USER
RESEARCH
The interviews
Based on the problem statement, an interview guide was created that was designed to guide our interviewees through an analysis of what they need in order to solve this problem.
Interviews >
User guide
What are people's Motivations for working out?
Why do people stop working out on a regular basis?
What difficulties do people run into when deciding what to do in the gym?
What difficulties do people run into when scheduling regular workouts?
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Questions
Where do you typically work out? Please talk about your motivations for working out.
What kind of fears do you have about working out, if any? What are you confident in?
How do you decide what to do when you start? Any difficulties?
Walk me through a typical workout routine. How often? What would be ideal?
Do your routines stay the same from day to day or do they change? Why? How do you feel about it?
What is the most difficult thing about working out? Have you done anything that’s helped?
If you ever kept a regular workout plan, did you have any challenges maintaining it?
What would keep you working out regularly?
If you could choose one adjective to describe how you feel about working out, what would it be and why?
Please describe any aids, such as apps, videos, or audio, that help you work out, if any. How have they worked?
Were there any question you were surprised I didn’t ask you?
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Most found finding time & remembering to even schedule in the first place was the main challenge to maintaining a regular workout schedule.
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The majority of the seven I interviewed have never had a trainer and do not know what to do when going into a gym. They need a guide to be with them to tell them.
The biggest motivation available is seeing one's progress. There must be a progress tracker of some kind in this app.
The majority of people like variety with their workouts. Many have different ways of doing so; some split days into upper-body days and lower-body days, others focus on cardio one day and weight training on another, and a couple just do full-body.
The majority of people have trouble maintaining interest in a workout that does not change. Even when they split up their workouts into upper & lower-body workouts into different days, it just stays too the same and they lose interest.
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Trends
research insights
This app needs to help my users schedule their workouts. In fact, it should automatically do it for them. My interviewees had a hard time getting their workouts to be an established part of their schedules because they just forget to schedule them.
There must be a timer for cardio. Many like to run or swim or bike outside so they will often not have a time available from a gym machine.
The app must be motivational. My interviewees all liked apps that allowed them to see their progress and that kept them going. Being able to share their progress with their friends also keeps them accountable and more likely to workout again.
My interviewees all liked having focuses on certain days. They typically switch from lower body to upper the next day or do a full-body workout one day and then cardio the next. There should also be specific goals the user can set up such as weight management, strength, or general health that will tailor their workouts to their specific needs to attain those goals.
The app must connect to users’ calendars and My Fitness Pal. The app will ask the users’ schedule and fill in empty spots with workouts and automatically update their calendars. Their workouts will be recorded and update their My Fitness Pal with calories burnt from the workouts.
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Persona #1 >
BORED BONNIE
"It’s hard to be excited to do something I find so boring"
DEMOGRAPHICS
25
San Francisco
MBA Psychology
Psychology Researcher
Lives with her boyfriend
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AGE
LOCATION
EDUCATION
OCCUPATION
LIVING
GOALS
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Lose and maintain weight
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Make workout an established part of her life
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Discovering a steady schedule that works for her
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Be excited about and engaged during her workout
FRUSTRATIONS
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Getting bored with the same routine day after day in the gym.
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Not being able to find motivation to do the same thing every time in the gym.
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Being able to find the drive to choose to go to the gym rather than do a number of other things and responsibilities.
TECH
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INTERNET
SOCIAL
MESSAGING
BUSY BOBBIE
Persona #2 >
“I can’t seem to find the time to workout in my crazy schedule”
DEMOGRAPHICS
28
San Francisco
MBA Economics
Marketing Strategist
Lives with his wife and two kids
GOALS
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Lose and maintain weight
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Make workouts an established part of his life
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Be able to find a sustainable time to workout on a reliable and regular basis
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AGE
LOCATION
EDUCATION
OCCUPATION
LIVING
TECH
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INTERNET
SOCIAL
MESSAGING
FRUSTRATIONS
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Not being able to find enough time to work out
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Not being able to find the right time during his week to workout
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Having unforeseen circumstances during the week that get in the way of his scheduled workouts
THE USER JOURNEY >
FIND APP
Users must be able to find app based on related advertisements.
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GET APP
Users must purchase app – free with in-app purchases.
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ENTER PREFERRED METHOD
Based on interviews, users tend to prefer either free-weights or machines. Some do not weight-lift and focus on cardio. Here, users will be asked what they prefer doing.
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ENTER GOALS
Options will include weight loss, increased strength, heart health, lower cholesterol, ect. Obviously, everyone wants all of that, but this asks what their main motivators are.
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make workouts an established part of their schedule
The app connects with the user's calendar – with their permission of course – which enables it to schedule workouts for the user. It will create a routine along with lengths of workouts based upon the user's goals or manually created settings the user set up from their profile.
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START WORKING OUT
They start using the app at the gym or wherever. User will be given a semi-randomized workout each time they used based upon what they filled out during setup and what workouts they did the previous session.
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USER CHECKS PROGRESS
The user will be able to see their progress and changes in a variety of their abilities such as weight training, cardio-vascular health, and their personal weight.
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SUGGEST USER CHALLENGE THEMSELVES
After two weeks of consistency, user will be given the ability to level up and asked if they can handle a bit more and how to increase work outs using FIT (frequency, intensity, or time). User will also use progress section, post it to Facebook, and help motivate them to continue.
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user works out regularly