For a class project, I was challenged to improve the experience of an in-person activity through designing an app. I chose the gym experience.
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As someone who has long tried to establish a gym routine, I find myself wondering what would help make the gym experience better. I wanted to improve upon the gym experience by creating an app that has more value to gym users, as my current app doesn't provide much value.

The why

Differentiate app value to increase gym revenue & customer retention

Competitors in the market have failed to increase touch points on the app aside from scanning into club.
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Since the user already has the app in hand, using it to scan into the fitness club, adding more value for them in-app could increase app usage, gym engagement, loyalty, and overall gym retention and revenue.

Design Goals

Differentiate App Value

Increase Gym
Attendance

Support
Workouts

Conducting User Research

Research Goals

Understand Gym Routines and Priorities

Knowing how users engage with the gym will help determine which key features are important.
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Understand Gym User Motivation

The motivations of gym goers is important context into the gym experience and potential blockers.

Determine Product Market Fit

Who is the app for? I asked questions to understand more about the types of gym users use the app.
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Interviewee Demographics

50%

College Educated

20-40

Years Old

50%

People of Color

Types of Questions Asked

Do you have a gym routine, and if so what is it? If not, what would help you to establish one?

What impacts your gym routine?

What is the role of technology in your gym experience?

What do you like most / least about your most recent gym experience?

Organizing Research Findings

I created an affinity diagram to highlight my key findings.

Highlights : Research Insights

Self determination and independence is key

‍Users want to be able to learn more about the gym on their own time, schedule classes independently, and track workouts. There is anxiety and insecurity around the gym experience for newbie gym goers

Features in-app can differentiate the app from other tech used

The app could add value by group fitness classes signups and a workout notebook. Those features can differentiate the app value from other tech used throughout their workout experience, like phone video or music apps.

Fitness class scheduling is a current pain point

Some apps don't allow sign-up, only in person. Difficult to remember to sign up for classes (only can do this 60 minutes before the actual class and for some only in person). Difficult to know which classes were available and which weren’t. Anxiety around class being filled.

Defining the User

User Personas

Two types of users really stood out; the experienced gym goer and the gym newbie.

Regular Gym Goer

Gym Newbie

User Journey

To empathize further with these personas, I created a user journey map to show a gym goers experience before the gym, getting to the gym, and during the gym. I tracked whether that part in the experience was positive, neutral, or negative to identify areas for improvement.

Conceptualization

Navigation Map

Sketching

✔ QR code for easy check-in as soon as they're at the club. Very efficient and standard feature in most gym apps.

✔ Information on fitness class types, instructors, and class time for newbie gym goers to learn more about gym offerings and improve engagement. When users are more independent and self determined in their quest for information, they're more confident.

Low Fidelity Wireframes

✔ Ability to sign up for classes so regular gym goers can plan their gym trip with ease and independence. This is currently lacking in competitor gym apps and is a huge opportunity.

✔ Health notebook to track workouts for regular gym goer convenience, and also for newbie gym goers to store notes on their gym progress. Users mentioned that they wanted to be able to organize and track workouts.

Usability Testing

I conducted 5 usability tests where users interacted with the lo-fi prototype via zoom.

Usability test Insights

Positive User Feedback

Loved health notebook in-app.

Thought it was fairly easy to register for classes, but the scrolling on the app made it hard to access the class and learn more.

Liked having a page that shows the class they are signing up for and details about it.

Pain Points Revealed

QR code isn't very clear and users had issues noticing where to click.

Users didn't understand some of the icons at the bottom and felt the heart icon was the most confusing feature.

Users felt the notes could've been organized better.

The Solution

Clean design and useful features delivers more in-app value while driving customer retention and increased revenue

Design Iteration

How & why the design changed

01. Making QR code front and center for easy check-in

In the first design concept, the QR code was in the upper left hand corner. But usability tests showed that users had a hard time recognizing it. The new design solution emphasizes the QR code by making it front and center, but collapsible if needed. This will better support users as they enter the gym.

02. Limited the product set to key features

Usability tests showed that users were confused by the initial design involving a heart rate feature and didn't find it useful without some kind of wearable device like a sports watch. In the final design, it was removed because the main goal of the app is to add value to users.

03. Fitness class sign-up button now within class info page

While users said it was easy to sign up for classes, they also said they had trouble scrolling up and down to sign up for multiple classes without fear of un-reserving their spot for one of them. Having the button to sign up for classes on the class info page instead allows users to feel secure that they will not be unreserving their spot, allowing users to fearlessly browse classes on the homepage.

04. Organized notes feature to improve in-club engagement

Users can now scroll through past workout notes easily with headings sorting notes by period they were created or last edited. All gym goers can benefit from tracking their progress in-app.

Final Design Flow

Seamless Check-in

With a clearly accessible QR code, users can scan into their fitness club and hide the QR code by collapsing it to view group fitness classes below.

Browse Classes & see spots left

Users can swipe to different days within the week and view upcoming classes offered to fit them into their busy schedules. Never taken a hip-hop class before? No sweat, or maybe yes sweat! Get details on what to expect in class, how many spots are left, and even learn more about your instructor to calm those nerves.

Sign-up for Classes

Whether you're a regular gym goer or a gym newbie, easily access classes you’ve signed up for and have the option to redirect back to the course description if you need to cancel.

Track Workouts with notes

Regular gym goers can rest assured that their previous workouts are tracked and easily available for reference. For the newbie gym goer, they can recall what has worked and what has not as they grow within their fitness journey.

Project Reflection

01. Feature set can be simplified

What users ask for in their contextual inquiry might not always be what they really need. In the inquiry process, users wanted to track their stats in the app. However during usability testing, they actually said they didn’t understand that feature because they already have a smart watch to do so.

02. Usability testing is crucial to validate ideas

What users ask for in their contextual inquiry might not always be what they really need. Also, there might not always be enough time to complete a contextual inquiry.

In this inquiry process, users wanted to track their stats in the app. However during usability testing, they actually said they didn’t understand that feature because they already have a smart watch to do so.

03. Recording contextual inquiry for reference later

Having these to access later would be helpful in the event that I miss something or also to have direct quotes from users.