Currently in the marketplace:
Strength and Cardio apps
Missing in the marketplace:
Machine Learning Personal Training app
Quantum Movement aims to use personal training algorithms, with a growing list of exercises and workout protocols, to create workout programs tailored for its users.
Summary
Problem
69% of people would like access to a personal trainer.
63% are presented with barriers such as cost and time.
How might we make a personal trainer more accessible to this 63%?
Solution
Quantum Movement will machine learn and auto program workouts based on real personal training algorithms. Individuals will be able to follow workout programming, get powerful insight into their health and progress, and do so while saving a large amount of time and money.
Process
Brainstorming
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List of potential apps to complete
competitive analysis on.
Brainstorming of ideas to include in Quantum Movement.
Further brainstorming for a survey, user flow, personas, and page layout.
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Brainstorm of basic user flow and exercise layout.
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Brainstorm of basic wireframes
Competitive Analysis
Sworkit
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Competitive analysis for Sworkit app.
+Integrated machine learning
-Cookie cutter feel/ poor programming
Home Workout Personal Trainer
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Competitive analysis for
Home Workouts Personal Trainer app.
+Easy to use/ Great UI
-Poor structure for programs/ repeating workouts/ no machine learning
Bodbot
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Competitive analysis for Bodbot app.
+Specific muscle focus
-No Cardio/ No HIIT/ represents as machine learning but feels very random
Fitbod Fitness Plans
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Competitive analysis for
Fitbod Fitness Plans app.
+Equipment Selection
-Bad small images/ No Mobility
Survey
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Do you work out/ exercise?
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How would you describe your confidence in your health and fitness?
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Do you use a personal trainer?
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How many options would you like if a personal trainer gave you an option of exercises to choose from? For example, choose front squats or sissy squats.
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What keeps you motivated?
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When you do work out, how much time do you have to work out?
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What are the most important muscles you would like to focus on?
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Where do you most often work out?
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What equipment do you have at home?
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What stops you from using a personal trainer?
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What would you change about your current experience with your trainer?
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Have you ever used any of these fitness apps before?
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What would you like to see in a fitness app?
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What is your fitness focus?
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If you found an app that could personally train you through a scientific algorithm, how much would you be willing to pay for that app?
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If you are open to a short interview regarding the above topic, please provide your name and either an email or phone number below. I will not inundate you and I will not use your email or number for anything but this interview. Focused on the research!
The survey was dropped off at all local gyms within Loveland, Colorado, posted on social media and slack channels, and sent via email.
66.7%
Roughly 67% of users want fitness programming tailored specifically for them.
Only 1/3 of people who work out, do so at a gym. Programming will have to accommodate individuals who don't have access to a gym.
31.2%
56.3%
Allowing users to select muscle groups they would like to focus on promotes individual programming. 56.3% of users would like to focus on core work.
Fewer exercise options may be better. 50% of users want personal trainers to select exercises for them.
50%
User Interviews
Personas
Interview #1
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Interview #1 was completed with Kris. Kris knows that she should be doing strength training but is intimidated by dirty expensive gyms. She does cardio 2-3 times per week. She loves that she feels good after a workout and would like to see video demos of exercises with in depth descriptions of form. She believes that if she could have a personal trainer at her fingertips, she would start strength training
Interview #2
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Interview #2 was completed with Derek. Derek is an avid gym-goer who focuses on compound lifts, High-Intensity Interval Training classes, and cardio. Derek stated that the most important thing the app would need to do is create accountability. The app would also need to get to the point when you open it. When you're in the gym you don't want to struggle to find out what you need to do.
Interview #3
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Interview #3 was completed with Mike. Mike is an avid runner who does not do strength training. Mike said that this app would most likely not be for him but may be something that could entice him to strength train if done right. His main thoughts about the app were that the programs worked as stated and allowed him to target certain muscle groups.
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User Stories
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As a client to a personal trainer, I want to pay less for the same results, so that I can afford to eat better and save money.
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As someone who has thought about using a personal trainer but has been spooked by the cost, I want to find an alternative to a personal trainer so that I can reach my fitness goals on a budget.
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As someone who has 45 minutes to work out, I want to know what to do in the gym so that I don't waste time and get the results I want.
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As someone new to fitness, I want to know what to do, how to do it, how much of it to do, how many times to do it, and when to do it so that I can do it the right way.
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As an unstoppable fitness enthusiast, I would like to step away from creating my own programming so that I can have more free time outside of the gym.
User Flow
Wireframe Sketches
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Sketch of login pages.
Initiation pages and fit testing pages.
Fit testing pages, continued home page, and completed workout page.
Today's workout page, focus exercise page, HIIT page, and cardio page.
Wireframes
Style Tile
The name Quantum Movement comes from the idea that small movements lead to big results. Two different shades of blue were chosen as the brand colors because blue is associated with freedom and inspiration. Blue also represents trust, loyalty, sincerity, wisdom, confidence, and intelligence; all things one may look for in a personal trainer. Hidden in the Quantum Movement logo is also a jet, signifying that users will learn to pilot their bodies.
Prototype #1
Usability Testing
I used Steve Krug's Usability Test Script for Mobile Apps
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Usability Test #1
Usability test one was conducted with Tabia, a division director of a recruiting firm. She has used a personal trainer before but does not use one now. She liked the apps home page and the way everything was color coded. She completed all tasks without prompt.
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Add search bar to exercise page
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Add rest time
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Add a completed checkmark box for sections of the workout
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Add focus areas and equipment selection to orientation and profile update.
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Imagine you used this app to work out on the 6th of September.
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View your workout from that day.
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How many sets of Barbell Lunge did you complete?
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How would you get instructions for how to complete a Barbell Lunge?
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Find Barbell Benchpress in the Strength Exercises section.
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Go back to the home page.
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What is the date today based on the app calendar?
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What do you notice about today on the calendar?
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Update your weight information and change your fitness level to intermediate.
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What two ways could you view today's workout?
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What will you do first? Second? and Third?
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You have completed your sets of bench presses, tell me and walk me through what you would do next.
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Start the time and explain to me what you would be doing and what you see.
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What would you do next?
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How far are the sprints you completed?
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How fast did you complete your sprints?
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Complete your workout. How many calories did you burn?
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Visit the instructions page for all 4 exercises listed from today's workout.
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Visit the cardio exercise view page.
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Prepare for tomorrow's workout by finding out what you will be doing?
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Visit the view mobility page and select lacrosse ball and roller as your equipment. Then view lower body mobility exercises and select quads and calves.
Usability Test #2
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Usability test two was conducted with Joel, a subcontractor and business owner who lays custom flooring. He has never used a personal trainer before but is an avid gym goer. He liked that he could log in to the app with google and that the home page was a color coded calendar. He completed all tasks without prompt.
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Clunky verbiage in the intro pages
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Change verbiage on fitness level page to update fitness level.
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Change timer to read 1 minute rather than 100.
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Add a splash page to start the timer.
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Add ability to weigh in from workout page.
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Add ! to signify action needs to be taken.
Usability Test #3
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Usability test three was conducted with Melinda, a product designer. She has never used a personal trainer before but has used YouTube for workouts.
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Change verbiage on intro pages.
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Make it clear that tabata alternates from Kettlebell Swings to Burpees.
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Make this more clear by putting timer below the workouts.
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Change sprint timer to :
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Add label to times
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Add a splash page to instructing what happens during tabata.
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Iterations
The visual design was enhanced.
Completion checkmarks were added, timers were moved underneath their respective workouts, and an icon was added to indicate a weigh-in day.
Rest information was added to workouts and time labels (sec) were added to Time and Rest.
Splash pages were added to timers to notify users of what they would do next.
A semicolon was added to the timer to make it appear as minutes rather than hundreds of seconds.
Equipment selection for both mobility and strength was made easier by adding on-off buttons.
Conclusion
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The calendar on the homepage was a success. Knowing what is coming up and what has been completed is easy.
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This project seemed like a rather large undertaking with so many areas to cover. Breaking up the design process was helpful.
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Wireframes lead to an easy prototype process even though there were a large number of buttons, images, and pages.
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Fit testing will be important to add during iteration work. I will also add scrollable pages and the ability to substitute exercises.
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During this project, I learned more about prototyping such as hover functions and time functions, the importance of copying pages to keep the same design feel, and how to bring other products' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats into my design.
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Further understanding of prototyping software continues to lead to better product design, more time spent focused on UI leads to a more appealing product, and implementing research into the final design results in a happier user.