BoulderBuddy
Building a web app to assist climbers with tracking their progress, building a community with others and gaining access to training materials.
Project Overview
Problem
Climbing as a sport has gained popularity in recent years with a growth rate of 6-7%. Many people want to learn how to climb but are overwhelmed by all the information out there and don’t know where to start. In the early stages of learning to climb, joining a community of other climbers to provide motivation and support is important; however, it is difficult for many people to find this. New climbers are also unsure about how to properly track their progress and sometimes become discouraged when they are unable to see their growth.
Solution
A web app geared towards climbers of all levels
Allows users to input data from their climbing sessions and view overall progress
Access training plans based on your climbing level and needs
Post climbing content and discuss all things related to climbing on a social feature within the app
My Role
UX Researcher, Product Designer
Project Duration
8 Weeks
Tools
Figma, Maze, Zoom
RESEARCH
Competitive Analysis
A competitive analysis was done to see how existing apps have addressed the needs of climbers. MyClimb and Kaya are both direct competitors while VDiff and 99 Boulders are indirect competitors.
User Interviews
Next up I interviewed 5 individuals with varying levels of climbing experience. These interviews were all conducted in person and each interview lasted roughly 30-45 minutes. The purpose of these user interviews were to gather qualitative data and encourage the interviewees to share stories or talk about their experience with learning to climb.
What were the key insights?
Participants were seeking a way to physically see their progress by tracking the routes they have completed and noting the level of the climb.
Socializing and forming a community with other climbers was very important. Reasons included feeling more motivated, having more accountability and learning more from experienced climbers.
Motivations for climbing were different among everyone. Some wanted the health benefits while others wanted the mental challenge that climbing brought. Others just wanted to pick up a new hobby.
Participants wanted access to training material. They specified that this included strength training, building more muscle, learning dynamic moves, etc.
User Personas
Two user personas emerged Matthew (The New Beginner Climber) and Tiffany (The Intermediate Climber). These personas helped guide me through the rest of the project and served as a reminder of how these designs will meet the personas needs.
IDEATE
Feature Set
I created a feature set to better determine prioritization of features. My must haves were features that met my user personas needs and had the most impact.
Site Map
After narrowing down the must have features, I set out to create a site map. I conducted an open card sort using Optimal Workshop and was able to get a good understanding of the features that users felt should be categorized together. The card sort assisted me in the creation of the site map.
Task Flows
Using the site map, I created 4 task flows that illustrate step by step how to complete certain tasks. These tasks include: creating an account, viewing a past climb, logging a current climb and viewing a training plan.
DESIGN
Mid Fidelity Wireframes
Using Figma, I created the key screens that are depicted in the task flows. I began adding detail such as text, buttons, input fields and other necessary UI components.
High Fidelity Wireframes
1. Tracking Climbing Progress
Users are able to record the location that they climbed at, number of attempts, type of climbing, grading level, completion status, and add media files.
2. Accessing Training Material
Users can view training plans, videos and articles by clicking on the training page. Training material can be filtered to user’s preference and are able to be bookmarked for future viewing.
3. Communication with Other Users
In the community page, users can get feedback, send motivational messages to one another and post climbing content.
TEST
Usability Test
I utilized Maze to conduct the majority of the usability testing. I asked users to complete 5 tasks and upon completing each task, users were asked to rate their experience. After the usability test, I followed up with each user and asked them to elaborate on their experience using the app. You can view the results from the usability test here.
What were the results?
It was not easily identifiable where the past climbs were located. Users had to think about it before noticing the orange highlighted date was where they can access their past climbs.
The finish button was overlooked by users, most used the add climb button instead.
The overview section including the climbs completed, hardest send, and flash climbs was confusing for users because they thought it was clickable. One user thought that they could access past climbs through there.
Some users did not know the training plans, videos and articles were organized in a carousal. They were unsure of how to access the see more card.
Priority Revisions
Before
Before
Following the usability testing, I made adjustments to the My Progress and Training pages. I took into account the feedback I got from users and made improvements to ensure a smoother experience when logging a new climb and scrolling through the training materials. With these modifications, the prototype is made simpler so users can complete a task using less time and fewer clicks.
After
After
Final Prototype
Try out the prototype for yourself! These are the 5 tasks that you can complete within the prototype:
Sign up for an account
Comment on a post
Browse and bookmark a training plan
Log a climbing session
View a past climbing session
Reflection
Previous
Whats next?
Designing BoulderBuddy has helped me cement my understanding of the Design Process. Each step has helped me better understand my users and the needs that they have. Throughout the entire process I practiced thinking with an empathetic mindset and I’m proud of the final product!
Personal Takeaways
Due to the amount of time allotted to this project, I wasn’t able to explore and create some added features to BoulderBuddy. I want to devote some time to building out the events feature where users can find climbing meetups and events in their area to attend. Along with this, I want to explore whether there is an interest in incorporating a challenges feature where users can complete climbing challenges to earn badges.
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