Your Fitness Journey BFFs
MicroSquad is an online Fitness platform Home of the Valkyrie Squad and fandom fitness classes for geeks, by geeks.
Project Timeline:
12 weeks
Role:
End-to-End Application UXUI Design
Prototype Creator
Tools:
Figma, Figjam, Canva, Notion, Google Workspace
Background
The Problem
Motivating yourself to get to the gym is often difficult, especially if you do not know what you are supposed to be doing. The current applications are often complicated, with extra information users do not need and not always beginner friendly. With this in mind, there is a clear opportunity to design an application that is simple, easy to use, and connects to a larger workout library through the main website for users to utilize at home if getting to the gym that day is not possible.
The Objective
How can we get users to find value in an application that shows all users how to safely work out at the gym, be an inclusive space, and be friendly to all user levels while connecting it back to the company's original website.
01. Research
Primary Research Goal and Methods
We wanted to see what fitness enthusiasts value in their workouts, whether it be the app they use, how they track the information, or the workout itself. The data was compiled from an unmoderated online survey through Google Forms, as well as four user interviews conducted over video call. The survey was open for six days and completed by 69 individuals.
User Surveys
The surveys were utilized to learn about the habits of people working out, whether they prefer to workout at home or at the gym, their expertise level, and what kinds of workouts they do. It was completed by 69 individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines. The responses were from a wide range of people, from age 18 to over 65, though the biggest participant age range was the 25-34 category. By doing these surveys, I learned valuable information about their habits, tracking, struggles when working out, and what they use to find their workouts. These insights would eventually inform how I conducted my interviews.
Surveys allowed me to find background information on a wide range of potential users, specifically about what their habits are when working out. Most of the users worked out either a few times a week (32) or daily (31) consistently. I was surprised to find only 29% of the users who completed the survey worked out at a gym, the rest working out at home. This amounted to 20 of those surveyed being gym users. The most common responses for why the gym was avoided were a lack of time, intimidation or self consciousness, and a preference for home workouts. This plays in nicely to the application being created as it helps with confidence in the gym and knowing what exercises to do and how to do them.
The ways in which people learn about new exercises ranges greatly. From social media such as instagram and Tiktok being the top most common way people learned to person classes and the internet being tied in second at 20.3% of the users surveyed. This bodes well for the application as The MicroSquad uses social media, not only to promote their workout programs, but has also done a soft launch of the types of videos and workouts that will be on the application through their "Valkyrie Gym" series which has been very popular.
Users all vary, as seen in the previous charts, in the ways in which they workout, but also in the ways they track and schedule. I was surprised that only 58% of those surveyed schedule their workouts beforehand, and only just under 35% use any kind of application for their workouts. This was surprising because 61% of people said they kept track of their progress, so it had me wondering how they were tracking it, where they did, and if it would be helpful to have the ability to track their progress in the same place they were scheduling and planning out what their workouts would be.
Do you schedule your workouts?
Do you keep track of your progress in some way?
Do you use a workout application now?
For a more in depth look at what the survey answers entailed, a link to the results has been provided: Exercise Habits (Responses)
User Interviews
Background
The purpose of these interviews was to learn about how people use fitness apps and view fitness as a whole. By interviewing people from a range of disciplines, I was able to gain insight on how they go about their fitness routines. There is overlap in the programs they use and their motivations behind working out. I learned valuable information about users’ pain point areas, where certain applications work and where they do not. We focused on their background in exercising, with questions about what kinds of workouts they do, how they discover new workout plans, and how often they exercise. We moved onto why they workout, what motivates them and what goals they have. Most important was the pain points, challenges, and their history with applications. We wanted to use this information to guide us towards what was going to be most necessary for the app in it's beginning stages. This included questions about what other apps they currently use, why they stopped using apps if they did, and what keeps them from working out as much as they wanted to. The four interviews were insightful and led us in the right direction of where to start the process of creating the prototype.
Observations
Observation 1: Most of the users surveyed and interviewed use a program developed by someone else. A few write their own or make it up as they go along, but the vast majority want the information from a more knowledgeable source online.
Observation 2: Most users (predominantly female) are working out at home or doing things in smaller gyms. The gym spaces are either seen as intimidating or expensive, though the biggest reasons not to work out at the gym are a lack of time and knowledge.
Observation 3: Community and accountability are hit and miss for those interviewed. They have to have a genuine connection with the people holding them accountable or it will not work. They like support and people to celebrate their wins with.
Observation 4: Sticking to a routine can be difficult. Having something easy to pull up and throw on is important to get the motivation going.
Observation 5: Fitness apps are not used much right now by those interviewed, though they would use them if they included ways to log and track their workouts, reps, and weights used.
Included in the link below is the full Affinity Map with the organization of the user interview findings, including quotes from the participants.
Secondary Research
Research was also done to find out how competitors structured their workout app services, what we could learn from their successes and mistakes, and what opportunities we can utilize in our own application. It was found that many of the competitors focused on the toxic fitness culture The MicroSquad is trying to avoid. The other companies also were often well out of the price point for most average users and were deemed "too corporate" at times. With that in mind, the path for developing an app focusing on strength, health, and inclusivity could begin.
For a more in depth look at the competitive analysis, click here.
02. Define
Defining Parameters
For this application, I used testing and refining based on feedback gained through the previous section's interviews and surveys to define the structure of the application. The primary deliverables included two user personas, user flows, task flows, and point-of-view statements to help me get into the mind of the potential users to ultimately help with the designing process.
POV Statements and How-May-We Questions
The Point of View (POV) statements were used in conjunction with the How May We (HMW) questions to get a glimpse into the backgrounds of possible users the designers use to gear their designs towards. This, paired with possible problems and solutions, from the How May We questions, allows the design team to get into the creative mindset where they focus on thinking outside the box rather than whether the solutions may be possible.
POV
POV 1
Riley, a 27 year old sales manager, is trying to find an application and program that works with their intermediate level without being too repetitive because when they get too bored of their workouts, they end
up skipping them all together..
How might we…
Keep workouts fresh for the higher leveled people working out without putting strain on the creators?
Reinforce safety and form, even if it is “old” information?
Make programs fun and engaging for all exercise levels?
POV 2
Aly, a 34 year old female ER nurse, is new to weight training at the gym. She needs an application that shows her safe exercise programs because she feels overwhelmed and underprepared when going into the gym.
How might we…
Create an application that shows form instructions in easy to follow tutorials?
Ensure safety is the most important thing while working out?
Ease the fear around the gym space?
POV 3
Riley, a 27 year old sales manager, needs a community or support system in place with their exercise programs because their depression and anxiety can keep them from thinking they can complete their workouts.
How might we…
Create a system that makes them excited to get involved with their exercise plans?
Find a way to support them on their journey with resources and workouts for when they have low energy?
Remind them in a kind way of the goals they are reaching for without making them feel worse mentally.
POV 4
Aly, a 34 year old female, wants a program focused on inner and outer strength that has a way to plan out their workouts ahead of time as they have a busy life as an ER nurse while keeping a positive environment for herself.
How might we…
Include a calendar system to plan out their workouts while allowing them to change around when they complete the workouts?
Emphasize strength and personal development over a challenge aspect?
Have a community aspect to the app without having it become like another social media application?
POV 5
Riley, a 27 year old sales manager, wants a way to track their fitness progress in the same application they find their workouts because they want one convenient place to see all the information together to give them motivation to keep going.
How might we…
Create a tracking system they can look at in larger swaths of time?
Set up a progress chart for each user to automatically update with the information about sets and weights they do for each exercise?
Ensure those using the application remember that progress is not linear and it is okay if they have to take breaks?
User Personas
The user personas, based on the POVs and HMWs, give us a deeper insight into who we are designing for. This is giving a "typical" potential user a face for designers and shareholders alike to look to for the ultimate prototype and what would be most beneficial for them in the long run
Aly is an ER nurse interested in learning more strength training. She wants to get more comfortable in the gym space and would like an application to show her how to do her exercises safely and properly. Riley is a sales manager who wants to track their workouts including their weights lifted and reps completed all in one convenient place.
For a more in depth look at the personas, click here.
Storyboards
The personas were then used in order to create Storyboards, or hypothetical situations in which the users would come across the website.
As seen, Riley is wanting to utilize an application that can connect to their fitness watch and keep track of their progress all from the same application they get their workouts from.
Kellan was new to the gym and, while talking to a friend, found out about the application that would show them how to do safe weight lifting exercises with planned out workouts.
These, once again, help in the design phase to visualize what kinds of situations users may encounter the application in order to see what they will design to.
Task Flows
Task flows help designers see what pages they need to create for their prototypes. Doing these three task flows for connecting the application account to the Discord server for access to the community, choosing a program exercise and completing the work out, and finishing up with tracking the workout in the progress tracker. This helped with planning out how many pages would be needed for the application and what would be most conducive to being on each page. Ultimately, this became the rough outline to the whole project by showing what would be prioritized for the finished application and what ideas could be completed at a later date.
User Flows
Designing the user flows ensured the key tasks would be intuitive for the users and would include moments where they would ultimately have to make decisions in the process. The same tasks from above were to be completed, but this shows the more intricate steps and possibilities that could contribute to the user's overall experience.
04. Prototype
High Fidelity Prototype
To ensure the MicroSquad application provided a seamless user experience, I conducted a second round of usability testing with the high-fidelity prototype as pictured on the left. This version of the prototype includes the finalized branding and images.
This functional, interactive prototype was tested by three brand new participants who had not seen any iteration before so there would be no previous knowledge of the design going in beforehand.
Usability Testing
Goals Being Tested
To see if the application is intuitive and easily repeatable by users from various backgrounds.
Double checking structuring of the navigation.
Making sure the flows that were changed from the mid fidelity were easily understandable to the users.
Testing Methods and Execution
I conducted task-based usability testing, asking participants to complete the same three primary flows from the mid-fidelity testing, checking to see if the updated content was still easy to understand and tasks able to be completed. The tasks included: connecting their Discord account to the application, completing a workout, and checking their progress in the tracking portion of the application. Once again, participants were encouraged to think aloud while completing the tasks and I was present as both a spectator and potential facilitator in case participants got stuck.
Success Metrics
To be a successful test, I was checking for a high percentage of participants to complete the task, how long it took to complete each task, what the frequency of errors was, and the overall user satisfaction with the website. With the information in hand, iterations would be made on areas identified as needing improvement before the final project would be submitted.
Overall Summary
Users were able to complete the tasks in quick times, though at points, got held up by phrasing of the navigation options.
Every task was completed at a 100% success rate.
With minor changes after the mid fidelity testing and cosmetic changes after the high fidelity testing, the website will be ready for the next step.
Key Findings
Completion Time
Each task was completed within the time limit allotted. In fact, for all three tasks to be completed, the average time was about 15 minutes which included all of my instruction as well as the final comments from users.
Task 1: Connect to Discord
Average Time: 1 minute, 19 seconds
Task 2: Complete Workout
Average Time: 42 seconds
Task 3: Log Progress in Tracker
Average Time: 18 seconds
Completion Success Rate
Every task was ultimately completed in every user test.
Notable Moments
During the mid fidelity testing, the users were having more difficulty with completing the connection to the Discord account than they did in this testing. It did end up taking more searching than I had thought it would when creating the prototype, but they ended up getting it in the end. As a note, they were able to also get to the settings and connections through the account button as a second option, though most they all went through the More>Settings/Connections feature.
Tester Feedback
Overall Experience (Rated 1-5)
On average, over the two sets of tests and total of six users tested, the ease of use score was a 4/5. Included for the high fidelity test was that there was an issue with the prototype, which was fixed during the test so they could continue, though that issue only came up in the second user test. Other than that, it was quite straightforward and easy to use. Issues of the connecting to Discord flow from the mid-fidelity testing were resolved and not brought up again in the high-fidelity testing.
05. Iterations
Finalization
From the final user testing to the submission of the prototype, there were only a few cosmetic changes on the app design. These were quick and easy to edit, mostly having to do with changing button layouts and making sure elements were aligned properly.
01. Sign In
02. Program
03. Exercise
04. Progress
04. Settings & Connections
06. Conclusion
Working on the application prototype for MicroSquad was an very different experience than the previous project of CraftyQuest. I was able to work with an established company and had to rely on more of a team to get information than before. This was one of the biggest challenges I faced as I had to wait on others for their copy or images to be able to be used and it felt like it ultimately slowed down the process in some ways.
I have further sharpened my design skills and allowed myself to create more freely, in a way. I made myself okay with a more minimalist, clean approach and was comfortable in the white space of the design.
Overall, I hope to do more projects like this. Working with a stakeholder and their team taught me about setting clear deadlines, communication, and setting expectations upfront. I was able to have regular meetings with them and get feedback as I was going along to ensure a more streamlined experience as well.
