GetSETGO–Mobile App
An Exercise Tracking Mobile App
UX Project
MIT Agelab Co-op with SilverSneakers
Mobile App
14 weeks
(Feb 2023 –May 2023)
Timeline
Process
Outcome
Highlight Features
Community Walks
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Browse locations you likes
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Saved locations
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Schedule walks
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Invite friends
View My Progress
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My Progress
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Leader Board
Activities
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Browse online course
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Browse in-person course
Tutorials
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First time user tutorials
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Step by step
Project Overview
The main objective of our project was to assist the stakeholder SilverSneakers with their challenges of users' retentions and customers' engagement. In the stage of user research, we analyze the users' needs and goals while using the platform of SilverSneakers.
SilverSneaker, as one of the Senior Fitness Platforms, provides online and in-person fitness classes for seniors 65+ years old.
Their biggest advantage in the market is the online fitness class during the pandemic time and the inclusion of Medicare Plan. However, after the pandemic years, the numbers of users are decresing.
As a team, we conducted user research and market analysis to aisst the company SilverSneaker with their needs of users' retention and users' engagement to create a user-friendly community for the elderly groups.
The primary mission of our project was to leverage a digital solution that would increase users' involvment to the elders' fitness program.
We aim to achieve this by personalizing the user experience, fostering a sense of community, and promoting the enjoyment of physical activity.
Disover
Connecting with the client SilverSneaker, we understood the current challenges faced by their fitness program platform.
Their ways for social connections
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What social connections impact the most on their lives?
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How do they improve social ability?
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What's the feeling from their current situation?
Research Goals
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To understand the challenges and difficulties that SIlverSneakers' users are facing now.
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To research the current market for the similar products.
Mobility level
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To determine their average times of exercise per day.
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To define a healthy patterns for elder groups
SilverSneakers' Needs
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Enrollment and Retention for SilverSneakers are the biggest problem
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Fitness apps are everywhere and the market is competitive.
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Is that the right way to position our product?
Program Impact and Users' Satisfications
52% of the participants had made valuable and new friendships.
88% of the participants improved their quality of life
86% of the participants feel healthier.
Program Participants
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Elderly Community (65+ – 85+)
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Empowered to be active, but have reduced mobility
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Inadequant exercising times
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Lack of social connection
Research Methods
Desk Research
data from CDC Website
User Interviews
Focus group from Life Leader Groups
Comparative Analysis
Compare the current market for SilverSneaker
Users Journey Map
For SilverSneakers' user group
User Interview
We conducted interviews with Life Leader Group
Of elders who are over 65 years did not meet the federal physical activity guideline in 2019. Elders have unique circumstances that exerbate barriers to exercise.
Desk Research
Exercises the target part
Strengthen the muscles.
2 days/week
Muscle-strengthening activities
Balance-improving activities
incorporate activities that enhance balance
practicing standing on one foot.
Moderate-intensity activity
Minimum of 150 minutes/Week
At least 30 minutes/day
5 days/Week
Vigorous-intensity activity
75 minutes/week
intense activities
hiking, jogging, or running.
User Interviews
To determine why the enrollment of fitness program is important to the elderly groups, and in which ways their retention can be improved, we did a user interview and desk research.
Key Takeaways
Interviewees in the Life Leader Group reported the barriers they faced during the time that they want to be active.
Barriers
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Limited Mobility
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Social Isolation
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Discomfort and pain
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Cognitive decline
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Lack of skills
User Journey Map
According to the user groups of SilverSneaker, the users' journey started from before the enrollment to after the enrollment, the feelings and thinking of the users fluctuate over times.
Our User Journey Map present the participants of SilverSneaker while using their fitness program. The main emotional fluctuate occurring from the beginning of enrollment to the end of classes. They all reported that the clutter information in the user interfaces mislead their navigation and distract their attention during their use of this online platform.
Eager to be Active
“I am pretty immobilized at the moment, but i’m still managing to get across to linden ponds to take courses there.” ––M
"I usually walk, but I’m just not nearly as effective as I was when I Was 40" ––B
"We have an exercise class first thing every morning. I find that’s important to me because I used to run a lot, some of which I can't do now physically." ––E
Social Engagement
“ Ordinarily I really like group activity. There's so much you can learn from doing a group activity.” ––M
"I find it encouraging when I come in and I see there are 12 other people there that are ready to go."––B
"I really do enjoy the classes that involve a lot of people. I’ll go to the class anyways, if it’s just me and one other guy, but I might not stick with it."––E
Intergenerational Activities
“ I’m also going to my volunteer job. This committee I’m on, everybody is younger than me, but some of them not by much.”––B
"I’ve learned a lot just from talking with junior high school kids - I have children but they’re long past the high school junior age. I think that’s a great thing for both of us"––E
They share common points in motivations for exercise, engagement in social activities, and also share interest in intergenerational activities.
Comparative Analysis
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After getting insights from the target user groups, we did some research in the field of senior fitness program, there are multiple enterprises and non-profit organizations providing services for elderly groups for different purposes.
Even though each organization exhibits unique strengths, there remain discernible gaps that hinder their ability to retain users and enhance their public influency. For instance, low diverisity of games and excises, big learning curves for the target group, and barriers for entrants.
Similar to SilverSneaker, all the organizations has different attributes while they are sharing some common points that they don't have a high user retention, users engagement, and public visibility.
Opportunity Space
Community Activities
Fitness Class
Games
Community Activities
Some activities might be repeated and become less interesting
Facilities run out of ideas
Limit elderly’s movement to only within the facilities
Fitness Class
Lack of motivation
“Start once and done”
Games
Hardware requirement makes it hard to enter.
Many of them are one-person games which do not promote socialization.
High learning curve for those who are not familiar with game console.
Gaps
The gaps point to the user needs and market needs in the fitness program market for SilverSneakers.
User Needs
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Users' needs of little learning curve and easy navigation in user interface
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Compelling reasons for users to stay in using the fitness program.
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Users' needs of stronger social bonding during the fitness program
Market Needs
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Innovations in services
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Activities expansion to cover fitness class and gaming
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Adjustment
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Reduction of learning curves for gaming and fitness class
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Socializing enhancement for the in-person class/activities
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Disover
According to the above research and insight synthesis, we define the problems areas to discover the opportunity spaces in a Venn Diagram.
Ideation
How Might We Statement
How Might We help SilverSneaker retain its users by keeping them engaged in the fitness program?
How Might We build social bonds among the users and eliminate the sense of loneliness?
How Might We help SilverSneaker stand out in the market of fitness and seniors industries to attract more customers?
Group Activity
Community events
Buddy Program
Group walking
Gaming
Reward system of games
Leaderboard
Exercising
Group Walking
Online and in-person courses
Our mobile app: GetSETGO occupys the intersection of Gaming, Exercising, and Group Activity.
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Work Flow
Develop
During the discussion and brainstorming section, we listed all the possibilities and eliminate the less attractive or practical ideas. We finally come with the idea of pushing out a mobile version of the online platform to continue maintain users' needs and innovates functions to increase their retentions.
Deliver
The final deliverables provide guideline from work flow and visualization from the final prototypes.
Prototypes
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Reflections
In this project, I learned to co-design with clident with transparent communication and engagement of fixing problems. In the user interviews phrase, we worked as a team to discuss questions with the LifeLeader groups, it was hard for us to understand their responses in the conversion. We learned to be patient and get their response as clear as possible because we need to use them as insights. On the other hand, with the collaborative conversation with our clients, we learnt from their previous research and tried to build something new on top of that. We hope we conquer the challenges by coming out of some innovative decisions.
User Accessibility Testing
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According to the users' feedbacks, we decided to move on with adjustments in images and texts size. To utilize it, we use goggles and other supplies to help us simulate the seniors' daily routine. We increased the size and improve the visual design to present on the final presentation to our clients SilverSneakers and instructor Prof. Joseph Colin.
We revised our prototypes based on the feedback from the first version. We sent out the survey again and ended up with 16 responses on legibility, color contrast, contents, usability and engagement.
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According to our respondents, 86% of them have concerns about the size of letters, which cause trouble to read and understand. 72% of the users would like to have colors in higher contrast so that they are able to recognize the images, button, and interact with them.
Ledgibility
Contents
According to our clients SilverSneaker, they proposed a Progress Bar, and a way for user to set their goal.
They preferred a more active icons/image that attract users to be engage to the course and to complete their goals.