Background

As soon as I began working for Attain, I was tasked with leading the design efforts for a new feature referred to as Challenges. This feature was intended to increase engagement with the app and help users live healthier, more active lives by providing them with personalized challenges that they can complete for points. The points can be used in the app to either pay off an Apple watch or redeem for gift cards.

Discovery

I began my process by sketching out some ideas. I wanted to capture my thoughts before going to competitive analysis and having my ideas influenced. I sketched on paper and made rough mockups using Sketch.

Screenshot of Design Exploration Miro board

We initially were not sure where we wanted the feature to live – either in its own, new navigational tab, or within an existing one, currently labeled “Healthy Actions.” So, I explored both directions.

There were some initial requirements that I used to help direct what to design. My initial discovery work was very broad, as MVP was still under consideration, and I wanted to get a feel for the feature as a whole. In addition to offering up Challenges that users can choose to join, I looked at ideas such as creating your own challenges, inviting others to a Challenge, creating and maintaining a friends list, as well as a badge & streaks system. I also looked at having a user choose a difficulty level vs. having a difficulty level determined for them based on their activity.

I used a Miro board to share my ideas so that the team could view them and comment.

Then I went on to do my competitive analysis, looking at apps such as Peloton, Strava, and Fitbit. I used that inspiration to go back to Sketch and work on some additional ideas.

Screenshot of Inspiration Miro board

Crazy 8s and IP Sprint Exploration

I led a design workshop with the team to generate more ideas for the feature. The team wasn’t accustomed to doing design workshops like that and they loved it. We’ve all been doing them rather consistently ever since.

Screenshot of Crazy 8s Miro board

Also, during out IP (Innovation & Planning) Sprint during the end of the PI, the team worked on some additional ideas and shared them in a Miro board.

Journey Mapping

I led a journey mapping session with the team to understand what the user’s experience throughout the Challenge feature would be.

Screenshot of Journey Mapping Miro board

User Research

We did user research throughout the process to help inform our decisions. That research has included surveys to gauge interest in such a feature and to find out what factors would motivate users. We also did an unmoderated tree test (which I lead the effort on) and then a moderated usability test to identify where the feature should live in the app. We identified that it should live under its own navigational item, perhaps labeled “Challenges.”

I planned and moderated a usability test to get feedback on our design for Challenges cards and details. We decided to really focus on those requirements first as they are the core of the experience. We got feedback on a few different prototypes and we used that information to help refine our designs.

Screenshot of User Research results presentation

Screenshot of User Research results presentation

User flows

We created and maintained user flows throughout the process to make sure we understand how users are going to experience the app and account for any necessary touch points.

Screenshot of Flows Miro board

Collaboration across disciplines

I worked closely with the feature’s product owner throughout this effort. This project was unique in that there was more wiggle room for UX to influence the requirements. This gave me the opportunity to help ensure that we prioritize the features that are essential for a strong user experience. I created a Miro board to help the discussion about what should be in MVP.

Screenshot of MVP Miro board

We have had discussions with engineering, architecture, data, content, accessibility, and marketing throughout this process, showing them designs in progress and getting feedback.

Outcome

I collaborated with another UX designer and a content strategist to refine our designs for the Challenges MVP requirements. I worked very closely with engineering and QA to get the feature built according to our specs. We launched the Challenges feature on August 29, 2022. The feature has been rather successful, as shown by these stats:

• 90% engagement on challenge launch days

• Increase in physical activity for 55% of users (consistently upward trending)

• Opt in rate 4x predicted

Challenges designs