Training Buddy
From user research to wireframes, I designed a fitness-focused virtual pet mobile app as a response to people who wish to exercise more but lack the motivation or direction. I used Figma for wireframes and prototyping.
6 weeks
Solo
Role:
UX/UI Designer
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User Research
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Survey
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Interviews
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Cultural Probe
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Insights
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Targeted Audience
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Redefined Problem
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Brainstorming
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Additional Research
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Secondary
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Competitive
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Core Loop
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Monetization
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Sketches
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Wireframe
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Usability Test
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What did I learn?
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What would I have done differently?
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Measurement of success?
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What's next?
The Problem
According to the CDC, “60% of U.S. adults do not engage in the recommended amount of activity.“ But this is not due to ununwillingness; some of those adults want to exercise more, but for one reason or another, they’re not.
And that’s the issue I sought to take on. I broke the problem down into two questions to help guide my quest.
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What is keeping people who want to exercise from exercising?
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What can I create to aid people with their desire to become more physically active?
Why tackle this problem? There are a lot of benefits to a fit life. According to the CDC, physical activity:
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Reduces risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, colon cancer, and diabetes.
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Helps maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints.
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Reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression.
The Solution
Methods
Throughout this case study, I used methods like secondary research, cultural probes, interviews, surveys, affinity maps, personas, brain storming, sketches, wireframes, prototyping, and competitive research
Approach
I approached the problem by first spending time to understand it with user research. With the knowledge I gained, I explored different solutions and honed in on the mobile app I’ve discussed. Now, I'm creating the app with Figma and will test it.
Process
Discover
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
Understanding
User Research
My first step was to understand the problem and the users better.
Survey
09/05/2023
117 participants
For my survey, I went to r/questions on Reddit. I wanted a lot of responses, so I kept it short and engaging.
"If you want to exercise more, what's stopping you?"
I knew I would do in-depth interviews, so I was satisfied with asking one question.
I expected the answers but I was surprised by the percentages.
I think it's imperative to consider the context of the survey. It's much easier for a person to talk about how their physical limitations are holding them back publically than it is for someone to state that they're just too lazy.
11% of the participants cited mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, and ADHD as an obstacle in their attempt to exercise more.
What I took from it
A lot of people lack motivation to exercise, and that's something I could influence. Mental illness is also a big factor for some.
Interviews
I interviewed exclusively people who wanted to exercise more. I generally asked them about their exercise routine, if they had one, their desires for more exercise, and if they used any fitness/habit apps.
09/08/2023
7 participants
I created an affinity map based on the interviews.
I organized the interview responses into three categories: Hindrances, Desires, and Winning Formula. "Hindrances" are things keeping the interviewees from exercising, "Desires" are what the interviewees want, and 'Winning Formula" is what helps the interviewees exercise. Progress and schedule/routine came up often.
What I took from it
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Schedule, manageability, a sense of progress, and friends' participation help maintain an exercise routine.
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Users seek guidance on discipline and progression.
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Apps like Pokemon Go and drawing lessons give motivation through exploration, camaraderie, and competitiveness.
Cultural Probe
09/08/2023
4 participants
The cultural probe went alongside the interviews. I asked the interviewees to answer some questions when they thought of exercising and when they exercised.
Sadly, this cultural probe wasn't effective enough to warrant its existence. Everything I found during this cultural probe I already learned through the interviews. I think a cultural probe could've benefited this case; I just didn't conduct it strategically enough. I ran it when I was still figuring out the problem.
If I were to redo it, I would focus on motivation in general, not necessarily just for exercise. I would still have the participants write down answers but to only one question: "Why?" For a day, any time the participant has a task, cooking, walking the dog, working, responding to a text, knitting, video games, Facebook, etc, they write down why they did it. And keep asking why until they get to the root. One question should be less overwhelming and easier to incorporate through out the day.
What I took from it
I can do a better cultural probe now that I've learned from this experience.
Insights
Users need:
Motivation
Guidance
Routine
Progression
And I can provide them.
Ways I can provide their needs:
Schedule
Connection
Research
Competitivity
Fun
Planning
Exploration
Targeted Audience
I'm narrowed down my audience from "anyone who wants to exercise more but is struggling" to "people who want to exercise but aren't because they need motivation, routine, and/or guidance to navigate progress."
I created personas to support the newly defined target audience. Melissa is the primary persona, with Evan as the secondary persona. I used GameRefinery's motivations and archetypes. to further define the personas.
20, Undergrad Student
Laguna Beach, CA
Single
Mid-Core Player
Expressionist
Creative
Smart
Caring
Melissa Gonzales
I’m ready to get my life back together, and I think
sticking to an exercise routine would help.
About
Melissa is a graphic design student at LCAD. She recently has been diagnosed with Major Depression and has been looking for ways to make it more manageable. Her doctor recommended she picks up exercising in addition to her current treatment, but her depression sucks away her motivation. She hopes to get back to drawing, spending time with friends, and staying on top of school once she can manage her symptoms better.
Melissa spends a lot of her downtime playing video games on her phone and she has a lot of downtime. She loves games that let her express her creativity and any game with cute creatures.
Goals
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Improve her mental health
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Gain some control over her life
Motivations
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Expression - Customization
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Expression - Role-Playing
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Mastery - Completing Milestones
Frustrations
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Lack of motivation
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Not knowing where to start
Favorite Apps
34, Software Engineer
Dallas, TX
Married
Casual Player
King of the Hill
Confident
Playful
Driven
Evan McGee
I don't have time to figure this out on my own.
I just need someone to tell me what to do.
About
Evan wants to extend the time he walks without crutches, and the best way to do that is by strengthening his core and leg muscles. Evan does exercise daily, but he needs to progressively build on his current routine to see progress in his walking. Evan is willing to make the changes but lacks the time and mental energy to research and plan a new routine.
Evan has a competitive side and picks his games based on what he can convince his friends to play. He enjoys talking about video games with his friends as much as he likes playing them. His favorite games are the ones that let him compete with his friends.
Goals
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Improve his walking
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Compete with his friends
Frustrations
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Lack of time and mental energy
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Not knowing where to start
Motivations
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Social - Competing
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Mastery - Improving Skills
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Management - Strategic Planning
Favorite Apps
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How can I provide motivation, routine, and guidance to people who are struggling to exercise more?
Redefined Problem
Why narrow the problem down to that? To have more focus. Motivation, routine, and guidance are common needs of people who want to exercise more and they are factors I can influence.
Creating
Brainstorming
First I took the aspects of my redefined problem and wrote related ideas underneath. Once I had a clearer idea of what I wanted to make, I brain-dumped whatever came to mind as far as features and rules.
Additional Research
Secondary Research
By this point, I fancied the idea of a virtual pet health app crossover. I wanted confirmation this was a good idea, so I turned to scholarly articles online. I found support for my theory that pet owners feel fulfilled by providing for their pets. [x] I even found that pets can motivate suicidal owners by giving them a sense of purpose and responsibility. [x]
Of course, a virtual pet is not a real pet, but that doesn’t mean virtual pets are not capable of wielding the same power. Virtual pets have already proven to be capable of promoting fitness. A virtual pet kiosk in 2014 reduced child obesity, to name one. [x]
One more study, I was also looking for scientific breakdowns of motivation. This article about motivation in schools categorizes it into four dimensions: Competence, Control/Autonomy, Interest/Value, and Relatedness. [x]
What I took from it
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Pets can be a source of motivation.
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Make the game easy enough to provide competence, give the player control/autonomy over their workout and game, create a fun experience to encourage interest, and incorporate a social factor to include relatedness.
Competitive Research
I was interested in how other mobile work. I wanted to know how they engaged the player so I could apply it to Training Buddy.
Finch
Self Care Pet
4.9 stars
1M+ Downloads
For Everyone
#10 top free health & fitness
Virtual Pet Wellness App
Habit Tracker
Goal
Increase the user's mental well-being by encouraging and facilitating self-care habits.
Targeted Audience
People who want to improve their mental well-being, including those with mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.
What do you do?
The player takes care of a growing Finch by doing various tasks focused on increasing the player's mental well-being.
Motivation to Play
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Customization
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Progression/Growth
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Artificial Connection
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Real Connection
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Completing Milestones
Moneantation
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Membership
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More Items in Shop
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More Event Items
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150+ Exercises
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More Insights
Core Loop
Do Tasks
Level Up Finch
Interact with Finch
Send Finch on an Adventure
Do Tasks to Shorten the Wait
"Take care of your pet by taking care of yourself!"
At first, I found it strange that a huge chunk of the app had the Finch friend away on an adventure. It’s backward if you view it as purely a pet simulator. But I understand the reasoning now. It’s additional motivation to do the tasks. As long as the player is doing tasks that improve their well-being, it’s time well spent.
Why an app?
Because my school told me to make an app.
That’s a valid question. So many fitness apps exist; do we really need another one? If Training Buddy is the app in question, then yes.
1. Uniqueness
Other virtual pet health apps exist. The closest to Training Buddy I could find are step trackers. Their existence doesn’t overshadow Training Buddy, though. Training Buddy stands out because its health, competitive, and fun sides are more developed. More later.
2. Other App's Success
Did you know virtual pet health apps can be very successful? To remind you. Finch has 1 million downloads. Then there are apps like Pokemon GO, with over 100 million downloads.
3. Team Skills
My team(I) approached this problem in a way that makes sense for my team(me)'s skill sets and interests. I like little creatures and know how to make games about them. Considering what I know of my research and my "team," Training Buddy is the best idea “we” can make.
Exercise
Games
Shopping
Training Buddy's
Core Loop
Exercise
The first step in the loop is the heart of this app, Exercise.
The players can choose from playlists with difficulty and time options. Once the player taps start, exercise videos play one right after the other for an established amount of time.
Once the player is done with their session, the app tallies the exercises the player did and converts them into experience points. Depending on the player's exercises, the experience points are divided into 5 different pet skills: Upper Body, Lower Body, Core, Flexibility, and Endurance.
Games
The player can use the experience points they got from their workout at the "track"
The track has a few simple mini-games loosely based on track and field, and each corresponds with a skill. Games include:
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Shot Put, where the player taps the screen repeatedly to get the pet to spin faster, thus making the ball go farther. This game uses the Upper Body skill.
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Jumping competition where the player has to let go of the screen at the right moment to make the pet jump the optimal amount. The higher, the better. This game uses the Lower Body skill.
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Balancing game where the player keeps their pet from falling for as long as possible by "blowing" to the right and left of them. This game uses the Core skill.
The game's simple mechanics have some influence over the results but are mostly there to make the experience fun. The strength of the player's pet holds more weight than the player's input. A level 10 Lower Body skill pet will always jump higher than a level 1 pet, but a level 1 pet could jump higher than a level 2.
Shopping
The player wins currency depending on their pet's performance in the mini-games.
With their money, the player can buy many things for their pets: accessories, furniture, backgrounds,
body paint, and even eggs for a new pet. The shop would refresh daily.
If the player has friends that also own Training Buddy, they can compare scores, gift gifts, and even have their pets visit each other.
Monetization
Feature worth considering for subscription-based monetization.
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Access to individual exercise videos
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Ability to make own playlist
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Tailored playlists based on an assessment (the assessment would be free)
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More items to buy each day
The monetization focuses more on Evans, people looking for personalized guidance, than Melissas, people seeking motivation. Putting up a paywall will only deter people who need motivation.
Why subscription-based? Subscription-based apps generally have higher revenue per user and higher engagement rates. [x]
Sketches
I designed various pet ideas before I came to the conclusion that they all should probably have arms.
The wireframe is a usable prototype in Figma.
Usability Test
10/04/2023
5 participants
- "Can the user run the "flexibility" playlist for 5 minutes, then end their exercise session?"
- "Can the user find the game "Highest Jump"?"
- "Can the user buy sunglasses from the shop?"
& More
I took the wireframe and started testing the app’s navigation. Since there were no mini-games, I focused on the user's ability to navigate through the app itself.
Exercise Button
Problem
The dumbbell on the exercise button wasn’t reading as a dumbbell. Users could deduce that the center circle button was the exercise button because of its size and placement, but I was asked twice what the dumbbell symbol was.
Solution
I looked for a more readable symbol. Replace the dumbbell symbol with a person lifting a weight.
Buddy's Design
Almost every user commented on Buddy’s lack of normal arms. Most users were charmed by Buddy's design, but one found the character repulsive. So, does Buddy need an overhaul?
Character design isn’t my focus in this project, so I have no plans to change the design personally. However, if an artist were ready to address feedback, I would run a survey on the opinions on the variations of the pet design. The appeal of the pet is vital in an app like this, and this “Buddy” design is meant to be the face of the app. The app won't succeed if the design doesn’t draw people in.
Designing
Wireframe
Reflecting
What did I learn?
I learned timing and planning makes or breaks research. I went into the cultural probe not having a clear idea of what I wanted out of it, so it makes sense that I didn’t get anything useful out of it. My survey was as simple as possible, but it was precise, so I got a lot out of it.
What would I have done differently?
Well, there’s the cultural probe that I go into in that section. Otherwise, I’m well aware that my project lacks a limit for both budget and time. What I designed is pretty ambitious, and I’d expect I’d have to cut back if this was a real setting.
I think the first feature that would have to go is the multiple mini-games that correspond with different experience points. The game's core would still be intact if the mini-game section simplifies. The next feature that drains a lot of resources is the complexity and personalization of the exercise section. According to my plan, though, this is the best spot for monetization, so a different plan for monetization would need to be made if the exercise section simplifies.
Measurement of success
Considering I don’t have a finished product and that eventual finished product won’t be on the market, this section is meant to be answered hypothetically. If I had a finished product on the market, I would measure the success through download and subscription rates. I would consider 100k+ downloads a high success.
What's next?
Prototyping! I have a few mock-up screens on this page, but I have a long way to go. Once I have that done, I would like to run an usability test again, but this time with more complex objectives.
If you yearn for testing,
AC: New Murder's case study is the place to go!
If you seek wireframes,
head over to the Wireframe Exercise!