Nike Run Club+
Interaction Design
Project Overview
In partnering with Arity, a data analytics company that connects telematics data, we were tasked with finding out how to use GPS data to build a better proposition for an existing app within the health and fitness space. We set out to understand how we might create value for Nike Run Club users in utilizing Arity’s GPS data in order to enhance their running experience.
Problem identification
User research
UX design
Prototype development
Client pitching
User Research
Having conducted more than 8 exploratory user interviews discussing general health and well-being, we found that running was a commonality amongst most. Through this preliminary research, we interviewed regular runners about their current running habits and 3 key areas of emphasis for our solution emerged: route planning, internal motivators, and ease of completion.
Concepts and Ideation
After conducting secondary research on the types of data Arity is able to analyze, as well as primary research with 8 users who had a wide range of relationships with health and fitness, we began a second round of research with 6 individuals. From our first and second round of research, we were able to gain insights into the type of content users value, how location and safety come into play, and the types of fitness trends users are looking for within apps.
With this information, we were able to target 3 possible existing apps that had an opportunity area for us to improve the function of the app by integrating with Arity’s GPS technology. We developed these concepts into storyboards and presented them to Arity. Feedback surrounding incentivizing users and providing more value to already successful apps led us to ultimately continue designing for Nike Run Club as our final deliverable.
Now we were focused on, how we might create value for Nike Run Club users in utilizing Arity’s GPS data in order to enhance their running experience.
Low fidelity prototyping allowed for us to engage with with users and understand the types of interactions they understand and like. Quick sketches and stimulus building created an opportunity for us to gain quick feedback on button and touchpoint placement that users did not understand or prefer to utilize.
Our next step was to consider who our targeted user should be and the needs that we wanted our features to address. We found a large population of runners and users of Nike Run Club are in their 20’s and have gotten tired of running the same routes through their neighborhoods. These runners are looking to break out of these monotonous runs and bring back some of the excitement. Additionally, we heard users who travel for work would love to go on runs in the places they visit and learn about the area. This persona guided us toward ideation and prototyping of features for Nike Run Club+.
Final Features Prototyping
01. Coach
Our first new feature, Coach, leverages the users live data stream and her training and feedback preferences to give her live audio feedback during her runs. We heard from our users that the guided audios can often get repetitive and boring and saw an awesome opportunity to leverage Arity’s deep understanding of data and metrics to provide value to the user and Nike Run Club. At the same time, our users want to make sure that their workouts are benefiting their overall training goals. This feature builds upon Nike Run Club’s canned feedback to make each guided run feel like a personal workout experience. Now, with Coach, users will hear specific feedback tailored to their needs. Arity can leverage their SDK to provide Nike Run Club with detailed acceleration and deceleration data, trends in a user’s health & fitness, all to build a robust coaching and feedback platform.
02. Guided Routes
03. Explorer
Explorer is a page that houses user created runs that are paired with Nike’s guided run audios. When a user employs the guided run feature, they are asked if they would like to share their run. If they choose to share, the run gets stored here for runners in their area to see new options. By turning location always on, users will receive notification when there are new runs in her area. When looking at the page users sees runs in their area based on filters they utilized for their last run. They can change the filters if desired, click view routes, and will be taken back to the map page with their new options. When users click on a route, it will turn blue and bring up info on the chosen audio guide, 3 descriptive tags, who created the run, and how many users have given a thumbs up denoted by the fire icon.
04. Landmark Runs
Lets revisit our user Juliet. Juliet is now living in San Francisco, and loves using the Nike audio-guided runs when she exercises. However, she has had issues knowing where to run when listening to these guides. Given how hilly San Francisco is, sometimes she finds herself running uphill during a specified cool down section of her run, or on an easy downhill slope when she is supposed to be sprinting all out. That’s where Arity comes in. We proposed a feature which relies on detailed location and elevation data to generate guided routes for users based on their preloaded preferences in the user survey. We can incorporate features such as estimating crowding on a street, helping users discover areas they have never been before, or even showing them that they could use a Nike Guided Run on the pathways they walk frequently in their day-to-day lives.
Landmark runs are Nike created routes and audios surrounding scenic or historic areas. We heard users were interested in finding runs when visiting new cities and learning about the area through audio guides and in ear navigation. In addition to finding Landmark Runs on the guided runs and explorer page, users can turn location to always on to be notified of Landmark Runs in their area.
Potential Impact and Value Added
Based on insights and findings, we enhanced the running experience for users with added route guidance. We also created an increased sense of community and connection through sharing of runs. For Nike Run Club, the added features will increase app usage for users looking for more capabilities, and also creates a stronger connection to different users needs. And finally, for Arity, implementation of Landmark Runs provides opportunity to get users to have location always on, aiding in the collection of car data. Additionally, adding this new variety of features will reach a wider user audience and therefore increase targeted ad generation.
Personal takeaways include gaining experience working within Figma, greater understanding of the uses of big data, and invaluable experience in real client engagement. Both Arity and our professors saw value in our work and our team will be presenting to the Global Design Director at Nike in April of 2021!