Usability Testing
Due December 16, 2009
The Problem
Instruction and motivation are key elements to starting and maintaining an exercise routine that supplements a healthy lifestyle. There are a number of factors that deter people from being physical active or prevent people from maximizing their workouts:
- People have very busy and dynamic schedules which makes it difficult for them to fit recreation into their day.
- People who do not exercise regularly feel uncomfortable or self-conscious when approaching new forms, exercises, and machines.
- People need to be motivated to exercise by seeing tangible results not only physically but represented visually as well.
The Solution: Droid Trainer
Droid Trainer is a mobile application that supports users in their resistance training. Whether the user needs to log their progress in a particular exercise or just wants to learn new exercises, this application will allow them to customize it to fit their needs.
Content Creation and Design
We created a site map to understand the hierarchy of our application and to get a better grasp of the number of screens/screen states we needed to design.
In order for our application to be resourceful for users, we created our own library of exercises and workouts. We shot video and photographed each other properly performing exercises at the gym.
Using the photos and videos from our production shoot, we fleshed out the design elements of our mobile application. Following the Android Developer Design Guidelines, we created over 200 screen states and interface design elements using Adobe Photshop and Illustrator.
Super-Fi Prototype: Axure & SDK
Due to the large scope of the project, we decided to use Axure to complete our Super-Fi prototype to user test. Completing our prototype in the SDK would not have given us the flexibility to implement quick iterative changes within our limited timeframe.
Click here to view our Super-Fidelity Prototype
User Testing
In order to understand how users would effectively use our mobile application we contextualized our usability tests in the setting of the gym. We wanted to observe how users interacted with the application and phone during the course of a workout. We conducted 4 usability tests at the gym
Usability Protocol:
- Recruited users who frequently exercise at the gym to participate in a usability test.
- Pre-questionnaire- Workout behavior
- Post-questionnaire- Liked/Disliked, areas of improvement.
User Testing Goals:
- To understand what app features are used: (Frequency of use, “Liked/Disliked” features)
- To observe how users interact with the physical device (Device placement, phone handling between exercises)
- To test ease of use (Layout, workflow & order of elements, labeling, interaction)
User Tasks:
- Your personal fitness goal is keep in shape and to tone your muscles. Using the DroidTrainer, start and complete an entire workout. Be sure to log your progress along the way.
- You want your triceps to have more definition. Find an exercise that will help you train this particular muscle group. Complete the exercise and log your progress.
Key Findings
(Highest to Lowest priority)
Finding #1: Customized Exercises & Fitness Goals
All four users wanted the application to provide tailored instruction of how an exercise could be optimized to reach their fitness goal. In response, we created a fitness goal section that recommends fitness tips based on their selected goal: Lose Weight, Burn Fat, Tone Muscle, Bulk Up, Build Muscle
Finding #2: Star Rating System
Users had different interpretations of the “stars” rating icons (ex. favorites, completed exercises, rating). During usability testing, users did not know how exercise-rating information was being used elsewhere in the application. To address this issue we displayed the star rating for each listed exercise, so that users could see that their exercises were displayed in order of highest to lowest rating.
Finding#3: Static List vs. List of Links
Users had a hard time distinguishing between the similar design of a static list and a list of clickable links. We increased the font size and added green arrows to list items to indicate that they are clickable.
Finding#4: Exercise by Body Part
In “Exercise by Body Part”, all 4 users were initially intimidated by the small size of the anatomy diagram. Using the Android built in zoom feature, we provided users with instructions “Swipe to Zoom.”
Finding #5: Icon Ambiguity
The majority of our users had a difficult time deciphering the audio and video icons. We addressed this problem by designing more explicit icons.
- Audio icon- mistaken for volume icon
- Video icon- mistaken for play audio icon
Successes
- Users liked the ability to select an exercise by body part. They thought the workflow was easy to use and intuitive.
- They liked how they were able to learn exercises using different media types (i.e. photos, audio, video).
- User commented that the aesthetics and visuals were superb.
- Users liked how they had the option to record their workout statistics.
Future Direction
- Meet with personal trainers and fitness experts to develop more flushed out and accurate exercises.
- Meet with UMove regarding possible collaboration, and continue to work with UM Dept of Rec Sports to see how our application can benefit UM students.
- Flush out “Photo Gallery” section
- Flush out “Scan Equipment” section
- Consider creating a web interface to work in tandem with the mobile app.
Download Droid Trainer
