Project: Garmin COnnect Livetrack feature redesign
overview
My team was given a project sponsored by Garmin International. The objective of this project was for us to work together to improve the LiveTrack feature, a real-time tracking component, within the Garmin Connect Application. We set out to complete this task through several methods of research and innovative design techniques with the goal of creating a more friendly and intuitive experience for Garmin Connect Users. | Link to InVision Prototype | Link to Final Presentation
Client
Garmin International
Role
Co-Leader
UX Designer + Researcher
Deliverables
Research Insights
Clickable Prototype
Project Documentation
Duration
January 2018 - April 2018
(11 weeks)
project goal
We intended to improve the LiveTrack feature within the Garmin Connect Application by using data gathered through various methods of research and design, to create a more intuitive experience for users.
What is livetrack?
LiveTrack is a singular feature within the Garmin Connect Application that allows users to share their activity data & location, in real-time, with friends and family members using a Garmin device. This data can be shared using link sharing, Twitter, Facebook, and electronic mailing services. Screenshots of the feature in-app and via Garmin device are provided below.
Research
research questions
-
How does LiveTrack work?
-
What is the current functionality of LiveTrack? Are there any usability issues?
-
How do similar tools compare to LiveTrack?
-
Who is the target audience? How do they interact with LiveTrack?
-
Why do users interact with LiveTrack the way they do?
Heuristic evaluation
We used Nielson's 10 usability heuristics in order to familiarize ourselves with the tool and also to discover functionality issues and pain points.
competitive Analysis
We completed a competitive analysis using tools with similar purposes and functions to gain a better understanding of how other products utilize and execute tracking abilities.
user survey
We crafted a multi-question survey to become more knowledgeable about how users interact with the Garmin application. We focused on usage & discoverability of the LiveTrack feature as well as gauged users' experience with it.
user Interviews
We curated interview questions with the intent to authenticate data received in the survey. From this, we wanted to gain more insight as to the rationale behind why some users choose to use the LiveTrack feature and why others do not.
research insights
-
We found issues with the Help & Evaluation, Consistency & Standards, Aesthetic & Minimalist Design, and Recognition Rather than Recall heuristics.
-
Other tools utilized techniques such as onboarding & feature location, less difficult sharing options, and in-app viewing experiences.
-
LiveTrack was not very popular amongst Garmin Connect users and people who did use it were largely dissatisfied with the results. Many users stated that they had no need for the LiveTrack feature.
-
We gathered data on the frequency of usage and most common usage times, how people discovered LiveTrack within the app, and reasons for non-usage.
Persona Creation
After analyzing our findings, we created personas to help synthesize our research and insights in order for us to move into the ideation phase.
Mónica Reyes
“I like how LiveTrack connects me with family and friends. They can cheer me on and know I am safe.“
Callum Turner
“I know what Livetrack is, but I don’t think anyone cares to know where I am. ”
Angela Roberts
“I have heard about LiveTrack from my running club. I don’t use it because I don’t want to carry my phone during my run.”
Ideation
In the ideation phase, the team focused heavily on low-fidelity sketching in order to fully flesh out ideas in detail. As a team leader with a specialization in innovative conceptualization, I lead many of the team's joint sketching activities. We sketched to solve issues with in-app discoverability of the LiveTrack feature, lack of user incentive, and lack of understanding for novice users. These were all problem areas discovered in our research phase.A few of the many sketches completed can be seen below.
Final Design
From sketching, we were able to agree as a team on ideas that we felt would significantly improve the user's experience of the LiveTrack feature from start to finish.
Evaluation
To evaluate our redesign, we wanted to test and observe how users interacted with our redesigned LiveTrack prototype compared to the original LiveTrack feature. In order to gather participants for the testing, we organized and conducted a focus group.
​
​
​​
​​
-
Test understanding of the feature from the onboarding swipe tutorial
-
Identify potential usability problems
-
Gather user feedback about our design (thoughts and preferences)
-
Get a diverse range of opinions about the new design
Metrics of evaluation