The Daily Yoga app has pre-made workouts and meditations to achieve the user's one-month goals. The app includes yoga practices, pilates workouts and guided meditations
Project Type
B2C, Waterfall process
Duration
Summer - Fall 2020
Tools
Figma
Adobe XD
Mural
Illustrator
Photoshop
Trello
Zoom
SurveyMonkey
SimilarWeb.com
Google Drive
Keynote
My Role
User Experience Researcher
UX / UI Designer
Project Manager
Skills
Competitive analysis research
User flow / Customer journeys
Personas / Storyboarding
Wireframing
Prototyping
Designing
User testing/Research
Presentation
Problem Statement
The first step was to determine the problem statement. To do this I wanted to find out how, where, when, why and with whom, do people prefer to practice yoga?
My problem statement is: How might we improve the daily yoga app for users so that they can more efficiently achieve their fitness goals?
Request was to focus on 3 key areas to improve upon. They are the courses, coin center and smart coach features.
Define the Scope
The second step was to define the scope of the project. I decided on themes for each one of the three features.
Define the Value
The third step was to define the value of the scope, which affects the action and the goals.
Create Component Map
The fourth step was to create a project component map. This helped me to see which of the features to focus on the most, or give a higher priority by improving that feature first.
Define the Metrics (KPI's)
The fifth step was to define the metrics or KPI's of the... scope, which affects the action and the goals.
I organized each one of the three features on it's own, creating 3 KPI's for each.
The Course Feature
The Coin Center Feature
The Smart Coach Feature
User Types
The next area to focus on was the user types. I conducted research using a variety of methods, including surveys, interviews, and a competitive analysis. I also collected qualitative and quantitative data. Through my research I found two main user types.
Experienced yogis
This group of users are looking to improve their yoga practice. They want to increase their flexibility and learn advanced poses. Also they want to reduce their stress with guided meditation. Additionally, they want to build a community of other like minded yogis.
Beginner yogis (or those new to yoga)
These users (would) use the Daily Yoga app to learn different yoga poses, including the names of the poses. They will also be looking to improve their flexibility, strength, and stamina. They will be learning proper alignment of poses.
I found many answers to my questions. The follow data is specific to the questions of how, where, when, why and with whom, do people prefer to practice yoga?
Quantitative data
About two-thirds of the participants said they love the feeling of a live class at a yoga studio. They miss it, since they can not go due to the pandemic.
Personas
Beginner yogi persona
My beginner yogi persona has never practiced at a yoga studio or gym. They have tried a few beginner yoga streaming services, but they do not have a lot of time to commit to yoga. Their other workout types, such as cardio and bodyweight exercises take up the majority. Since, they have not been practicing yoga for long, their body is not used to certain yoga moves, which can be discouraging. Also, they feel overwhelmed by the amount of yoga apps out on the market, and do not know which ones to try. Additionally, they are looking to yoga for a way to relieve stress.
Experienced yogi persona
The experienced yogi persona has been practicing yoga for over a decade. They are looking to maintain their hard earned muscle and increase their flexibility. They also want to learn new advanced poses that they were too afraid to try at a yoga studio. Since the pandemic they have been practicing at home. They miss the energy they would get from others at the yoga studio. It is impossible to recreate that feeling at home. But, they are also concerned with how much money they are spending for the membership to their yoga studio. Working out at home could save them money. It is also easier to fit in a yoga workout at home, compared to going to a scheduled yoga class.
Competitive Analysis
To properly analyze each component of the Daily Yoga app I used the SWOT method. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Each section has a main question to address, which are,
S — What do they do well?
W — Where do they need to improve?
O — What are their goals?
T — What obstacles do they face?
Each question can be broken down into more specific questions.
Here are the links to the very detailed competitive analysis. I researched direct and indirect competitors.
Storyboard
My storyboard uses the beginner yogi persona and walks through what one experience of using the Daily Yoga app may be like for them.
Customer Journey Map
I made sure to include both a positive and a negative user journey. They were both based on my research findings.
Project Annotation Flow
This project annotation flow walks through a typical user experience for using the Daily Yoga app. It shows how a user could interact with the three main features that were the focus of the project. They are the courses, coin center and smart coach features.
Findings and MVPs
Through user testing and interviews of current customers of the Daily Yoga app and users not familiar with the Daily Yoga app I found the following...
Home Screen
Change Features
Users did not understand the graphic at the top of the home screen. This graphic was meant to show how much time a user spent preforming a workout with the Daily Yoga app. I suggest removing this confusing graphic and replacing it with a schedule instead. Because, numerous users commented a desire to have a schedule within the Daily Yoga app.
Before
After
Courses
Add Filter Options and Simplify Wording
My finding show a need to add a third navigation option to the courses page. Also, changing the title of the navigation options from "Editor Choice and All Category" to "Featured, Programs and Categories." This will help users to narrow down what they are looking for more easily providing a better user experience.
Before
After
Over 75% of interviewees wanted to have an easy way to find yoga styles, and have the ability to combine multiple filters to narrow results. I suggest to add a filter for yoga styles under the Programs and Categories sections.
The secondary filters on the right of the programs section need to be expanded for better customization. The most used filters should show first, and then have the ability to opened additional options. Adding the additional filters will make the results more custom to each user. Also, hiding additional filter options unless the user wants to open them will reduce overwhelming the user.
Rewording the filter options on the left under the programs section will also provide a better user experience.
In the categories section adding a filter of yoga styles will create a better user experience.
Before
After
Profile
Change Features
The first feature that should be changed is the "Yoga Lab." This feature is where users go to turn on or off the notifications for their 8-glasses of water and to record a relaxing moment each day. This feature should be changed to "Healthy Moments." The lab association has nothing to do with yoga.
Additionally, when a user navigates to this feature from the profile page they should be able to not only turn the notification on or off, but check in when they have a relaxing moment and every time they have a glass of water. To make checking into this feature easy for users there should be a quick link from the home page in the top right navigation. The icon should be changed to something more natural, instead of a lab beaker.
What also confused users was that in one place the icon is a lab beaker and in another it is a glass of water. However, only 40% of interviewees understood the icon was a water glass.
Before
After
In the list of menu options under the profile page there is a feature called "Exp," all user interviewees were confused by this abbreviation. Once this feature is opened the title on the page changes to "My Level." Simply switching the "Exp" with "My Level" on the profile page will clear up user confusion. I also suggest changing the icon to something that relates more to levels.
Additionally, the "My Topics" feature was confusing to 90% of users. I suggest to change the name to "My Posts." This feature is a collection of posts from the users and posts they have favorited. Changing the name more clearly relays what this feature is for.
Remove Features
All interviewees did not pay any attention to the My Space section. I suggest removing this feature. It is not helpful or beneficial to the user experience.
Another section on the profile page that many users did not like was the Leaderboard section. This section showed who has the most hours of all the Daily Yoga members, which causes competition. Competition is not a foundation of yoga. Yoga is not about competing with others, it is about loving yourself and appreciating what your body can do. Removing this feature will help to make the user experience more enjoyable overall.
Before
After
Coin Center
Improve Feature
The coin center confused about 65% of interviewed users. They did not know where to find information on how to earn coins, how to use coins, or what their purpose was even for. I suggest making a few changes. First, adding a button to the page with a title of Earning Coins will simplify this confusion by providing a way for users to see what they can do to earn coins. Then, add a second button titled Use Coins. This secondary page will show users what they can use their coins for. On the main Coin Center page below these buttons an explanation of the purpose of coins will clear up any confusion and create a better user experience.
Before
After
Remove Feature
Also, many users found the Daily Check In pop up very intrusive. It also caused many to loose their concentration and focus for the task they had at hand. Removing this unneeded feature will improve the user experience.
Improve Readability
In many areas of the site the text was small and there is a lack of contrast that did not pass WCAG standards causing issues with readability for numerous users. I suggest increasing the contrast of the text to background colors to meet WCAG AAA compliance standards, and in some areas increasing the size of the text. This will make the user experience more enjoyable for all users, not only those who are sight impaired.
Improve Logo
The last thing I will suggest to change is the logo. Many users were a little put off by the look of the logo. They stated the stick figure reminded them of road signs, which are not calming. Redesigning the logo to a more yoga like design should increase acquisition of new customers and retention of current users.
Prototype
Additional Take Aways
Interview findings showed the Smart Coach feature user experience was great. The reason the Daily Yoga app was not converting many users of the free version to the paid version is that the majority of those users could not afford any membership not matter how small. The remaining users did not like certain features of the app and did not want to pay for it the way it was currently working. Making the suggested changes to the Daily Yoga app would improve the overall user experience and earn them more paying customers.
Also, to make additional revenue for non-paying users, the Daily Yoga app should make the suggested changes, because they will increase user retention and acquisition rates, which in turn will allow the Daily Yoga app to charge more for ads.
Thank you, Namaste!
