Designing for a New Normal
When dramatic environmental changes impact user behavior, it is critical for businesses to adapt. . . sometimes in equally dramatic ways. Through heuristic analysis and remote user testing, my research team and I uncovered ways to support the efforts of one such business that was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic just as it was trying to get off the ground, and proposed simple solutions that could turn a good idea into a rewarding experience for users at a time they needed it most.
Roles: Research
Methods: Heuristic Analysis, Remote Usability Testing, Affinity Mapping
Tools: Zoom, Trello, Pen & Paper, Axure, Keynote
The Big Picture
Client
Imbue:
Mobile startup offering membership-based gym access and workout videos
Project
Evaluate the usability of new platform extension MVP prototype prior to release
Recommendation
Update key screens to improve task flows and increase engagement potential for the primary user group
Imbuing the Research Process with Imbue
Initial review of the MVP revealed areas of focus for our work.
To get a firm grasp on the Imbue prototype and its goals, my research team reviewed client intake details, the MVP prototype, and the company’s existing online presence.
Our initial hypotheses after a casual review of the prototype suggested opportunities to improve the ease with which users completed certain tasks critical to the user, including addressing hierarchy concerns to make user-focused content easier to find. To check our instincts, make the best use of our limited research window, and hone in on our next steps, the team started with a heuristic approach.
Screenshots of the digital whiteboard on which my team began to brainstorm research goals and user tasks based on the Imbue client intake and initial overview of the prototype. The team later expanded on these initial ideas through heuristic analysis to develop our user testing method.
“As we navigate these uncertain times together, one thing we know is fitness is a grounding force, especially when we do it together. Something about battling & going through the pain together makes us all closer — even when we have to physically be apart.”
— Post from Imbue Facebook page
Detail from the heuristic analysis of the Imbue MVP prototype. The analysis revealed several hypotheses regarding usability for two key user flows that the research team decided to further investigate through user testing.
An Exercise in Usability
Heuristic analysis suggested critical focus areas for research efforts.
Employing a multi-pronged approach, my team divided and conquered by applying two heuristic sets to the MVP prototype. Most significantly, my own heuristic analysis revealed an overall gap in informative feedback and reversal of actions across several flows. These gaps could, if left unchecked, block users’ ability to fully engage with the app as intended and curtail the flow of financial support between the primary users (those accessing the workouts) and secondary users (the gyms and content creators providing them) that Imbue was looking to foster through its platform.
Consolidating the team’s findings, we used the results of our heuristic analyses as the basis for our research goals:
Assess the usability of key flows: finding workout videos, personalizing favorites, and locating shopping cart.
Gain an understanding of users comprehension of the application value.
Assess the extent to which users engage with Imbue as a platform for supporting gyms, trainers, and coaches remotely.
In developing a user testing protocol to satisfy these goals, our team focused on understanding whether the usability concerns uncovered in our initial evaluation would impact users’ perception of the app’s value and the degree to which they could influence engagement with critical features. With that in mind, we incorporated a reaction activity derived from the Microsoft Desirability Toolkit that would help to standardize qualitative responses and give us a clearer way to interpret and communicate the results.
Revealing the Value
Remote usability tests revealed that heuristics aren’t everything when it comes to perception. . . but they do matter.
Over several days, the research team conducted both one-on-one and observed remote tests with a total of 10 participants. As the participants were tasked with moving through several user flows, one immediate theme piqued my attention: despite clear usability challenges, half of the testers identified the app as “useful” during the desirability reaction activity. When asked why, users cited the wide variety of workout types and extensive content library as reasons for their response. Several also pointed out that they had not seen such a broad range of workout options in other apps before.
It was an inspiring and intriguing reception, especially given that some of these same participants also chose to describe their experience as “confusing” and “time-consuming.”
The app’s value proposition had certainly asserted itself, but there was something standing in the way of making their experience fully rewarding and effortless. What was inspiring users to find both utility and confusion in the same small package?
Moderating a remote user test via Zoom with members of my team observing and note-taking from afar. The user shared her screen so that we could follow along as she made her way through several key tasks: finding a workout with which to follow along that morning, using the app to easily see more content from the same creator in the future, and supporting that creator by making a financial contribution through the app.
“Everything stands out, but nothing stands out.”
— Participant describing impressions of the prototype home screen.
Excerpts from the Usability Evaluation and Recommendations report compiled for Imbue,
Revealing the Possibilities
In synthesizing research findings, we learned that even the biggest issues could be addressed with simple tweaks.
Debriefing with the research team and consolidating our coded notes, we dug into where users were getting hung up. It turned out that, right off the bat, there was a learning curve in achieving the task most central to its primary users: finding a workout.
From the start, participants were uncertain about the app’s purpose. Furthermore, a majority were deterred by the number of steps required to select a workout to meet their needs and interests.
Participants struggled with the app’s financial support feature, experiencing either confusion or frustration with its hierarchical prominence and the amount of effort required to complete a transaction.
Fortunately, all of these issues were addressable with relatively simple modifications. And because users already grasped the concept of the app so well, I was left feeling that even just a little bit of thoughtful revision would truly help Imbue meet its potential.
In considering recommended modifications, I proceeded on the simple premise that, if primary users’ needs are put first, then secondary users will reap the benefits. If, as it was stated on the home screen, Imbue could “make it as easy as possible to find the workouts you love,” then users could spend more time positively engaging with the studios and influencers who were seeking their support and less time trying to find a workout that would inspire that transaction.
Designing a More Engaging Experience
Developing wireframes that incorporated suggested modifications helped to tell the story for the client.
With a focus on increasing efficiency and transparency for the primary user, I developed a set of wireframes for key screens that aimed to reduce the amount of real estate reserved for content that did not drive user actions—such as headers and logos—and increased the space devoted to helping users make more informed decisions, like brief workout descriptions and search filters. The result, I noticed, was that the same number of options appeared per screen as in the original prototype, but the amount of information that drove user decision-making increased significantly.
With additional user testing, I would hypothesize that increased transparency would correspond to a stronger feeling of satisfaction in using the app, as well as an increased perception of usefulness in a repeat reaction exercise.
Wireframes suggesting a streamlined approach to soliciting and collecting financial support for studios and influencers through the Imbue app.
The Takeaway
There is a lot of forgiveness for tools that work just well enough to fill a need. Especially in times where people are seeking digital pinch hitters for the day-to-day experiences they rely on, there’s that much more willingness to learn an imperfect way of doing things for the promise of something that feels a bit like normal life.
When the innovative minds behind these tools take the initiative to go beyond “well enough” and ask for greater insights, the results have the potential to do more than flatten the learning curve. They can take an experience from “useful” to “inspiring” in just a few taps, and even connect creators with their audience in a new way.