Nike Training Club Redesign

Overview

The Nike Training Club app helps you reach your fitness goals with free access to on-demand classes, trainer-led programs, and expert tips from world-class Nike Master Trainers. The app allows you to train at home, in the gym, or on the road, with everything from bodyweight sessions, yoga flows, cardio, HIT classes, and full-equipment gym workouts. The app fails to take into account, however, that some people might have injuries or conditions that would not allow them to do certain exercises. During Fall 2019, I worked in a team of 4 to redesign the Nike Training Club app to create an app experience more inclusive of older folks with disabilities and/or mobility issues.

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My Role

Lead end-to-end design through research, wireframing, interaction design, visual design, prototyping and testing.

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The Problem

Some of the factors that influence how active we are include enjoyment, having social support, and believing that exercise is affecting us in a positive way. Another powerful influencer is the amount of perceived barriers an individual has to movement. For example, while many older adults believe exercising will have a positive impact on their health, their barriers to exercise prevail as the stronger influence. This is illustrated by the alarming number of older adults in America that aren’t getting enough exercise. In 2010, 52% of adults aged 55 to 64, and 61% over the age of 65, were not meeting the recommended guideline minimums for exercise. The result? Our growing elderly population is losing their independence, suffering poor health, and being burdened with escalating health care costs (National Academy of Sports Medicine).

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This led my team to ponder an important question: how might we reimagine the exercise experience as we age?

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Business Goal

Increase consumer reach by creating a more inclusive app experience

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Design Goal

• Increase accessibility by making exercises less daunting for users
• Foster community among users + make the in-app experience welcoming for all peoples
• Clearly communicate how to do exercises
• Encourage continued use and achievement for first-time-users through delight

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Guiding Questions

• How might we design the app so that it is more inclusive of people of all ages?
• How can we foster a sense of community on the NTC app?

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Constraints

• Shouldn't deviate too far from Nike's established design style guide
• Redesign should align with Nike's mission "to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. *If you have a body, you are an athlete."

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Research & Needfinding

I utilized a user-centered approach to conduct research:

• Identified the needs and constraints of the target user audience, and opportunities in the NTC app.
• Worked with design team to learn about Nike's current customer needs + painpoints.
• Reviewed product offerings and competition from other services.
• Spoke with IT to understand challenges and constraints in communications and operations.

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In addition, we conducted a deep dive on Nike's current mobile apps to better understand how they cater to different peoples. We found that the Nike Training Club app, in particular, does a good job at catering content toward younger age groups—in fact, there are even workouts designed specifically with children in mind. With that being said, there is little to no content targeted toward folks over 40, with many of the people modeling these exercises not falling into older demographics.

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After the NTC deep dive, my team went to a local assisted living facility to talk with and observe the residents in their daily exercise class. I chose to do the class with them! It was incredibly boring, and it turns out that they did the same thing every single day. One woman had been at the facility for two years. I couldn’t imagine doing that class even once more, never mind for weeks, months, or years. Even worse, many in the class were clearly capable of doing more, and this class was not meeting their needs.

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We interviewed 12 senior citizens from the facility and found that many of them were tired of the monotonous workout routines and wished they could be able to switch up with exercises they do. Many expressed a desire to be able to use an app like the NTC app as it would give them a sense of independence, but over half of the interviewees worried that they would not be able to complete the workouts as they have mobility issues.

Moreover, many interviewees expressed that while they find the living facility's exercises boring, they still enjoy being able to workout with friends in a welcoming environment.

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Ella, User Persona
62 years old, Army veteran, injured back during combat, exercises every morning
“I want to try out some new workouts and challenge myself, but these workout apps don't take into account my bad back. Doing sit ups is not an option for me, so no need to recommend it.”

Mikey, User Persona
88 years old, retired teacher, no exercise routine, works out when he feels motivated
“I love working out with my best friends! It's the highlight of my day and truthfully the only thing that motivates me to workout at all.”

Karla, User Persona
60 years old, retired nurse, works out every other day
“Sure the exercise class here is boring, but I don't know how to do any other exercises. It helps having [the instructor] at the front to show me how to do the moves correctly. She's so patient and corrects my form so I don't get hurt.”

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Ideation

With our insights in tow, we began ideating. We began with a blue sky period in which we allowed our ideas to run loose, and then we organized each idea based on the How-Now-Wow matrix. After gathering feedback from both potential users as Nike executives, we further scoped our project and decided to pursue the ideas that focused on allowing users to select which areas of their body they did not want to work out. We also decided to include a community corner where users could foster community with one another, find tips on nutrition + exercises, and find motivation.

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Prototyping

I developed concepts, design mockups, and created an interactive prototype that follows Nike's established style guide.

After investigating core tools and workflows for senior citizens, we hypothesized that allowing users to decide which parts of their body they did not want to focus on would allow the app to be more accommodating of mobility issues or disabilities. We also found that including a feature that allows users to edit which exercises are included in a specific workout would give them more agency in their exercise routine and make it less of a daunting experience.

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Design Concept Exploration

We visited the assisted living facility again and asked some of the seniors to draw what they invision the ideal workout app to look like. Below is one of the drawings that heavily inspired the final design.

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User Testing & Evaluation

I iterated and refined the prototype based on feedback from design team members, real users, and key stakeholders.

• Worked with my design team and mentors to receive feedback on the design solution.
• Conducted a user study on UserTesting.com to seek validation on proposed design solution and gained insight on workflows of senior citizens who try out a new exercise for the first time
• Interviewed and observed users through live focus groups. Ran a prototype demonstration and analyzed user behaviors.
• I conducted five 20-minute prototype walkthroughs with different users to test the concept, functionality, and usability.
• Presented solution to Nike executives and received positive feedback from the enterprise perspective.

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Final Prototype + Reflections

This experience has aided me in understanding the significance in creating an inclusive app. When we tested our prototypes during user interviews, I could see people filled with joy and excited to finally have a workout app that took disabilities and/or conditions into account. Redesigning the Nike Training Club app has truly opened my eyes to the pitfalls in tech, and while it is evident that we have a lot of work to do in terms of making tech more inclusive of different peoples, I’m eager to delve into that work and use my diverse experiences and background to guide me along the way.