Prerna Awasthi ✷ Class Booking App Design

Tl;Dr:

Project Overview

Background

My team developed this project to supplement a physical experience with a digital aid. While scoping the project, we discovered a mutual frustration with online exercise class registration.

The Challenge

Online class registration processes are often time-consuming, and complicated or unclear about pricing, payments, and class information.

The Goal

Help users feel empowered and in control of their personal fitness experience through a transparent and trustworthy class booking process.

Team

4 members

Role

Product Designer

Duration

3 months

Tools & Methods

Figma, Contextual Inquiry, Concept Analysis, Usability Testing

Team

4 members

Role

Product Designer

Duration

3 months

Tools & Methods

Figma, Contextual Inquiry, Concept Analysis, Usability Testing

Solution Preview

Meet North Chicago Pilates

A class booking experience designed to center transparency and trust, informed by a contextual inquiry and usability tests with 100% task completion.

Ideating

Understanding users' pain points

We conducted a total of eight contextual inquiries and found a few commonly cited issues, which informed our persona development.

tedious and time consuming

Registering for studios and searching for classes often requires too much time spent at the front desk of a gym.

tedious and time consuming

Registering for studios and searching for classes often requires too much time spent at the front desk of a gym.

tedious and time consuming

Registering for studios and searching for classes often requires too much time spent at the front desk of a gym.

lacking in pricing and payment transparency

Information regarding studio and class cost breakdowns is often unclear or hard to find.

lacking in pricing and payment transparency

Information regarding studio and class cost breakdowns is often unclear or hard to find.

lacking in pricing and payment transparency

Information regarding studio and class cost breakdowns is often unclear or hard to find.

unclear about class details

Class details are often difficult to find, including times and what to bring.

unclear about class details

Class details are often difficult to find, including times and what to bring.

unclear about class details

Class details are often difficult to find, including times and what to bring.

mina, 24

new student

Goal: Begin a fitness journey and find classes that work for her schedule and budget before committing.

Frustration: The registration process felt unwelcoming to new users; frequent prompting for memberships made it hard to explore freely.

Quote: "I always wanted to try pilates classes, but it's hard to book different kinds of classes with a trial." – P1

mina, 24

new student

Goal: Begin a fitness journey and find classes that work for her schedule and budget before committing.

Frustration: The registration process felt unwelcoming to new users; frequent prompting for memberships made it hard to explore freely.

Quote: "I always wanted to try pilates classes, but it's hard to book different kinds of classes with a trial." – P1

luca, 32

studio regular

Goal: Challenge himself with a more advanced class while fitting fitness into a busy schedule.

Frustration: No free trial for advanced classes made it hard to commit, and having to be manually checked in at the front desk wasted time.

Quote: "I have to be manually checked into my studio, which takes a lot of time." – P2

A registration process that obscures pricing, complicates booking, and requires manual check-in can undermine students' confidence in a studio.

Mapping what users need the product to do

The inquiries also informed our concept analysis table. This helped prioritize and finalize product direction, and informed the content and interactivity for the solution.

Concept

Attribute

Operations

User

–

Class

class type, instructor, location, length/duration, difficulty, cost

check in, share, view, search for, favorite

Gym

proximity, address, hours, parking info, gym info

navigate, share, view, check-in

Location

address (street, zip), phone number

view

Reservation

time, day, availability

make, cancel, view

Instructor

name, availability, specialization/certifications

contact, view

Account

favorites, saved classes, bookings, username, password, payment info, user info (phone, email)

view, edit, sign up, delete, view

Payment

credit card number, name, address

add, remove, update info, view

Membership

price, name, acc number, membership type

pause, cancel, renew, join, view

Feedback

instructor, student, feedback info

view

Item

item type (health supplements, apparel), price, size, quantity

buy, reserve, share, view

Testing

Validating the structure with usability testing

Synthesizing the generative research allowed us to develop our first lo-fi wireframes. To validate our design, we conducted a round of usability tests.

7 participants

Tests were conducted via Zoom, with participants screen sharing from their personal devices.

7 participants

Tests were conducted via Zoom, with participants screen sharing from their personal devices.

2 user flows

New users creating accounts, adding preferences, and reviewing recommendations; and returning users booking classes using credits through the favorites page.

finding 01

unclear affordances

Over half of all participants had difficulty interacting with class cards and creating passwords as a result of unexpected or overlooked interactive elements.

We increased the clickable area for class cards instead of restricting to the "read more" link, and the size of password requirements to draw attention before typing.

finding 01

unclear affordances

Over half of all participants had difficulty interacting with class cards and creating passwords as a result of unexpected or overlooked interactive elements.

We increased the clickable area for class cards instead of restricting to the "read more" link, and the size of password requirements to draw attention before typing.

finding 01

unclear affordances

Over half of all participants had difficulty interacting with class cards and creating passwords as a result of unexpected or overlooked interactive elements.

We increased the clickable area for class cards instead of restricting to the "read more" link, and the size of password requirements to draw attention before typing.

finding 02

intuitive layout

All users successfully completed the tasks, and liked the customization options and recommendations. Most users also noted that the layout felt clear and familiar.

This validated core structures and features, allowing us to direct our focus to addressing the previous finding.

finding 02

intuitive layout

All users successfully completed the tasks, and liked the customization options and recommendations. Most users also noted that the layout felt clear and familiar.

This validated core structures and features, allowing us to direct our focus to addressing the previous finding.

finding 02

intuitive layout

All users successfully completed the tasks, and liked the customization options and recommendations. Most users also noted that the layout felt clear and familiar.

This validated core structures and features, allowing us to direct our focus to addressing the previous finding.

Designing

Wireframing user flows

New users

After registering, new users can set class preferences, sign waivers, and register for their first class, all without unnecessary time or effort.

Returning users

Returning users can browse saved instructors and check in digitally, with pricing and class details clearly highlighted throughout.

Retrospective

Takeaways

We are not the user!

I know, it's a cliché – but important nonetheless! Going into this project, we initially planned a feature allowing communication with instructors outside of classes, but most users showed little interest. This feedback helped us focus on core features that users did demonstrate an interest in.

Choosing the right tools

While we had a shared understanding of data organization, we failed to consider using more effective data collection tools, like Airtable, to streamline our analysis and collaboration, creating extra work during meetings.