MyCurrent
A UX research project exploring how to help college students track and reduce energy consumption in shared housing. Built using Value Sensitive Design and grounded in original survey research with college student participants.
This project taught me how much context shapes user behavior. Students weren't apathetic about energy, they just lacked the tools and visibility to act on it.
It reinforced for me that good research starts with understanding the environment people are actually in, not the one you assume they're in.
The Problem
College students in shared housing rarely see their utility bills, making energy consumption practically invisible.
Why It Matters: Without financial feedback or real-time data, there's little motivation to change behavior, even among students who genuinely care about sustainability.
What We Found: Three core barriers kept getting in the way: students couldn't see costs, didn't know which appliances used the most energy, and felt less accountable when living with roommates.
What We Did: We ran a survey with college student participants and used Value Sensitive Design to make sure privacy, trust, and user control were built into the solution from the start.
What I Learned
The Design Process
Starting with a hypothesis
We started with a low-fidelity prototype before running our survey to establish a baseline for what we thought students needed.
Letting the data lead
After hearing from participants, we redesigned the app to reflect what they actually wanted. Privacy controls, cost breakdowns, and clearer notifications were all added in direct response to their feedback.