user research
Ask
For this assignment I interviewed three potential users. I found my first two interviewees by sitting at the rec and asking people if they were willing to interview with me. Interviewee 1 and 2 were both willing, so we set up a time to interview. Interviewee 3 is in one of my labs, and I noticed she had rock climbing shoes with her so I asked to set up an interview with her as well.
These are the initial questions I asked my interviewees, and from these answers I asked more personalized and specific questions.
Interviewee 1: I saw interviewee 1 walking to the rec so I stopped her and asked if she would do an interview with me. She also was not carrying a bag with her so I wanted to interview her to hear her thoughts on carrying all of her personal items to the gym
Overall, what I got out of this interview was that it is really a hassle for interviewee 1 to carry all of her personal items and keep track of them all, but she was willing to sacrifice the convenience of a bag in order to not have to pay for a locker. Interviewee 1 also has a lot of free time so she is able to stop back by her room after class to change and drop off her school bag.
“I love those butt pockets on lulu shorts because I can put my keys in there”
“Putting my keys in my bra gets sweaty and gross but you do what you’ve gotta do”
Interviewee 2: I saw interviewee 2 biking to the rec, so I stopped her and asked if she would do an interview. She had her school bag and a duffle bag so I wanted to hear her thoughts on her commute to the gym with all of her bags.
Overall, what I got from my interview with Interviewee 2 is that biking with a gym bag is very hard to do. She said that she could not find a good way to hold her duffle bag without it getting in the way of her biking. She was not willing to use a smaller bag or consolidate her school and gym stuff into one bag because she is pretty busy so brings her gym clothes, shoes, etc in a separate bag so she can go to the gym right after class
“Biking with two bags is so annoying”
“I wish I had more time so I could swap my school bag out for my gym bag”
Interviewee 3: I noticed Interviewee 3’s rock climbing shoes and chalk bag clipped onto her school backpack in class, so I asked if she would interview with me because I wanted to hear how people who weren’t just going to the gym for more traditional purposes (ex: track, weight room).
Overall, what I got out of my interview with Interviewee 3 is that a carabiner is a great way to hold your things and keep it all together. Interviewee 3 also mentioned that she didn’t go to the rec often besides to climb because she would rather workout outside or in her apartment for the convenience. However, when she does run outside, like Interviewee 1, she found it hard to keep all her personal items on her in a comfortable way.
“I don’t want to put my climbing shoes with my laptop so I clip it onto the outside of my backpack”
“I’d rather workout in my apartment so I don’t have to pack a bag and walk to the gym”
Observe (part 1)
To observe, I sat at the entrance of the U of M Recreation center and took note of how people were coming to the gym (walk vs bike) and how many bags they carried, if any. I wanted to see how people were carrying their belongings and how much stuff they were bringing with them. I sat inside because it was a bit too cold outside, but from my spot I could see people coming from Scholars walk, as well as both sides of SE Harvard St. Additionally, I could see people lock their bikes so I could tell if they were arriving by walk or bike.
Here are the tallies and notes I took in the 30 minutes of sitting at the Rec.
I noticed that a lot of people were coming from class or going to class immediately after because they were wearing “normal” (non gym) clothes and shoes, and were carrying a school backpack as opposed to a duffel or drawstring. I also noticed a lot of people had umbrellas with them, and that stuck out to me because I wonder where they put their wet umbrella while at the gym.
Observe (part 2) Market Survey
I don’t have a car on campus, so it was hard to find some stores to scope out the market. Ideally, I would have wanted to go to a sports retail store, but I ended up going to Target and Midwest Mountaineering.
Here are my notes from Midwest Mountaineering
Overall I noticed that Midwest Mountaineering had a lot of cold weather gear (as it is an outdoors supplies store as opposed to a sports apparel store), and the workout apparel had the standard amount of pockets on them. For example, the leggings had the side pocket, and the jackets/windbreakers had the standard side pockets. There were a lot of cold weather accessories like buffs and gloves, that I feel like could be manipulated to have added storage. MM also had a lot of rock climbing accessories like carabiners and chalk bags, which I thought could be a good way of hands free carrying things. There weren’t as many duffle bags but there were a lot of sling packs. Lastly, I was interested in the bumper on the Hydroflask and was thinking about how it could be used as a container of some sort.
Here are my notes from Target
Overall, there was a very limited selection of bags and apparel at Target. I went to Target to look for bags, because there was a lot more apparel at MM, but there was only duffel bag I could find. It was a pretty standard duffel bag that I would expect to see in a sports retail store. I decided to look at the water bottle section in Target, and many of the water bottles have a carrying loop that could be hooked onto something or used to put other things on for more ease of carrying. I also decided to look in the hair accessory section and saw a variety of hair bands and headbands of different sizes. This got me thinking of different ways smaller personal items could be carried on the wrist with a hairband or maybe in a thicker headband. Lastly, I looked at the apparel but it was pretty standard workout apparel with standard pockets.
To look more at bags than apparel, I decided to check out Dick’s sporting goods.
As expected, there was a huge selection of gym bags on Dick’s. The bags ranged in sizes, as small as a fanny pack, to as large as a 50 L duffle bag. There were a lot of hands free bags, like hip packs and sling backs. I also thought it was interesting how firstly Dick’s even sold lunch bags, but secondly also categorized them as gym bags. They also had some bags with wheels on the bottom, which is pretty impractical for a walking or biking commute in my opinion, but it was interesting to see that there are wheeled gym bags. I also checked out the water bottle section on Dick’s, and there were a lot of flexible water bottles that would be good for runners needing water because they are lightweight and flexible, and can easily be stored once the water is drunken.
Unpacking
After interviewing and doing my observations, this is what I gathered
I broke my observations up into subcategories, shown below
Major Insights
- It is such a hassle to bring bags to the gym when you do not have a locker. This insight came from my first interviewee, who doesn’t bring a bag with her to the gym. She doesn’t bring a bag because she doesn’t have a locker to store it in, but it’s a hassle carrying all her personal items and a hassle to keep track of them
- Biking with a gym bag is really hard. This insight came from interviewee 2, who bikes with her crossbody gym bag. The weight distribution is awkward and makes it hard to bike
- There could be a way to consolidate all items for non bag users going to the gym. Perhaps a water bottle container of some sorts? This insight came from my observations at MM while looking at the bumpers on the Hydroflasks
- A lot of people are busy and can only find time to go to the gym immediately before/after class. This insight came from interviewee 3 who only goes to the gym if it’s before or after class, otherwise she will workout in her apartment or outside. However, then all of her gym clothes/shoes are in her school backpack, which is pretty messy, smelly, and disorganized
- When it is raining, people will bring their umbrella to the gym, but where do they put their wet umbrella when they’re working out? This insight came from my observations sitting in the rec and watching people.
- Many people choose not to go for a run while carrying a water bottle because it is too clunky, but they end up getting really thirsty and needing that water. This insight came from all 3 of my interviewees who did not carry a water bottle when running outside but said they would if water bottles were less awkward to carry when running.
- Putting keys in your bra or shoe is gross. 2 of my interviewees said that they would sometimes put their key in their bra when at the gym if they did not bring a bag as to not lose it. Another one of my interviewees said she put her key on her shoelace while running. While this is not as gross/sweaty as in the bra, it poses the problem of falling off and getting lost
- Most people walk to the gym. This insight came from my observations while sitting in the rec. I would assume it is just too awkward to bike with a duffel bag, but almost 95% of the people I observed walked to the gym
- There are a lot of back sling bags/fanny packs out in the market place that are not specifically marketed as a gym bag, but could be used as one. This insight was made while I was observing MM
- Carabiners are really useful and could be used more widely. This insight came from my third interviewee, who is a rock climber and will climb between her classes. She clips her climbing shoes to her backpack with a carabiner so she doesn’t need an extra bag but her shoes are not actually in her bag touching her school supplies
Problem Statements
- Students who commute by bike need a way to comfortably carrying more than one bag because carrying a crossbody bag on top of carrying a school bag on your back is uncomfortable and gets in the way of biking.
- Outdoor runners need a way to carry all of their personal items as well as a water bottle because they find a water bottle to be too awkward to carry but end up needing water on their run.
- People going to the gym without a locker need a way to keep track of their personal items because they worry about their small items being stolen or lost.
outline
10/3: do outline, finalize theme
10/4: brainstorm people to interview
10/5: observe part 1, one interview
10/6: observe market survey, one interview
10/7: last interview
10/8: unpacking/major insights
10/9: finalize blog post
