PROJECT INTRO

Fitcircle is my second capstone project where I was given a scenario to enhance a fitness experience and improve its engagement rate.

It is a redesigned fitness mobile app that allows users to share their fitness journey with their circle of friends and families. The newly added messaging and gamification features enhanced the social experience and made everyday fitness more fun and engaging.

 

👩🏻‍💻 MY ROLE

  • UX Research

  • Wireframe

  • Prototype & testing

  • Interface design

🕛 TIMELINE

  • 6 weeks

📂 PROJECT TYPE

  • Fitness Tracking product scenario

 THE CHALLENGE

Users drop off quickly due to a lack of engagement

On average user engagement is heavy for the first three weeks then it drops off and soon after users delete the app. The company would like to integrate messaging into the app and allow users to alert or message others as their progress or goals are met. The hypothesis is that if members of the family or group can message individuals or the entire group at any point throughout the experience, engagement and repeat usage metrics will increase.

 
 

 PROJECT GOALS

Improve user engagement

 

SOLUTION AT A GLANCE

Integrated messaging experiences throughout the product

Design process

DISCOVER

Understand the existing and potential users

First of all, based on the user information given by the company, I created a persona for the user profile.

Secondary research

In order to further understand what drives the users, I researched 2 leading industry companies with the following questions in mind:

  • What are some messaging features fitness app companies are using?

  • What drives users to stay engaged in the fitness app?

  • How to share fitness progress with other users?

Nike Run Club

Strava

Here’s a comparison chart I made after the secondary research:

Primary research

After the secondary research, I continued with user interviews to collect more qualitative data and get more insight from real users.

I tried both apps myself and interviewed a few of my friends who exercised regularly and had used both apps. Here are a few quotes from them:

Research conclusion:

After the secondary and primary research, I came to the conclusion that

  • The app should allow users to message each other in a more inclusive and private setting.

  • Users should be able to send pictures, voice messages, funny emojis, etc. within the group, etc.

  • Gamification offers great incentives to app users.

DESIGN

Determine the red routes with the persona in mind

I began my ideation by creating the red routes of user flow:

  • Share daily achievements to the chat group/ check in with friends in the chat

  • Create/join Challenge in the messaging section

  • Get notification when friends workout and send them cheerful feedback

Sketch

If users can share goals/achievements with the group more easily, they are more likely to do that and stay engaged in the app. Therefore, I added a series of icons on the bottom of the chat page for quick access to some mostly used functions such as sharing goals/achievements, sharing locations, launching a challenge, and LiveChat.


Wireframe

VALIDATE

Refine the design with usability tests

I conducted two rounds of usability tests for this project. Both rounds of tests were conducted through Zoom meetings. Users clicked through the prototype, finished the given tasks, and provided instant feedback.

Round one

For round one, I used the low-fidelity wireframe to find out major problems in the user flows. I caught some major problems in the user flow early and made adjustments before designing the details.

Here are some examples:

Round two

For round two, I used the Hi-fidelity wireframe to find out if the problems are solved in round one and also find out if the new feature drives engagement and increases repeat usage.

 

 FINAL DESIGN

LEAVING THOUGHTS

OUTCOME

To recap from the beginning, the HMW question was:

The new messaging section allows users to connect with one another on a deeper level. Participants in the final tests stated that the new version is more engaging and easy to navigate.

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT:

The qualitative research is conducted within the time and resource limit. I interviewed my friends and watched lots of YouTube reviews. It would be nice to conduct more interviews to dig deeper into the more possible behavior features and other messaging dynamics.

In the future, I will do some out-of-the-scope exploration that can potentially improve engagement as well.

Thanks for reading! If you like to connect, you can find me at jzhou0707@gmail.com