well-being. Now more than ever, maintaining a healthy workflow is essential to our lives. Balancing task focus while ensuring both mental and physical health is a daily challenge for many of us. Let’s stay focused with foca!?
designed by: Erick Martins & Ana Pereira
developed by: Alessandra Souza, Gustavo Tatarem & Gabriel Puppi
