This case study explores how Strava might focus more heavily on the way riders are connecting with the application and embrace the cycling community to set themselves apart from their competitors.
Strava is one of the most popular GPS based cycling applications. It is known for its quality experience and innovative social competition, but exists in an increasingly competitive marketplace. At the time of this exploration Strava had just released the “ride with us” promotional video campaign which highlights the unique cultures and rituals of different cyclists. This case study explores how Strava might integrate their “ride with us” mentality into the user experience of their applications.
Research
Stava’s mission statement defines their mission as, “Strava is a community of athletes from all over the world. Alone or together, we strive.” This highlights three important brand pillars of community, location, and competition. To better understand user’s current issues and pain points I conducted a heuristic evaluation of the iOS application and created a competitive analysis of competitors in the space.
The results of this research yielded a hypothesis about what areas Strava could improve, that both met the needs of their users and hadn’t already been tackled by their competitors. To test these assumptions a series of one-on-one user interviews were conducted, and the findings were synthesized into a list of product goals and personas.
Using a lean approach, I began sketching wireframes and developing paper prototypes to share with the users from the initial interviews. The results of these sessions helped refine the product goals, and inform new user journeys.
Wireframes
After a few rounds of revisions with the paper prototypes, the list of product requirements was settled and I began developing a set of higher fidelity wireframes. The final list of product requirements was as follows:
- Clarify Feed View - Users spend a lot of time on the Strava app while they aren’t riding. By simplifying the feeds and menu riders get a better picture of friends, group, and personal rides.
- View Upcoming Rides - See ride information for upcoming rides, priority on the date, distance and location of the ride. Allowing options for interactions from the feed rather than detail page would be helpful.
- Add Group Ride - Club and group ride organizers need to be able to create ride invitation from their mobile device and share with riders. Creator also need to be able to see who is attending after invite is sent.
- Ride Notifications - Reminder notification for upcoming rides that would show on the lock screen with options to start the ride or dismiss right from the lock screen.
Design
After the high fidelity wireframes were tested with users I began began exploring the visual redesign that would help test some of the more specific heuristic interactions. The unique feed views were tested with users to ensure that the visibility of system status clear and the that the specific feed view was more recognizable. The lock screen views, and shortcut interactions were tested with users as well to verify that they made the application feel more efficient and didn't create undue complexity. The final visuals aimed to create a lighter minimalist aesthetic, while bursts of color were used to emphasize view differences and ride states.