UX Case Study: “Follow My Health” feature to analyze Fitbit data together
Fitbit Data knows Better and your Personal Trainer can Explain Why
Overview
Since 2009, Fitbit has offered compact, affordable wearable devices focused on tracking and presenting a person’s daily activity through metrics to promote a healthy, active lifestyle. While leading the global wearable technology industry, Fitbit has become a daily companion with a “fitness is all the time” mindset and continues to broaden their customer base through recent medical-related endeavors.
With the current COVID-19 pandemic, I approached this case study wondering if mobile health would place greater emphasis on wearable technology as a virtual touch point between health professionals and clients. When people are unable to physically meet health professionals what other means do they have to get the advice and attention they need. Amid this unique time of social distancing, wouldn’t one option be to virtually share Fitbit data with a physician, medical specialist or personal trainer?
Problem Statement
Analyzing Fitbit data in a collaborative platform is the missing keystone needed to allow the Fitbit member and health professional to more effectively manage the Fitbit members’ health and well being. With mutual access, the health professional can understand the context behind patient health, and the member can learn the why behind the trends in their Fitbit data.
Current alternatives rely on a member’s ability to share data through another app or communication means like forwarding their Weekly Assessment email or sending screenshots.
Users and Audience
During the discovery research phase, my colleagues and I evaluated the usability of the Fitbit app with two user types: a Fitbit member and a health professional, to include physicians, medical specialists, physical therapists and personal trainers, based on the below criteria.
Fitbit member:
- Wears a Fitbit daily
- Is open to sharing their Fitbit data with a health professional
- Adjusts activity based on their Fitbit data
Health Professional must:
- Hold a job as a health professional
- Agree that access to client Fitbit data would help them better serve their clients
During the design phase, I narrowed the scope of the health professional user type to personal trainers to focus my project for the accelerated 8-week timeline.
Role and Responsibilities
For the discovery research phase, I worked with two colleagues to screen 55 participants and interview 17 individuals who were either Fitbit members or health professionals. We collaborated on a Competitor Analysis to understand the industry and Fitbit members’ needs.
Moving into the design phase, we worked individually. As the UX designer, I defined the problem, opportunity and validated the design. I created a Sprint Map and Lightning Demo to understand my user’s experience and opportunity areas. After, I prototyped the “Follow My Health” feature, tested my assumptions, and made adjustments according to the measurable findings.
Scope and Constraints
The initial discovery research and the design phases were each eight weeks long. The project’s scope was for academic purposes, and did not reach out to Fitbit.
Process
- Discovery Research — Understanding and Defining the Fitbit members needs and desires
- Sketches and Architecting Design
- Initial Prototype, User Testing, Adjust Prototype
- Data Analysis & Findings
Discovery Research
Through analysis of Fitbit and their market competitors, I honed in on the company, its branding, its loyal consumers and the services its app and devices provide. This comprehensive understanding provided a thorough foundation on which to define the user problem and propose a user-driven solution.
Based on the 55 screeners and 17 Zoom interviews we conducted, Fitbit members validated our assumption that sharing Fitbit data with health professionals would: provide valuable insight to better understand their Fitbit data and improve their ability to meet personal goals.
Architecting Design and Sketches
Wireframe to Prototype
After sketching ideas and performing lightning demos on ways to improve communication and data sharing, I narrowed down which concepts I wanted to incorporate in the new Fitbit feature and then used Figma to create the Onboarding and Follow My Health prototypes. By prototyping both, I allowed current Fitbit members to opt in, provide personalized information and tailor their goals, which may change over time.
The “Follow My Health” feature is focused on creating a simple, effective means for a Fitbit member and a personal trainer to communicate and share information. The prototype includes an in-app instant messaging service, a Physical / Mental / Other Conditions form in case of emergent concerns, a Weekly Wrap-Up for future reference and a gamified, trainer-customized “Hexi-Exercise Map” based on the Fitbit member’s personal goals.
Each design element is intended to facilitate effective communication between the Fitbit member and their personal trainer. Some possible instances might be to let their personal trainer know about a recent injury, ask questions about their nutritional plan or share how their workout went.
User Testing
Seven participants (5 Fitbit members and 2 personal trainers) completed the User Test. On individual Zoom calls, the participant shared their screen while completing specific tasks in the prototype, allowing me to observe and evaluate their actions and behaviors.
I envisioned the personal trainer view to be different from the Fitbit member’s. Considering tight deadlines, the prototype did not include the build out of the personal trainer’s view of the Follow My Health feature. However, I did include personal trainers in the user test to capture their professional insight considering their previous client experiences.
Each individual thoroughly narrated their experience and perceptions throughout the exercise. By focusing on their spoken, unspoken or expressed likes and dislikes of design features, I was able to refine my initial prototype from the user’s perspective.
Data Analysis
Qualitative and quantitative data findings demonstrated that the Follow My Health feature did provide effective communication elements, however the participants requested a more comprehensive solution or additional features to analyze the data together.
All participants scored each requested task based on level of difficulty. This step rendered data capturing their perception of the feature, which accompanied my observational evaluation of their actions during the Zoom call. It was particularly helpful to see just how Fitbit members would interact with the new feature and allowed me to implement changes based on key, sometimes unforeseen, considerations that arose.
Outcomes and Lessons
Through user testing, I realized my prototype created more options to communicate and share information between a Fitbit member and their personal trainer; however, it did not meet the needs of the users in thoroughly analyzing their Fitbit data.
Following the user tests, I adjusted the prototype accordingly and incorporated changes that increased usability, improved overall app navigation and alleviated pain points that were brought to light across multiple users.
Recommendations:
The assumption that users desire a better way to communicate and share data with their personal trainers was validated through user and market research, prototype build out and user testing. Most users liked the additional communication options the prototype provided, however many requested more ways to analyze their Fitbit data with their personal trainer.
Next steps:
Incorporate user feedback to improve design flow, description of new features and create additional ways for personal trainers and Fitbit members to both easily make data correlations and influence their training. I would also build out the health professional’s view of this new feature.
Personal Reflection:
In retrospect, I realized how I would have done several things differently if I had the option to reframe the case study.
Of note for user testing:
- Time Management — Improve on keeping the user test moving
- Quantifying User Test — Include more quantifiable questions
- Research Execution — Balance being friendly and better use of the “silence”
- User Test Focus — Limit the scope instead of asking feedback on all elements
Growth Mindset:
This was my first attempt at a formal UX case study and it was an incredible introduction to the UX design process. In addition, it provided a “sink or swim” approach to learning a number of tools to add to my UX arsenal including: Figma, Invision, Mural, Medium, Notion, Userzoom and Whimsical.
As my first UX case study, this taught me many things, and yet is only a baseline as I begin pivoting my career into the UX profession.
