GYM BUDDIES
App To Reserve Gym Equipment
Project type
Lean UX class project
Group project
Tools
Mural & Figma
Roles
UX researcher
UX designer
Duration
3 months
Overview
Background
In Spring 2022, I took online class where I can learn about Lean UX approach and process by working on a project. For this project, five of us became a group. Some of them had years of UX/UI designer experience, which provided me an opportunity of learning and growth. In the very beginning, everybody had brought ideas for the project. Among 8 different ideas, we chose to design an app that people can reserve gym machines.
My responsibility
The members who were way more experienced in UX/UI design guided through the process and contributed more, however, I was still able to participate in the project throughout the research, ideation, and design process. I contributed on user personas, empathy mapping, competitive analysis, storymap, sitemap, interview, and low-fi prototype.
Framework
Business problem
How might we help people who have limited time or specific needs utilize the gym facilities efficiently so that they can save time?
Lean UX Canvas
We used Lean UX canvas before we dive into research process. Using Lean UX canvas was helpful - as we were filling the form, we were able to make sure that we are on the same page. Also, it provides a guideline of the whole process as a good reminder of for whom we are designing and why.
Users & Customers
Fitness influencer,
Current gym members
Athletes
9-5 workers
New year resolution people
Gym staff
Research
Competitive Analysis
I downloaded six popular fitness apps and compared how our app could be different than existing apps. A lot of fitness apps focused on keeping track of your workout progress and planning a workout routine for you. However, it seemed like none of these apps were offering functions that help you utilizing gym facilities efficiently for your busy schedule. From this analysis, we recognized the opportunities of Gym Buddies.
Personas
We started with six different users we chose on Lean UX Canvas, then we narrowed them down to three users for personas - Bob the bodybuilder, Athena the athlete, and average Joe. It's because we believed some of the users are inclusive. For example, 9-5 workers, current gym members could be characteristics of other users. The personas all of us had build together helped with risks to validate. The image below is one of personas we created.
Survey
Survey contained 10 questions were conducted by 190 people. We asked how many days they work out a week, how knowledgeable they are, their fitness level, etc. The survey was sent out to prospective interviewees, and we were able to use the survey as a filter for choosing the right interview participants.
Interview
From interviewing seven participants, we were able to find out five key points. For example,
Most Athena the Atheletes know their workouts well. They can improvise if needed. Most Athena the Atheletes have fixed schedules and want to finish their workouts within a timeframe. Bob the Bodybuilder wants to know if specific equipment is at another location that is not their "usual gym".
Bob, Age 26
"I tend to travel quite a bit so I need to know they have the necessary equipment."
Reframe Busisness Problem
How might we help people who have limited time or specific needs utilize the gym facilities efficiently so that they can save time?
Sketches
Prototype
What We Learned
Top 4 Insights
After creating the prototype, we were able to test the prototype with five gym goers who go during peak times. During the test, we provided three different scenarios, and the participants figured out how to solve the given tasks while exploring the prototype. The scenarios we provided were viewing your reservations for a day, making a reservation for a specific date and time, and locating a specific work out equipment on the live gym map and checking in to that equipment. During the pilot test, we noticed repetitive problems.
Increase the touch target for
the "Add Reservation" time slots
We noticed users would try to select the actual time
that was available rather than the slot,
this led to confusion on the affordance.
Our scenarios were a bit confusing for the users since they didn't align with the designs
One of our scenarios didn't match with our wireframe.
We updated the wireframe to have the 15 minutes slot clickable
and the 30 minute slot unclickable to match our task:
"Add a reservation for March 31, 2022 from 9am to 9:15am for a treadmill spot."
Users found that the equipment icons on the gym map didn't match their mental model
One of our scenarios asked the users to pick
a bench press. We got a bit of confusion
from user on what that was supposed to look like.
The colors on the gym map were a bit confusing for our users
Users weren't sure what the colors meant.
Blue means available... What does red mean?
Unavailable? Or is that the grey ones?
Next Steps
What we will fix
Color on live map: add a different color for machines I reserved.
Replacing icons on live map: finding icons that fit user's mental model.
Explore combining or further differentiating my planner and add reservation page.
