Diet research

How I used UX Research to [understand dieters’ struggles with quantitative research]

This article is complementary to the EasyDiet case

Why did I do the research?

To understand the problem I asked a simple question.

I wasn’t sure if people followed a specific diet, if they consulted a nutritionist, if they knew what to eat for pre-workout and if they knew how to do gym exercises.

So, I mapped the user profile through the proto-persona and journey, seeking to understand the profile of the public who has difficulty or wants to go on a diet.

• Carry out quantitative and qualitative research ( to really find out the problems people face).
• Have a high fidelity prototype.

How to ensure that the persona matches real users?

I will explain further.

I then did the user jorney.

After that, I went looking for the answer to that question:

How to ensure that personas match users who are on a diet but have difficulty following it?

The research

At beginning of the project, I was focused on people who go to the gym and their problems, but after the quantitative research, I realized that my users were others.

That’s why I didn’t write some questions here so as not to confuse readers.

I did the research to better understand the gym user who diets or wants to diet and to validate or invalidate assumptions I already had.

• I believe that people know how to do gym exercises.
• I believe that people know what to eat pre-workout.
• I believe people can’t follow diets correctly.

I then created the questions on the form, each aligned with an assumption.

I was careful not to ask too personal questions or offend them, as it was a personal matter that involved their bodies and images.

This made it possible to better understand user behavior.

Quantitative research

I took the questionaire and based on the answers I validated the assumptions.

How old are you?

• 15 to 25 years
• 25 to 35 years
• 35 to 45 years
• 45 to 55 years
• 55 years or older

What assumption do we want to validate with this question:

Most people who go to the gym are between 25 and 35 years old.

Do you have children?

• Yes
• No
• What assumption do we want to validate with this question:

Most people who go to the gym do not have children.

Do you know what to eat before going to the gym?

• Yes
• No

What assumption do we want to validate with this question:

Most people know what to eat pre-workout.

Do you follow any specific diet?

• Yes
• No

What assumption do we want to validate with this question:

Most people follow a diet.

Are you under the supervision of a nutritionist?

• Yes
• No

What assumption do we want to validate with this question:

Most people do’nt see a nutritionist.

The next step

After the research, I validate the assumptions and learned my lessons.

The finishing touch

Based on the responses, I learned and reviewed and changed the persona and jorney.