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User Research and Strategy

Pedometer App

Background

I used this personal project as a way to explore core research techniques and the product development process. I created and executed a research plan, organized the data, developed solutions, and built a landing page campaign. 

Problem

Wearable fitness trackers have become extremely popular, and the market is valued in the billions. However, studies have found that after three months, up to 50% of consumers quit using their wearables regularly. After six months, the number increases to 75%. 

For users, fitness wearables can provide a lot of data but without the context needed to permanently create healthy habits.  there is an increased focused on walking 10,000 steps a day to be healthy. While experts say that while 10,000 steps a day is a good number to reach, any amount of activity beyond what you're currently doing will likely benefit your health. 

Idea

I hypothesized that extremely small progress coupled with positive feedback will create permanent behavioral changes. My goal was to find the most effective and satisfying ways to motivate users daily. 

Research 

I conducted interviews of new users of Fitbit, Jawbone, and pedometer apps. Some of the questions I looked to answer were:

With exercise, what motivates people greatest?

          Is it competition, social accountability, financial gain or loss, personal satisfaction, or positive reinforcement?

What are the most sedentary times that could potentially be more active, ie not sleeping or driving?

What are the biggest demotivators or obstacles that have impeded progress? 

Defining the Problem

Afterwards, I took the information gathered and started to organize it. I looked for meaning and patterns in the data. By the end of this phase, I had a better understanding of who the users are, what their deeper needs are, and what problems I can solve for them. This helped define my problem statement.

Hypotheses and Validating Assumptions

After working to understand the users’ behaviors and their problems, I aimed for solutions.

Learning Canvas

I created a validated learning canvas to quickly test any assumptions in an organized and methodical fashion. First I listed all assumptions trying to be detailed, specific, and measurable. Next I worked out what the best testing method would be and whether to do more quantitative or usability  testing. I defined an acceptable pass rate for each experiment and categorized the results.

Testing

At this stage, it was time to create artifacts to test assumptions. I had volunteers respond to prototypes of landing pages.

Landing Page

I created an early landing page, focusing on the headline, value proposition, and main features. It shows a rough idea of the visual design but mostly I focused on making the concepts and features clear and easy to understand.

Features to emphasize:

        Effective

        Satisfying

        Fun

        Motivating

        Simple

Blockers to avoid:

        More technology

        Too much tracking

        Price - ( free )

Conclusion

After this iteration, I felt the landing page worked well enough for the project. The next phase would be to start designing and building the app itself. I may explore that later but for now the project served its purpose for me.

This helped me gain a stronger understanding of the research process and its importance. I learned how to take an idea about a product, research about potential users and their needs, and synthesize data and insights to create possible solutions.

Latest Work