YOGAther — A Mini UX Case Study
Not even a day into the Red Academy program, and we were already on the UX Express train to conceive an app within 3 days, yup that’s right — 72 hours! All Aboard?
It started out with a task for three; two of my classmates and I conducted informal interviews with each other to get better acquainted and seek out some problem areas. Katie, Nadia and I noted each others’ characteristics and concerns on sticky notes and began methodologically grouping these to create multiple personas.
Combinations and groupings yielded very generic problems like being healthy or spiritual, gaining balance or finding the meaning of life — a tough feat to solve for a UX newbie!
I was a little overwhelmed, so I decided to go see my instructor for some more clarification and direction:
He told me not to try to solve world hunger and focus in on one particular issue. So with fresh eyes I revisited one of the user personas, Katie Waldorf. I realized in order for Katie to get healthy, find balance and be spiritual, perhaps Katie just needs to focus on practicing yoga and connecting with like-minded individuals — hence YOGAther was born.
The reason why YOGAther is perfect for Katie is because, as a photographer and makeup artist, her life is very fast-paced. She works 10-hour days and sometimes only gets a 10-minute break. She’s deals with various client meetings on a day-to-day basis, some of which aren’t easy. Enter bridezilla. On top of a long day, Katie has a lengthy commute home and finds herself regularly couch potato-ing and watching TV for the rest of the evening.
It would really be beneficial if Katie was motivated to do some light yoga and meditation, somewhere very close to home, instead of escaping reality and being restless from the glow of the television. The Yogather app would allow her to find other yogis within proximity, whom with she can release tension, do exercise and feel healthy with. Not only can Katie find others to connect with, she can also be held accountable for her yoga plans, feel better aligned with herself and cultivate new friendships in her neighbourhood. Katie is totally ready to be zen.
First few sketches of the YOGAther application:
Final low fidelity prototype:
The train has reached its destination. Namaste.
