Many people have struggled to stay physically active at some point in their lives, often attributing it to a lack of discipline. Recently, cycle syncing has gained attention through media, highlighting the fluctuations in energy levels and mood that occur throughout the menstrual cycle due to hormone variations.
Problem Statement: Despite existing apps that track periods and symptoms, almost none of them explore the connection between menstrual cycles and physical activity.
Solution: Phase is an app that allows people with a menstrual cycle to stay active throughout all the phases. This is achieved by tracking your period and syncing it with your exercise routine. The app provides tailored workouts for each phase based on the user's energy levels and insights about the different cycle phases.
Methodology: We worked on this project by adapting Goal-Directed Design (GDD), created by Alan Cooper, to our class setting. This design method captures user goals and behaviors to direct the definition of a product, bridging the gap between research and design. Through its 5 phases, we translated the user goals into a high-level interactive framework that defined the main features and flows of the app.
Despite the absence of real stakeholders, we completed a Kickoff Meeting and addressed this limitation by using a complete worksheet that helped us think from a stakeholder's perspective. This included creating a problem statement from a business viewpoint, recognizing assumptions about user behaviors, and predicting the potential benefits of our app.
After researching, we discovered that people with menstrual cycles can optimize their physical performance by tracking their phases. Furthermore, we identified that hormone fluctuations can increase the risk of certain types of injuries during different phases of the menstrual cycle.
It was surprising to learn that nearly half of those with menstrual cycles perceive a negative influence on their training and performance (Hauck, 2020). Additionally, maintaining motivation and adhering to regular workout routines becomes increasingly challenging, particularly when facing performance declines (Gordon, Melville, & French, 2022).
After evaluating top competitors in period tracking and fitness, we learned about the current users’ perceptions of existing products. Users preferred simplicity over many overwhelming features, proving the need for straightforward design. We noted an absence of gender-neutral design. Additionally, users valued personalized health insights, indicating a need for tailored experiences.
We conducted five virtual interviews, targeting people aged 18-50 who experience menstrual cycles with varying physical activity levels. After using a set of questions I created to facilitate discussions with the participants, we gathered responses that became crucial for making decisions in the next phases.
The interviews provided us with essential information about potential users:
To draw these conclusions from the interviews, I led my team through an affinity mapping session that helped us discuss and learn from our personal insights. There, I asked, "What were the key patterns you noticed during our conversation with the participant?"
Our goal was to identify the primary user interested in synchronizing their physical activity with their menstrual cycle. Therefore, we set the essential behavioral variables of our participants using the interviews' questions and affinity maps. After analyzing their responses, we identified significant behaviors and clusters along variables continuums and established a user archetype or persona.
As the team leader, I ensured that our persona’s narrative was crafted based on the interpreted attributes and aligned with her goals. Mae Murphy's main goal is to relieve her period symptoms through exercise and maintain consistent activity levels, reflecting her life goal of having a healthy lifestyle driven by her motivation.
We created a context scenario to examine how Phase would integrate into our persona's daily life, visualizing their ideal experience and goal achievement process. After setting aside our biases, we listed the data and functional requirements based on our persona. This was an essential step for aligning our decisions with user expectations regarding the product's functionality.
I organized an in-person meeting, providing my team with materials to start the ideation process and ensure we had a medium for creating quick sketches, preventing concerns about details at this stage. After discussing the requirements and their definition using the functional elements of a mobile interface, we generated low-fidelity sketches to draft the information organization and hierarchy.
Using a tablet, I clarified elements and the overall flow. Finally, we transitioned to the third iteration of our design in FigJam, where we established the key-validation path, detailing how our persona would frequently interact with the product: Mae Murphy would usually start her path with a workout notification that leads her to the recommended workouts for this phase.
Additionally, we incorporated validation scenarios, representing uncommon but necessary actions. Throughout this process, the continuous revision and discussion of solutions were crucial, as iteration and definition of details facilitated the creation of our wireframe.
Once the wireframes were ready, I assigned tasks for creating our high-fidelity prototype. While my teammates focused on visual elements, I developed a simple design system with a color palette, font, and essential components to maintain consistency. We applied knowledge from our research, prioritizing simplicity and gender neutrality and I checked for alignment with our requirements.
We conducted five virtual and task-based usability tests to gather feedback. Participants shared their thought processes and answered post-test questions to rate and discuss our system. We focused on an 18-30 age group, which may have biased our results towards more tech-savvy participants, so including a broader age range could have improved this phase.
Findings
Solutions
Phase was my first major design project, where I had the opportunity to interview people and create a high-fidelity prototype for the first time. Given its fast-paced nature, I wish for more time to understand more about the user and create a better quality prototype. However, I learned valuable lessons, such as: