Fitness Tracking App
Challenge yourself. Track your workout. Measure your progress.
Project Overview
For this project, I focused on how I could make a more satisfying fitness app experience for users.
The Process
To figure out how to improve users’ experience with a new fitness app concept, I used the following process:
Methods and Tools
User interviews (Zoom)
Affinity diagramming (Trello)
Gathered free icons and stock images from the web (Pexels, Iconscout)
Low fidelity wireframes (pen and paper)
Mid-fidelity digital wireframes (Sketch)
Information architecture (Sketch)
Interactive prototype (Axure)
Think-aloud usability test (Zoom)
Findings & recommendations (PowerPoint)
Step 1: User Interviews & Directed Storytelling
Using a directed storytelling approach, I interviewed 3 people and asked them to tell me about a time you used an app while doing a workout. When was it? Who was/were involved? What happened and did you feel? What did you like? What was annoying or confusing? What would have been helpful or made it more satisfying?
I recorded each video using Zoom and took notes based on users’ responses, adding greater detail after watching each video. To analyze these interviews, I applied affinity diagramming using Trello to categorize insights into various themes, namely common experiences, wants/needs, pain points, and key differences in experiences and values.
User interview summary findings
Common Experiences
Use app to track fitness goals & measure progress
Primary point of access: watch
DON’T like sharing personal stats but DO like having someone/something to chase
accountability partners
monthly challenges/badges
notifications when someone completes a workout
Common Wants/Needs
Accuracy in tracking stats
Access to detailed summary stats
Option to connect with others without having to share personal stats
sharing photos
notification of workouts completed
badges earned
Common Pain Points
Inaccurate data tracking (when app fails to record full workout)
Having to manually push start/stop/pause button —> prefer automatic start/stop/pause for optimal data accuracy
Inability to customize app
adding new exercises
changing the names of exercises
limited to preloaded exercises
Key Differences
Athletic abilities
Preferred apps (Apple Activity, MapMyRide, GarminConnect)
Type of customization desired
program detailed running workouts
adding house cleaning, yard work
Personas
User 1
"I want them to be motivating me but I don't necessarily want them to see me fail.”
User 2
"There are so many apps to choose from, so when you choose the one you want to use and then it doesn't follow through for you, that's pretty frustrating."
User 3
"[Earning badges from fitness challenges] is one of the most fun things for me because I'm a geek. It's kind of a fun social-type thing to do without being so social media-ish.”
Step 2: Develop a goal statement
Goal Statement: My user group is athletically inclined adult women over 30 who want to accurately and reliably track their physical fitness so that they can feel challenged and accomplished.
Step 3: Wireframing
To design with intent, I worked from my goal statement and key insights (wants/needs/pain points) from my user interviews and developed low-fidelity wireframes for 6 key screens using pencil and paper.
Screens 1-3
Screens 4-6
Digital wireframes
Working from my sketched wireframes, I then created digital wireframes in Sketch.
Step 4: Information Architecture
I then created an information architecture diagram to show how content is organized and the primary pathway for a user’s primary tasks.
I also added additional screens and increased the fidelity of my digital wireframes by adding navigation elements (e.g., footer navigation) and other wayfinding elements.
Step 5: Interactive Prototype
I added even more additional screens and then created an interactive prototype using Axure to show the basic interactions.
Step 6: Evaluation: Think-aloud usability test
Evaluation goals: 1) Evaluate the usability of 6 key task flows, and 2) Assess the clarity of how the content is organized and worded
Think-aloud Usability Test
Working from Steve Krug’s Usability Test Script, I developed 6 tasks for users to complete in the areas of: starting/stopping a workout, finding fitness challenges, notifications and privacy settings, programming a workout, and comparing stats.
Additionally, I documented participants’ general comments on what was clear and easy about the app and what was confusing. I recorded their suggestions for enhancing the organization and wording of content.
Two of the participants were from the original user interviews; two were new but had experiencing with similar wellness and fitness apps.
Top Usability Problems
Using affinity diagramming to analyze results, I identified 4 primary usability problems:
1) The stats filter is confusing (findability)
2) Comparing two workouts is confusing except after immediately completing a workout (findability)
3) Users did not know what “preprogram” means (wording)
4) Users were unclear what the awards/badges mean (unclear signifier).
Recommendations
From these findings, I developed a table of recommendations categorized by importance.