SUP Route Finder/Manager_UX
This is a class project for a UX course I took at San Francisco’s General Assembly. The product idea stemmed from my passion for stand-up paddle boarding and desire to explore and solve for outdoor adventure challenges. This case study covers the broad strokes of research, strategy and early phase of functional design—the final goal being a proof of concept that would lay the groundwork for future development.
Product concept—UX/UI: handset + watch apps / Branding
Roles: Creative Director, Work Session Facilitator, Art Director, UX/UI Designer, Prototype Developer, Interviewer and Writer
Methods: Interviews, Research, Competitive Analysis, Ethnographic Studies, Personas, Site Map, User Flows, Wireframing, Card Sorting, Usability Testing, Prototyping
Tools: Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator, Keynote, InVision and pencil/sharpie + paper
Duration: Phase 1 completion—3 months
Interviews
My first round of interviews focused on surf and sports shops who sold and rented equipment and provide tours and lessons. In addition to selling products and services, these shops invested a great deal of time and resources toward promoting and sponsoring events and activities meant to spur the growth and cohesiveness of the stand-up paddle board community.
I then moved on to kayakers, sailors and other outdoors sports activities. These more well-established pursuits all had a variety of tools, best-practices and insights born from long histories of use and development many of which directly contributed to or influenced the final make-up of my final SUP apps.
The final group was a series of stand-up paddle boards—both beginners and advanced. We went into a great deal of detail or about their actual experiences and steps each person took in a variety of settings and environments, exploring any sticking points that occurred along the way. After concluding these interviews, I also did my own ethnographic studies, paddling myself in many areas around the Bay Area and noting observations and results.
Tools + Resources for Waterway Navigation
The most popular organization for kayakers is BASK (bay area sea kayakers)— offers resources for sharing information and includes a Trip Planner that allows any user to easily access information about water and related environmental conditions and within the San Francisco Bay Area.
Kayaking
The most popular organization for kayakers is BASK (bay area sea kayakers)— offers resources for sharing information and includes a Trip Planner that allows any user to easily access information about water and related environmental conditions and within the San Francisco Bay Area
Sailing
iNavX™ is the leading marine navigation app and the only app that delivers thousands of charts and hundreds of features including the official and up-to-date high resolution NOAA RNC raster United States marine charts.
Analysis of features and functionality
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Both tools/systems give basic information on environmental conditions.
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iNavX has many additional tools but most are geared toward boat racers– not SUP.
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The interface/information for both are geared toward super-users and requires the ability to read nautical charts and do little to help a user translate information i.e. answer question: Where and when should I ride?
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Both focus on information– not practical trip planning like loop information.
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Neither promote sharing, community information and competition.
Cross sport Inspo
Skiing and Snowboarding
Snow sport mountain maps offered some interesting examples of how to make data visual and accessible yet densely packed with information.
Running and Biking
Runner and bikers have access to numerous resources including some advanced online tools and apps for not only tracking performance but also sharing data with communities.
Personas and Demographic Research
My research and interviews eventually distilled down to two main personas: Explorers and Athletes.
User Flows
The initial design phases involved establishing a framework of activities based on presumptive patterns. I circled back with my SUP interviewees with paper-prototypes to see how they would choose to navigate through the app to achieve various goals and solve for different experiences.
MAP/TRACK PADDLE
FIND ROUTE
Route Considerations
A central focus of the product was creating route designs that would be flexible, adaptable and easily accessible during a wide of environmental conditions and for any level of experience.
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Loops (forward > back)
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Start/End Points
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Multiple Difficulty Route Levels
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Alternative Exit Points
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Midway Markers
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Dynamically Shifting Options
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Memorable/Fun Names
Design
I started with rough sketches and iterated through more detailed designs culminating in an animated prototype meant to be narrated in a live presentation. Although each app and various areas of functionality were at different levels of finish—the goal was to provide a high-level walk-through of the principal user engagement as a proof-of-concept.
WIREFRAMES (LOW—HiGH)
MOBILE CARD SORT
PROTOTYPE
Wrap
This initial phase was shaped by an agile process of targeting specific functions and attributes that would eventually build toward a more homogeneous and fully considered series of apps in the future.
Thoughts, Learnings and Beyond
Next phases would include:
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Spending more time paddling and charting out a broader range of routes
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Evolving overall functional and visual design
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Establishing brand and social strategy
