Case Study : Reminder for a break in WFH
Women Fitness App I Quick breaks during Exhausted WFH — A UX CASE STUDY
Overview
A woman who is working from home has to manage not just her work life but her home live too. She is even more stressed as she doesn’t get any time to relax in between work or housework. She needs time for breaks in between so that she could be more focused towards her work and more loving towards her family.
This project was taken to focus more upon Women Fitness and their health issues and to help them overcome all the hardships related to their Mental and Physical health they are facing in this Work from Home environment.
The fitness industry is always evolving and changing. In ancient times, people used to stay fit and hunt food as it was important for their survival but nowadays food is no longer an issue of survival. Covid19 changed the fitness industry due to lockdown and restrictions. But Covid19 is urging people to stay healthy and to prevent disease. Streaming platforms, on-demand fitness and virtual personal training are on the rise. With work from home continuing, there will be a lot of focus on mental health in the form of meditation, counselling, and workouts like dance fitness that relieve stress and enhance the mood.
Role and Constraints
Timeline: June to September 2021
Role: UX Researcher, Problem Solver, UX Designer
Scope: UX Design
Softwares used: Figma, FigJam, Whimsical
Glossary
- Design Process
- The Problem
- Initial Brainstorming
- Hypothesis Statements
- Research Phase — i) Desk Research ii) User Research
- Define Phase — i) Affinity Mapping ii) Empathy Maps iii) Personas iv) Validation of Hypothesis
- Ideate Phase — i) Solutions & features ii) Paper Wireframes iii) Digital Wireframes
- Prototype Phase — i) UI Screens ii) Heuristics Analysis iii) Prototype Videos
- Testing Phase
- Refined Prototype
- Retrospective
Design Process
I used UX Design Process along with Design thinking approach to solve this problem area.
Firstly, I would write down my own ASSUMPTIONS for the User and Industry and then do some initial brainstorming which would help me in focusing upon every aspect of the problem statement and not missing any research data.
Firstly It is important to UNDERSTAND the context in which users are facing these problems. It is beneficial to understand the core of the user problem and also to not get diverted from our path in solving the problem.
DEFINING the data would help in reframing the problem statement and choosing the user group and problem for which we are going to provide a solution for.
IDEATING different solutions on the basis of the re-briefed problem statement and the initial brainstorming helped me to come up with ideas which could solve the user problems.
PROTOTYPING helped in depicting my ideas to the users and hear their views about it.
TESTING with real users helped in testing the application at early stage so that more changes could be done and the solution is made more user friendly.
The Problem
Prolonged work from home can affect women and their mental health. Women have been hit hard by the pandemic as they try to strike a balance at home — juggling office duties with household care. HealthifyMe application wants to help women to stay motivated and productive during their working hours and to reduce their stress levels.
Understanding of the Problem
- Less movement and Prolonged sitting hours
- House Disturbance results in losing focus from the work
- No rest for both mind and body
- Less motivation to achieve greater heights at work
- Family Relationships getting affected too due to work stress
Division of Problems into Subproblems
This division into subproblems would help in a deeper understanding of the problems and in solving every aspect of the problem.
Not all subproblems could be solved but they surely open a lot of directions for the Research Phase.
Assumptions
Assumptions helped in understanding the problems from different possible dimensions within the problem and reaching to the desired conclusion. Assumptions helped me to get testable hypothesis and solving to them would help further in reaching the correct decision.
Assumptions about the users
Assumptions about the Business
Initial Brainstorming
A Brainstorming before Research was done to check through our Research how these would be beneficial for the audience and then how could these be improved in the Ideation stage later. Also, the ideations would help in forming a testable hypothesis statements.
Individual Brainstorming
Brainstorming was done using Crazy 8 technique for each Subproblem.
Subproblem 1 — Working for too long at one position without breaks
Subproblem 2 — Failures in work life due to bad mood or energy
Subproblem 3 — Eyes straining due to prolonged screening time without breaks
USER FLOWS
After brainstorming, user flows were iterated based on the ideas to refine them and get a proper user interaction flow. Three iterations were done before moving on to Group Brainstorming with peers.
These helped in getting the idea how the user would be benefitted with the solution and where all the application could contribute in order to motivate the user.
Group Brainstorming
To have more perspective in the brainstormed ideas, Group brainstorming was done along with fellow designers and User flow Interaction for the solution was iterated. They also rated among the old user flows to help in iterating.
Hypothesis Statements
Hypothesis statements were formed in order to have a testable hypothesis before Research which would not only help in Research but also help in analyzing every user problem associated with this problem statement.
Let’s validate these hypothesis statements through Desk and User Research. 🛫
Research Phase
Desk Research
Desk research was conducted for my problem statement so that I could valid if women are facing more health related issues during work from home and also collect statistics from existing data. The desk research helped in planning the next step for the primary research and validating some of the Hypothesis statements.
Current Health issues Statistics
- 6 in 10 participants felt guilty about not taking any break in between work.
- 64 % of people have started physical health issues while 75 % are facing Mental Health issues during WFH.
- 47.6 % of people share their workplace with others at WFH.
- 4 out of 10 women are facing anxiety and stress related issues and facing “double burden syndrome” due to work from home.
- 46 % working mothers reported working till late to make up for work, and 42 per cent are unable to focus on work with their children at home.
- 41 % of workers are getting affected by the lack of separation between work and personal life as negatively impacting their well-being, resulting in increased stress levels.
Stats in Exercise Choices of women
- 44 % of respondents are opting for the services of a personal trainer.
- Bodyweight Training (58%) was the top contender among men, while women were drawn towards dance exercises like aerobics (85%) and Zumba (81%).
Grownups need at least 150 minutes intense workouts or 75 minutes vigorous workouts every week to stay active.
Define the Target Audience
A Target audience was set to cover the main target groups in the Primary Research and have perspective and reasoning of different target groups.
User Research
User Research helped in getting real user’s perspective in regard to the healthcare of women during working from home. It would also help in validating remaining Research statements.
I took 5 User Interviews based on my Target Audience which were recruited through a screener form. [Link of Form]
User Interviews are important to understand user problems personally and also help in rectifying our Hypothesis not validated in secondary research. I used an Interview guide for interviewing my users.
📝Insights from USER 1 — Arkita (28 years)👩🦰
Her routine — She is married and manages her household chores along with her office work. She doesn’t get a time for a break as she is either doing household work or her office work. She has recently started taking out time for herself in the evening to do evening exercises. She developed this habit after getting a push from her family and also because she started increasing her weight.
The challenges she is facing — She isn’t able to take out time between her working hours for a break or relaxation. She feels isolated sometimes and needs someone to talk to when needed.
Her motivation triggers — A motivation from an instructor helps her to get motivated. Music in between working hours helps her relax and concentrate.
Her needs — She needs reminders in between for taking a break as she tends to forget about it. She wants constant motivation in order to develop a habit of stretching or relaxing in between working hours and to take care of her health. She wants pre-recorded sessions instead of live sessions of exercises.
“Evening Workout has considerably changed my mood too and made me happier.”
“When I am unable to keep up the pace, I pause and replay the youtube video.”
📝Insights from USER 2 — Shefali (21 years)👧
Her routine — She has recently started working for an internship. She do takes breaks in between work but only for lying down or talking to her friends. She isn’t able to get much time for doing exercises or taking care of her health in any other way.
The challenges she is facing — She has started putting on weight. She is facing anxiety issues and feels stressed out when more work comes in. She loses track of time and her productivity is decreasing.
Her motivation triggers — She loves doing outdoor sports. Music, talking to her friends and playing games relaxes her stressed mind. Office group sessions might able to motivate her.
Her needs — She wants something to track her work routine so that she can find time in between those hours to do exercise. A proper guidance from an instructor would be really helpful for her.
“Appreciation from someone in some manner could help me to get motivated for exercising.”
“When sitting alone, I don’t know who to talk to, what to do, basically my mental health has suffered a lot.”
“I am very hyped up when I am working so I want to feel low/relaxed during breaks.”
📝Insights from USER 3 —Kalyani (33 years)👩
Her routine — She usually works for 10 hours and sometimes 12 hours. Pandemic has made her even more lazy than before. She doesn’t even get up in between her working hours and most of the times sits for 4–5 hours straight. She feels there is no separation left between her personal and work life.
The challenges she is facing — She has started gaining weight. She isn’t able to take care for her health at all and she has become workaholic. She has lost motivation to do exercise.
Her motivation triggers —An exercise routine along with a friend helps her to stay motivated. As she is a musician, music helps her relax. Seeing achievements of other people only motivates her.
Her needs —She wants to consciously remind herself not to burn herself with lots of work. She wants to keep her personal life separate from her work life. She needs a constant motivate in order to develop a healthy habit.
“Now my life has become like I keep my laptop just beside my pillow. The moment I wake up I first check my emails.”
“As I had somebody that had the same goal, like a gym partner, it really works for people like me who choose not to workout on their own.”
📝Insights from USER 4 — Sheetal (30 years)👩🦱
Her routine — She takes her health very seriously and manages her time properly to take out time for her family, her office as well as her exercise routine. She wakes up early and do cardio exercises daily and also has a trainer to guide her. She tends to take breaks in between her office hours for walking and drinking water.
What has improved in her life? — Her work productivity has increased and she is able to manage her time in a better manner. Evening walks has also helped her a lot in relaxation.
Her motivation triggers — Body health issues motivated her to do exercise. Her trainer keeps a weekly check on her health.
Her expectation from the product — She wants the application to guide and provide knowledge to women so that they take care of their health even without having health issues.
“My efficiency of work increased and I think exercise plays a major role. I like to give sufficient time to each of them.”
“I would ask for more hours in a day.(Laugh) I want some time for me when I have to do nothing.”
📝Insights from USER 5— Christy (34 years)👱♀️
Her routine — She is a mother of two kids and is a freelancer. She hasn’t taken full time job so that she could take care of her kids. She only gets busy when there is some project deadline. To meet the deadline, she usually works late in the night till morning to finish up her work before her children wakes up.
The challenges she is facing — She ignores her sleep in order to meet the project deadlines. She also tends to forget drinking water or taking a break in between.
Her motivation triggers — Family workout sessions motivate her a lot. As she is a religious person, religious books and music relaxes her mind.
Her needs — She wants some daily motivation in order to keep check of her health. She only wants to see health benefits in order to get motivated.
“When the project deadline is there, I do my work at night. As no one would call me at that time. I am pretty free to do my work at that time.”
“It’s not a break for me. I have to go as I am needed there. I take breaks from office work to do work for the house.”
Define Phase
Affinity Mapping
Affinity Mapping was done in order to synthesis and organize the whole research data. This helped me in getting my focused user groups and also in segregating challenges and needs of the users.
This mapping was gained after a few iterations.
Empathy Maps
Empathy mapping helped in articulating what different user groups think or feel regarding the problem area and how much impact they have in their life. It would also help in knowing the user expectations from the solution to the problem.
Personas
Personas not only helped in knowing user needs and frustrations but also helped us in knowing what motivational triggers are necessary in order to motivate users to do the exercise or take a break in order to take care of their health.
Hypothesis Validation
Now as all the Research and Analysis was done, I started writing down which Hypothesis were validated and which were not. This helped in reframing the problem statement in order to stay focused on the problem for the Ideation stage.
✅Validated Hypothesis statements
New Hypothesis Statement 9 was formed after User Research based on user interviews and observations.
❓✔Partially-validated Hypothesis statements
New Hypothesis Statement 2 was formed after Desk Research which got partially approved.
❌Disapproved Hypothesis statements
New Hypothesis Statement 3 was formed after disapproval.
❗Not Validated Hypothesis statements
Reframed Problem statement
Reframing the Problem statement helped to take in account the focused problems keeping in mind all the goals of the problem area.
HealthifyMe application wants to encourage and educate women about taking breaks in between their office working hours for exercises for both their body as well their mind relaxation.
Old Problem Statement — Prolonged work from home can affect women and their mental health. Women have been hit hard by the pandemic as they try to strike a balance at home — juggling office duties with household care. HealthifyMe application wants to help women to stay motivated and productive during their working hours and to reduce their stress levels.
Scoped down Hypothesis
Scoping helped in focusing on fewer problem areas first and starting with problems related to motivating women to exercise with the negative mindset during pandemic.
Ideate Phase
Solutions & Features
Listing down of the solutions was done on the basis of the Reframed Problem statement and by also keeping in mind the Initial Brainstorming ideas.
Some solutions were re-iterated and improved to solve the User needs and frustrations.
Paper Wireframes
Paper Wireframes helped in picturizing the above solutions and features and re-iterating in the initial Wireframing of the potential solutions for the user problems.
Digital Wireframes
Digital Wireframes helped in setting up the proper user flow and in several re-iterations.
Peer Review
Peer Review helped in having a perspective of other designers in regard to the Design Process and Wireframes.
Prototype Phase
Prototyping the product helped in the testing phase where the user see the application as the real app in the market and tell the issues he is facing in a better manner.
Moodboard
Moodboard helped in thinking about the visual appeal of the application and to keep in mind the colors appropriate for the fitness industry.
UI Screens of the App
The application was made keeping in mind the Wireframes and Moodboard.
The visual feel of Healthify Me application is taken into account in some screens and this is done only for project purpose.
Feature 1 — Take a break and do health benefited exercises or meditation at your desk.
As the user enters the application, he could see default breaks set for him according to the office time 9 to 6pm. He could change the office time and number of breaks from the top right clock icon.
Next, when he starts his first break after getting the reminder on the set time he could start his Minibreak and do the exercises by seeing the Video Gif. An audio of the instructor would also be playing in the background to motivate and count along with the user.
Feature 2 — To relieve your mental stress and other issues, enter a community and talk to new people who are facing the same issues.
There are different communities for both Physical fitness and Mental health issues which the user can explore. He can either read the posts of others and comment and help them or create his own post and share to get others help or perspective. Posting anonymously is also an option in the app.
Heuristics Analysis
Heuristics Analysis helped in detecting the usability issues and resolving them before taking them for the Usability Testing.
App screens after Heuristics
The main changes after Heuristics Analysis done were —
- None of the breaks were locked so that users can have freedom of starting any break. Also, terminology was changed from Minibreak to Break for less confusion.
- To track on which the exercise user is, Status in the form of 1 of 3 exercises is added in the second screen.
- The ‘Add your community’ feature is removed in the Community feature for Minimalist solution.
Though the drawback was that the adding instructor voice behind the prototype wasn’t possible due to tool issue.
Prototype Videos
This would help users in understanding the features and interaction just like it would work in the real application.
Test Phase
User testing was conducted to evaluate the application with real users and to create human-centric products. Through this process, one can really explore and analyze target audience’s behavior when interacting with the application. Here are the user tasks and questions which were asked.
User 1
“Helpful features and ideas. Just need little refinements specifically in the community page. Need more motivating and eye catching Reminders for motivation.” — Shefali
Breaks feature would help to remind her to take care of her health while working for the office. Community support would help her when there is no one to share her problems with. Also, when she is facing some work related issues.
Would make the Progress bar in the breaks page so that people could see which break is next.
Would give a chance to change time for the office from the main fitness page.
Would Change the Reminder UI to make it more eye-catching.
Would add a filtration screen before the posts screen in the community for a more personalized experience.
User 2
“I would be needing a separate sound of notification in order to see it and open it. Apart from it, it is a really useful application.” — Artika
The gif to explain exercise worked really well. Community feature would help her to get support from other people when she couldn’t state those things to her family.
The time setting feature needs to be improvised and the office time needs to be on the first screen itself.
On the exercise gif page, there would be an option to either read the full description or not. And even there would be a pace like Slow, Medium, Fast which could help users to choose at what pace they want to do the exercise and how much time it would take.
Lastly, the anonymous button needs to be on the text screen itself in order to help users protect their identity.
User 3
“I liked the features and the gif was really motivating. But I want to know where the exercise would put pressure on my body and how it will help in a little more detail.” — Jubina
Doing exercises in between would really be beneficial for her. Community would help her to connect with other young mothers who are facing work from home stress issues.
Giving the chance to the users to rearrange the breaks according to their comfort.
Users are able to customize the exercises or have alternatives during their menstrual cycles.
Snooze button in the notification so that break could be taken a little later.
Community would help users to connect with people of the same age group.
A Motivating notification and progress chart at the end of the day for motivation for the next day.
User 4
“Great Job. I could very much relate to it and would definitely want to use it.” — Srija
She really wants motivation for herself to take a break in between office work. So this reminder from the app would really motivate her to take care of her health.
Giving a chance to rearrange the breaks and customize them.
Giving more emphasis to the ‘How the exercise would help’ and adding more data there.
User 5
“I would be able to do the simpler exercises but not the tougher ones. Also, posting anonymously is really helpful for me as it would help me in releasing my stress.” — Prachi
The exercise Gif was self-explanatory regarding how the exercise needs to be done. Breaks between her work would really help her body health.
Giving a chance to the users to change the time from the fitness first page itself.
Different Pace like Slow, Medium, Fast according to different people
Alternative exercise options.
Making the profile photo of Anonymous also blank to improve trust.
Refined Prototype
Refinement 1 — Firstly, instead of giving the default breaks the new user would be asked to set up his office time. Also, now the user can move and rearrange the breaks from the main Screen only by dragging and dropping according to his time preference.
Refinement 2 — Now the users are given an option to edit the exercises and choose an alternative if they don’t want to do it.
Refinement 3 — Users wanted to know how the exercise would help their body so I included the icons which would tell users on which body parts the pressure would be and also made the ‘Learn how to do it’ optional for them to read.
I also added a fun illustration when they complete a break set for them in order to motivate them and make them keep coming back.
Refinement 4 — In order to not confuse the users regarding the colour of the communities, I segregated them properly and also included a different set of young mothers communities to help my target audience.
Retrospective
Challenges
The application proved to be very helpful for the women working from home right now. They are currently facing a lot of health issues and this application would become really useful for their health.
The biggest challenge I faced was to not able to test the prototype along with the voice in the background. Apart from this, I couldn’t test whether the users would be able to get into a habit of taking care of their health and take less stress while working hard for their office work.
Future Scope
I would want to keep iterating and testing along with my users till it become more effective to their needs. I want to make the application more motivating and include personal touches to the Reminders which they get so that they are bound to take a break and relax their body.
Thank you for reading to the end 🤩
If you have any feedback, suggestion or just want to share or ask something, drop a mail to me :
shubhangi.ag2309@gmail.com
For viewing the remaining iterations, go through the Appendix.