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The app was developed and designed for people who know the importance of doing sports, but are lacking motivation to actually do it, to go out, make effort, and sweat.
To create an application that encourages beginners to run without being designed for athletes
I have run twice a week for almost two years and I still don't enjoy it.
If I need to describe myself, I would say that I'm a little lazy to do sports, but I know how important it is. I took myself seriously and I decided to run twice a week. I've been doing it for almost three years now, and I still don't like it.
The majority of apps in the markets are designed for athletes or people who enjoy sports, not for the average user. My initial idea was to create an app that would help the "less motivated" user build a habit of running and become more active.
My idea was to reward and provide insight that can help users understand their current level and how they can improve, as well as motivate them.
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For this project, I went through the entire process from research to design.
To understand and learn what could motivate people who don't do sport regularly to start running and make it a habit is my main objective. After doing a competitor research, interviews, and creating a persona that help me understand the users. I created a user flow and task flow from the perspective of the persona.
Finally, i’ve decided on the main screens and flow that will help me to do usability test and created the wireframes and high fidelity design
As a first step, I analyzed the apps of competitors to learn more about their target audience, features, and main goals.
I decided to test some popular apps, along with some that are suited more for beginners and that is related to my app
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Participant: 6 users - 4 who do not frequently exercise and 2 who run frequently
Goals: I attempted to figure out what will motivate users who don't really like running to start running and what stops them from doing so. I also tried to figure out what features will help them start running.
Moreover, I would like to hear if they will use app like this.
As part of my research, I interviewed two users who regularly run in order to understand how they built their habit and why they continue to do it.
Outcome:
Insights are more valuable than data:
The interviewees want to learn more about their exercise. They will learn how to improve and be motivated by it.
For beginners, verbal information is important
Many of the apps simply present data in numbers but don't analyze it or explain the results. Users want to know what the results mean.
Running with friends is more fun
According to the interviewees, the sport is more fun when done with friends, and it gives them the motivation to get outside. Seeing how their friends run it will give them confidence that they can also do it.
Some participants have indicated that they could be motivated by the competition.
Set a goal
If the user has a goal to achieve, it motivates him, and it gives him a feeling of success.
Schedule the run with the calendar
When the running has a specific time, and it's on the calendar, it's easier for the user to go out and run.
psychological obstacles
People are looking for things that will help them overcome psychological obstacles. This can include words of encouragement, songs, and other resources.
Improvements from the first time
Even the smallest step helps the users build their confidence and go outside again
I developed a persona who might be interested in using this app. By creating this persona, I sought to understand the user's perspective and needs.
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It was designed to show the path the user takes from the first touch (download the app) until he completes his first goal. It focuses on the major functions in the app.
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User flows describe the process a user goes through after downloading an app, and show all the decisions and dilemmas the user may face along the way.
In order to make it clear and understandable, I wrote the steps Dan (my persona) should take to reach his goal.
This step also helped me determine which screen to design and where to focus my efforts.
In order to flow with my idea, I sketched the wireframe on a notebook, followed by wireframing on Figma and prototyping the flow
Having built the flow in low-fi, I was able to test it on a few users to see how they behaved and what changes and iterations should be made before moving on to the high-fi design.
1. Schedule running screen - To make it easy and to get users to use it instead of skipping this screen was one of the challenges. I wanted it to be simple and not complicated. As a result of seeing that some users spend too much time deciding which day is best for them and some skipped this stage, I created a button that connects to the calendar and lets them find the best times. Additionally, I removed the time section and now it only appears on the selected days.
2. Level screen - During the usability testing, I discovered that I didn't need the screen and that it causes confusion for the users. It's better to focus on the goals rather than the level, especially if I am targeting beginners (customers who don't really do sports).
3. Nav bar - The elements were changed, and the option to start a run was added
4. Hierarchy - Order of the elements on the finish screen. Rather than showing it in a line and giving preferences on one results of the other, we changed the structure and gave more room to the feelings and insights.
In the process of designing, I focused on presenting the progress in an easy and clear manner, without intimidating non-sport fans and conveying the feeling that it would be easy to archive results, see improvements and build a habit
After testing usability with a number of users and conducting a short interview, I arranged the features that are worth including in the following graph.
I organized the inputs from the users in this matrix by priority and importance.For this project, I tried to put myself in the position of a manager working with a team and needing to consider other teams, such as marketing, developers, and business development
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