Client project: OuiRun
Details
- Role: UX / UI
- Team: 1 designer, 2 developers, PM
- Industry: Social sport
Deliverables
- User research
- Persona
- Sitemap & user flow
- Wireframes
- Interactive prototype
- Visual design
- Style guide
Client
- OuiRun
- for the OuiRun phone app
The project timeline
and my place in it
I worked with OuiRun in an intensive 2-week sprint which focused on creating an app redesign MVP for the primary user flow - joining a group run. I was the only designer on the project, so I worked alone on the redesign. I incorporated clients into decisions and activities when it made sense (for example I ran our ideation workshop).
I provided a solution that put a focus on the main app function (joining group runs), allowing users to join in one click, search by location, and easily filter results.
Tools & skills used
The Design Thinking process took center stage here, but some of the other skills and tools I needed to draw on for this project were:
Sketch
Invision
Adobe Illustrator
Principle
Design thinking
Project management
Let’s back up a minute…
what is OuiRun about?
Ouirun is part of OuiSports, a startup that encourages fitness and community. OuiRun’s app helps connect runners to others in the running community to facilitate group runs.
The app had a very low retention rate, in part due to users not understanding how to use the app.
The company and project deeply resonated with me. I'd experienced first-hand the way physical exercise can improve so much in life. I'd also read the research on the effects of social bonding while working out, and the importance of those bonds.
Concretely, what was
I responsible for, then?
This project was a combined UX/UI project, so I went through the entire Design Thinking process (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test).
After selection of a moodboard by the client (I'd sent 3 options that I created with the main user persona Vincent in mind), I moved on to UI design.
At the end of the two weeks, I prepared a 6-minute presentation for the OuiRun team. Even though I kept open and frequent communication with the team over the course of the project, it was important for me to be able to concisely communicate the results in a beautiful and engaging way.
Want to hear more about it?
Since there was a clear problem with the existing app (user retention), I began with a design audit to see what worked for users and what didn't. I used OuiRun survey data as well as app comments and ratings to help me pinpoint issues.
I had many questions I wanted to answer in user research - for example, Why do users want tp run in groups? What’s most important aspect of group running or running with a buddy? Why did users choose OuiRun? What do they use currently to facilitate group running? What are the biggest pains in the tools they use?
My research (surveys and interviews) allowed me to discover Vincent's story, my main user persona. The goal became figuring out how we might increase 'group run' visibility and usability so that Vincent could find and join runs with less effort and frustration.
How might I increase Group Run visibility and usability, so that Vincent can find and join runs easier?
I ran an ideation workshop with the client team to open our minds regarding possible responses to the problem statement.
Moving forward with the UI from a moodboard created for Vincent and approved by the client, I built a new interface - including a nugget from ideation which was the map interface, and one-click join. Both were important to help Vincent in his previous frustrations with the app.
Go with the flow
Clean and re-branded splash screen
The new homepage gives a useful start for users - previously it was a Tinder-like interface
Easy join - and leave
New organized and more airly layout for details
An easy way to see all the runs a user has joined
Results
My goal was to improve the OuiRun app to address user retention and engagement issues. Three metrics indicate this for us: users who actively use the app each month, run events created by users on the app, and group run invites sent from one user to another. All three metrics have incresed since the redesign was launched in October 2019.
10 k
active users over 6 months
190 %
increase in user-created runs
>2.5 X
more run invites
Project takeaways:
what I learned, what I loved
What I uncovered in my preliminary research really pushed me to think of the user in an even bigger context: an 80-year long Harvard study showed that community and relationships are the most important factors in living a happy life. Not only that, but studies also show that when you perform physical activity with others, you form closer bonds much faster than you would without physical exercise. I saw that at its heart, OuiRun was joining these two concepts - and I became a part of that!
I ran into challenges during user research - I had to modify my original interview plans due to lack of users and the 2-week time constraint (UX and UI). This was a big concern from a user-centric design approach, but I did my best to capitalise on interviews for deep insights to make up for it. In the future I would take more time for the recruitment phase. As it was, I also performed a heuristics evaluation of the current app to pinpoint trouble areas.
Vincent's new journey in finding a group run
Vincent's new life journey path, as part of a physically active community
Vincent's possible life path, embracing a combination of sport and relationships
What they thought about my work
Augustin Bernard
Co-founder, OuiSports (OuiRun)
Je recommande fortement Claire pour tous vos projets digitaux d’UX/UI.
Claire applique avec rigueur et méthodologie les concepts d’UX pour comprendre vos besoins et ceux de vos utilisateurs afin de créer l’expérience la plus adaptée.
Nous avons fait appel à Claire pour la refonte de l’UX de notre application OuiRun (le lieu de rencontre de tous les coureurs) et avons été extrêmement satisfait du travail accompli.
Nous retravaillerons avec Claire sans hésiter.