Augment Therapy
Tools used: Figma, FigJam, DoveTail, Excel & Python
Project Summary:
Welcome to our UXR slide deck! As you dive deep into our research you will see that it is a culmination of three designers’ rigorous planning, steadfast work ethic, and dedication to designing for social good.
In the timespan of three months, our research has allowed us to:
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Identify touchpoints of where we can improve the augmented-reality exer-game apps.(ARWELL, ARWELL PRO)
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Create design iterations to increase user’s overall enjoyment of the app.
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Make strides towards positively impact physical health outcomes through our work.
01 Project Overview
Role
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UX Researcher
Timeline
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April 2024 - Present
Team
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Niveditha Dudyala
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Samantha Chen
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Advait Gadre
Project Type
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Augmented Reality game
(Mobile, Tablet, Laptop)
Problem
Our literature review reveals that while people are keen to maintain their physical well-being, they lack intuitive and engaging tools to stay motivated and on track.
Opportunity
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AR: Including augmented reality (AR) features in fitness apps enhances user engagement and motivation.
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Games: Incorporating games into exercise routines makes fitness more enjoyable and effective.
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Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness: Leveraging personalized games that address users' psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness maximizes the effectiveness of exer-games.
Research Question
How can we further support Augment’s goal, of improving one’s physical well-being, through an elevated user experience in ARWell?
02 Methodology
I. Experience Surveys:(n=55, Ages 18 to 64)
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We collected multiple-choice and short answer responses through Google Forms.
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Experience surveys allowed us to gather insight into technology use in physical therapy from a larger range of people.
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These surveys also allowed us to recruit participants for our interviews and usability sessions.
II. Semi-struct. Interviews (n=10, Ages 20 to 40)
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We asked participants about their experience using technology in supplement to their physical therapy.
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Semi-structured interviews helped us to identify pain points and preferences from prior patients of physical therapy.
III. Usability Tests (n=30, Ages 7 to 30)
We had participants complete a set of tasks with ARWell, followed by post-test questions about their experience and a System Usability Scale questionnaire. These usability sessions provided valuable insights into user interactions with ARWell and enabled us to evaluate usability heuristics, identifying areas where users encounter difficulties.
03. Participants:
04. Key Takeaways:
Motivation
Problem:
Users seek a tool that motivates and facilitates consistency in physical well-being
Recommendation:
Allowing users to set more diverse and daily goals for them to meet.
Personalization
Problem:
Users seek a tool with personalization to fulfill their need of autonomy and relatedness.
Recommendation:
Presenting users with more customization options & at a single glance on the ARWell landing screen.
Motivation
Problem:
Users seek a tool that guides them through their exercise session.
Recommendation:
Starting games with an instructions pop-up and closing out the game with a rewards screen to instill motivation.
05. Themes:
Theme-I​​ Current Experience: Motivation:
Users seek a tool that motivates and facilitates consistency in physical well-being.
Recommendation:
Allowing users to set more diverse and daily goals for them to meet.
Theme-I​​ Augmented Experience: Motivation- Daily Goals:
Before: Limited goal setting/progress tracker not allowing users to set more diverse goals that could increase engagement
After: Users can set more diverse daily goals such as steps, hands (every time your hands move above shoulder level), and stars (in-game rewards) for themselves and feel more motivated through the goals they set for themselves.
Goal Setting Screen
Clearly Defined Goals in Landing Screen
Theme-II​​ Current Experience-Personalization:
Users seek a tool with personalization to fulfill their need of autonomy and relatedness.
ARWell has a fixed set of characters and there is room for improvement with more customization options. In addition, individually clicking each avatar and game option causes cognitive overload.
Recommendation:
Presenting users with more customization options & at a single glance on the ARWell landing screen.
Theme-II​​ Augment Experience-Personalization- Trainer Customization:
Before: Participants expressed a desire to name to their avatar or by more customization features for their avatars. They also expressed cognitive overload due to UI.
After: Users have more customization options to choose from for their Trainer selection, and are presented with all games AND programs at a single glance instead of having to click through one game at a time and missing programs completely
Trainer customization features: name tag and color changes.
UI that displays all games and programs.
Theme-III​​ Current Experience- Guidance:
Users seek a tool that guides them through their exercise session.
ARWell games lack instructions in the beginning and feedback after game completion.
Recommendation:
Presenting users with In app tutorials, instructions & Score board with feedback!
Theme-III​​ Augmented Experience- Guidance:
Before: Users want to know what makes them win the game or level up as well as how a game is beneficial for their physical well-being and goals.
After: Users are guided by a trainer that clearly defines both the game objective and exercise objective of the game they are playing.
Trainer game onboarding pop-up screen
Text and visual animated onboarding for each game.
Option to opt out of instructions for regular users.
Motivation & Guidance - Feedback Screen
Before: Users wanted more feedback about their game session such as how many stars they earned and whether they have completed their objective.
After: Users are told exactly what they have accomplished in the game, both in terms of the exercise objective and the number of stars they achieve, making it altogether a more guided experience
Results pop-up screen after game finishes.
Results displayed hierarchically by text size, color, and icons.
Call-To-Action buttons with countdown timer.
06. Inclusive Design:
07. Challenges:
Blockers:
Limitations:
07. Future Work:
