figma (design), typescript react.js (frontend), firebase (auth, database, storage), vercel (hosting)

How can we make it easy for product managers, founders, and anyone managing a remote team to track the day-to-day work accomplishments of their team members and keep everyone productive? Excel sheets are definitely not the answer.

In the era of remote work, I have observed how startups and their staff manage tasks and get work done. From the famous daily standups to sprint plannings, the issue was that in most of these startups, a daily work report sheet (or a standup bot) was used to track what was done each day. I observed two ways in which daily work reports were created:
A. Each worker is assigned a Google sheet on a daily basis where they report their work. B. A giant sheet document/Slack channel where each member of the team reports their tasks

After speaking with several team owners, including my manager at the time, I developed the following "how might we" statements:
1. How might we keep team members motivated and make reporting their daily tasks easy?
2. How might we make it easy for team managers to track the tasks completed by each team member every day?
3. How might we increase the overall productivity and output of team members?

Based on these questions and existing user personas, I conducted a brainstorming session to visualize how the platform could potentially operate.

After brainstorming and creating some wireframes, I developed high-fidelity designs to support and properly illustrate my thought process -
Upon joining a team, each member reports the tasks they plan to accomplish that day. Daily reminders are also set to ensure they don't forget to report their tasks for the day.
On the following workday, team members are required to check off the tasks they completed from the ones they reported the previous day. Tasks that were not marked as completed are automatically reported as blockers to the team manager, and the team member proceeds to report their tasks for the day, carrying over the uncompleted tasks.




On the other hand, team managers can track the productivity levels of their team members on a daily basis, monitor their tasks, and receive notifications on any blockers that arise.




One of the main characteristics that the brand aimed to convey is playfulness. To express this in the design, I incorporated gamification features on the platform. This also serves as a means to motivate team members to be more productive.
When team members report completed tasks, they earn points. These points reset at the beginning of each year. They can use the points to unlock certain rewards set by the team manager. Additionally, they earn daily streaks when they report tasks consecutively. Their streaks reset when they miss a day of reporting.




The team also has a leaderboard that is organized based on the number of points earned by each team member, allowing them to compete for the top spot. Additionally, team members can view and share a gamified activity chart that showcases their accomplishments.

At the time of writing this case study, we are launching the beta version of refro and are collecting feedback. This feedback will drive the next iteration. Overall, it was an interesting process of brainstorming simple solutions to solve various problems related to the productivity of remote teams.