User Experience Design for Fitness Brand

User Experience Design for Fitness Brand

Run Across America Revamps Mobile App to Enhance User Experience and Boost Customer Retention

Client

Run Across America (RAA) is an online fitness company that organizes community-oriented races for its users. By hosting running events and challenges, RAA raises support for causes that they and their community care about. RAA is focused on improving its product experience to increase revenue, allowing it to support its users and expand its user base.

Problem

RAA has identified friction in its mobile app and aims to address these issues by identifying and resolving pain points in its user experience and interface design. By doing so, RAA aims to enhance customer retention to improve their return on investment when marketing its running events.

User & Audience

This project targeted Run Across America's existing customers who actively participated in their running events, with a focus on previous customers who did not participate in recent running events.

Scope & Constraints

The project began with a request to identify problem areas in the RAA mobile app interactions and provide solutions for a more user-friendly experience. Initially, the scope was incomplete, but once defined, it became limited due to a tight timeline and budget. This constraint made it challenging to gather insight from customers to improve the app experience.

Role & Responsibilities

As the sole designer for this project, I worked closely with the founders and the marketing manager to make critical design decisions that would effectively support their business and its users. My responsibilities encompassed user research, competitive analysis, facilitating workshops and progress reports, developing wireframes and prototypes, and presenting the deliverables and the overall user experience.

Design Thinking Method Was utilized to identify RAA’s Mobile App Challenges, User Requirements, and Business Objectives

The five stages of the design thinking approach proved invaluable for identifying and addressing pain points in the RAA mobile app. The empathize and define phases of this methodology were particularly effective in gaining insights into both users and clients. Despite a tight timeline, this method provided an excellent framework for understanding RAA's users, competitors, and market positioning.

Initial Client Meetings
Defined the project Direction with a scope refinement workshop

The initial meetings were critical for defining the project's direction. We started with a preliminary scope based on the job description and early conversations. Through a collaborative refinement process, we reviewed the scope from a design perspective and added essential elements before hosting a working meeting. This step allowed the client to provide input and align on priorities.

The initial scope was created based on the job description and initial conversations with the client.

The refinement process involved reviewing the scope from a design perspective and incorporating additional elements before holding a working meeting. This meeting allowed the client to contribute to the scope refinement

During the refinement, we identified budget constraints that would affect the project's timeline. As a result, we concluded that the project might require more time for full completion. The workshop led to a partially completed scope that provided sufficient information to initiate the research phase of the design process. We decided to revisit the scope to establish the deliverables after completing the research.

The initial scope was created based on the job description and initial conversations with the client.

The refinement process involved reviewing the scope from a design perspective and incorporating additional elements before holding a working meeting. This meeting allowed the client to contribute to the scope refinement

During the refinement, we identified budget constraints that would affect the project's timeline. As a result, we concluded that the project might require more time for full completion. The workshop led to a partially completed scope that provided sufficient information to initiate the research phase of the design process. We decided to revisit the scope to establish the deliverables after completing the research.

User Research
Puts RAA’s Service and Experience Into Context

User research was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of Run Across America’s service and user experience. By analyzing existing data and gathering insights, this step identified user needs, pain points, and opportunities for improvement.

A system map was created to understand the overall service and user experience provided by RAA. This helped clarify how different parts of the service connect and interact.

An empathy map was developed using survey results and app reviews to accurately gauge how users think, feel, and act when interacting with RAA.

Personas were created with input from empathy maps and stakeholders to define the needs, goals, and behaviors of RAA's target audience.

A journey map was built to explore the needs and pain points of new users. This included a focus on the user interface, uncovering opportunities to improve both the experience and the design.

A system map was created to understand the overall service and user experience provided by RAA. This helped clarify how different parts of the service connect and interact.

An empathy map was developed using survey results and app reviews to accurately gauge how users think, feel, and act when interacting with RAA.

Personas were created with input from empathy maps and stakeholders to define the needs, goals, and behaviors of RAA's target audience.

A journey map was built to explore the needs and pain points of new users. This included a focus on the user interface, uncovering opportunities to improve both the experience and the design.

Competitive Analysis
Helped to Understand the Market to Enhance the User Experience

The competitive analysis aimed to understand the industry landscape and market position of Run Across America (RAA). After identifying the top five competitors, the focus was on investigating three key areas within their mobile apps and features to enhance user experience. Insights were noted, missing features in RAA were identified, and differences in feature implementation were observed.

A brainstorming session identified the top three focus areas most likely to enhance RAA’s user experience.

Competitor apps were analyzed across three rounds, each focusing on a specific aspect chosen during brainstorming. Screenshots and findings highlighted strengths and areas for improvement.

A detailed feature analysis compared RAA’s features with its competitors, assessing usability, customer satisfaction, and market performance.

The analysis revealed that RAA’s app structure differed significantly from more successful competitors, potentially contributing to user pain points. However, it also showed RAA’s features were strong, comparable to competitors, and outperformed others in some areas.

A brainstorming session identified the top three focus areas most likely to enhance RAA’s user experience.

Competitor apps were analyzed across three rounds, each focusing on a specific aspect chosen during brainstorming. Screenshots and findings highlighted strengths and areas for improvement.

A detailed feature analysis compared RAA’s features with its competitors, assessing usability, customer satisfaction, and market performance.

The analysis revealed that RAA’s app structure differed significantly from more successful competitors, potentially contributing to user pain points. However, it also showed RAA’s features were strong, comparable to competitors, and outperformed others in some areas.

Scope alignment enables the achievement of project objectives and results in positive feedback.

The project received positive feedback overall. Despite the undefined scope, we successfully redesigned the mobile application to address the original goal of removing friction from the user experience. The onboarding template was utilized for the upcoming running event, although the remaining designs were deferred for future development.

This experience highlighted the importance of clearly defining objectives and requirements, as well as establishing a well-defined path to achieve the desired outcomes.

Reflecting on the project, I recognize that a deeper exploration of the goals and clearer time expectations would have been beneficial. This approach would have allowed for a more thorough discovery phase, providing the necessary insights to create designs that effectively addressed the most pressing concerns.