Plan-It - Designing Seamless Group Planning Inside WhatsApp

The ideation phase was driven by patterns uncovered through our surveys, user interviews, affinity mapping, and established research in HCI, collaborative planning, and financial technologies. Across all data sources, a consistent theme emerged: group planning is messy because conversations, decisions, and responsibilities are scattered across long chats and multiple apps. One major insight which we got from our user interview was that users expressed a desire for smoother coordination but emphasized that they do not want another separate planning app. Since WhatsApp was the dominant platform used for planning among our participants, our ideas focused on enhancing planning within this familiar environment rather than replacing it.

You can also check out the full design documentation:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HjQQjwozdZTmAws5cagIUA7dkoZCYcyk/view?usp=sharing

So we came up with an idea called PlanIt. PlanIt is an extension to WhatsApp groups that introduces a new group type specifically tailored for planning. Instead of creating a standard WhatsApp group, users would have the option to create a PlanIt Group, which provides a more structured space for coordinating trips, events, and shared activities. This direction allowed us to enhance the familiar WhatsApp environment rather than asking users to adopt a new platform. Based on our research and the needs identified through interviews and surveys, we then developed a set of features that this PlanIt group would support.

AI Chat Summarizer

Research + Data Insight:
Long message threads and information overload were major pain points identified in our surveys and interviews. Participants often missed key messages and had to scroll repeatedly or ask someone else to recap. Research on collaborative planning tools highlights the importance of shared visual understanding and reducing cognitive load by bringing clarity to dense communication spaces.

Idea Outcome:
An AI-based chat summarizer that extracts decisions, shared links, polls, and next steps from cluttered chats. This reduces catch-up time and ensures everyone stays aligned without manual summarizing.

Split Feature

Research + Data Insight:

Interviews revealed that one trusted person usually handles payments, and money matters are often sensitive. Literature on digital payments emphasizes that money exchanges carry emotional weight, and that visibility and fairness must be handled carefully. Users want convenience without being publicly exposed in group settings.

Idea Outcome:

A private split feature where only members involved in the expense can see and settle payments. This improves fairness and reduces awkwardness, while keeping financial details discreet within WhatsApp.

Task Assignments

Research + Data Insight:
Interviews showed that roles are rarely assigned but often emerge informally leading to uneven workloads and unclear responsibility. Literature suggests stress that group planning benefits from clear division of labor, role visibility, and accountability to prevent confusion and improve coordination.

Idea Outcome:
A lightweight task assignment system inside WhatsApp, allowing members to claim or assign responsibilities (bookings, reminders, logistics). This reduces ambiguity and supports smoother collaboration.

Plan Shelf

Research + Data Insight:

The Messy Middle of group planning is characterized by fragmentation, information spread across maps, websites, chats, and personal notes. Research papers highlighted that effective group tools must unify places, dates, maps, weather, and decisions into a single interface to avoid scattering.

Idea Outcome:
The Plan Shelf, a structured space within the group showing:

• The overall plan (dates, locations, reservations)

• All shared links and media

• Who is responsible for what

• Deadlines and progress
  
  

  This solves the core issue of information being lost inside the chat.