Next Steps
Questionnaire within Home Scan
We would like to set up a series of questions for the Home Scan page. Some items in homes are not suitable for people to exercise with. To prioritize user safety, we want to ask users a series of questions about the item they scan before providing exercises to do with the item. This will ensure furniture is stable, sturdy, and appropriate for the user to exercise with and will prevent injury.
Health Data and Camera Recognition Technology
We would also like to work with companies to implement their services into our app. Our app relies on health data from smartphones. We would like to consult Apple about the Health app and Google and Android about the Google Fit app to sync health data to our app. We would also like to consult Amazon about implementing their scanning technology into our camera scanning feature.
Create the App
Next, we would like to create the app so it can be downloaded on Apple and Android devices. Additional user testing would be necessary to develop the app.
Physical Smart Wristband
Later on, we would like to create a physical smart wristband. Through user testing, we discovered that a physical smart wristband with stand up alerts would be useful to a large majority of our target audience (Appendix E). A band that buzzes once an hour to remind the user to stand up would encourage movement and discourage prolonged sitting. This connects to our emphasis on ability because it could help our younger users maintain their physical abilities through increased emphasis on movement. It would also help prevent users from experiencing future difficulties with mobility. Additionally, the device could track motion for workouts to provide more accurate statistics.
Monetization through Subscription Plan
We will monetize our app through a subscription plan for doctors and therapists. Our app would be free for our target users. However, doctors and therapists will need to pay for a subscription to access user data. Medical professionals would want access to this data so that they can track their patients’ progress and better help them recover. Through user testing, we found a data discrepancy between the percentage of users attending therapy and the percentage of users that cite therapist recommendation as a motivating factor to exercise (Appendix E). Surveyed users also said that the exercises that their physical therapists gave them became repetitive (Appendix E). Our app provides value for both users and medical professionals because it connects the two parties via a digital platform. Therapists would be able to recommend new exercises to users via the app and track their progress. Users will feel more motivated to complete these exercises because they will change over time. Another plan for monetization is to have users receive discounts on therapy sessions based on challenges they complete on the Stats page.
Limitations
Only for Device Users
Our design is an app, which means that our users need to own a device and feel comfortable using apps in order to utilize our product. Our client, Maury, initially wanted us to create a physical product for people ages 65 and above. After reframing the problem, however, we deduced that we would best meet our user needs with an app. Consequently, we modified our target audience to be people ages 65 and above who are capable of using smartphones. We acknowledge that some people ages 65 and above will not be able to use our app or will not feel comfortable doing so.
Home Scan Risks
Our Home Scan feature could lead to injury. Users could be at risk if they scan unsturdy furniture and try to exercise using it. Based on our emphasis on health and safety, one of our first next steps is to add in a set up questions for users to answer about an item they scan before they can exercise using it. In case an emergency occurs, the emergency call feature is there for users to immediately get help if they injure themselves.
At-Home Exercises Require Space
Users need enough space to complete many of the exercises on the app. This could be a problem for people living in smaller spaces with not as much open room on the floor to exercise.
Lack of Exercises Involving Multiple Body Parts
Additionally, our app mainly focuses on exercises involving specific body parts. This may be unnatural for some users who prefer exercises that involve multiple parts of the body.
Tailored Towards People Exercising Indoors
Our design is tailored towards people exercising indoors as opposed to outside. This could lead to people feeling cooped up in their homes when they stay inside for too long without going outside.
In the future, we will be able to see how much these limitations affect user experiences with the app by using a beta test. Nonetheless, we believe that our product provides users with Accessibility, Ability, and Awareness to help them maintain a higher quality of life for longer.