PELOTON UXR - ACCESSORY USABILITY STUDY
Optimize the placement of essential accessories of Water Bottle & Weights
PROJECT BRIEF
COMPANY / CLIENT
Peloton
ROLE
Lead User Researcher
BACKGROUND
The two essential accessories of the Peloton Exercise Experience are the Water Bottle and Weights. Users have complained about weights being hard to access. Given there are limited areas for accessory placement, how can we help the designers place both the Water Bottle and Weights in optimal positions that suits a wide gamut of unique Peloton Users & behaviors?
Before we formulate the problem statement that guides the research, we need to better understand the following questions:
What does location “optimization” mean? One user’s preferred accessory location may be different to another.
What are all the factors that contribute to optimizing the accessory location?
The challenge is to find solution that covers the wide gamut of Peloton Users.
CHALLENGES
PREPARATION: TASK ANALYSIS
In order to better understand the problem space, we started by observing & analyzing existing use scenario as the control sample. A sample bike + weight exercise video is used in this instance.
TASK BREAKDOWN
The following 4 portions were identified as the key activities
TASK ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK
Taking the key activities & distilling it into:
Using the framework of Users / Environment / Context as it pertains to the key exercise routine activities
Research Problem Statement
We would like to position the following accessories, weights & water bottle, in ideal locations for users and their respective exercise routine. These are the primary criteria to consider:
Ease of Access
Accessory remain secure and safe
Not interfering with exercise movements
The following are contributing factors that will be critical in achieving the above listed criteria.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
USERS / CHARACTERISTICS
Human Traits that may affects user interaction
height / reach
dexterity & flexibility. Sometimes related to age & physique.
Physical stamina. Ability to perform tasks may deteriorates as fatigue builds
Experience & familiarity with bike + weight exercise
ENVIRONMENT / OBJECTS
Physical Traits that may affects user interaction
location & accessibility of accessories
stability of accessories placement
not interfering with exercise movement
CONTEXT / ACTIONS
Conditions or Actions that may affect user interaction
Document how various users' position their bodies as they interact with the accessories.
bracing themselves with hand on handle bar, etc...
User physical & mental fatigue affecting motor skills
Slippery conditions due to perspiration
Vibration caused by user movement that hinders interaction
Unexpected Water Vessel or Weight shape that is not compatible with proposed holders
An initial round of Qualitative Usability Test is Recommended:
Initial Round of Qualitative Usability Test - This is so we're able to:
Control the testing conditions to make user participation as frictionless as possible.
Ensure testing condition remain constant across all test subjects.
Observe closely in person the users' reactions & body language, in addition to their verbal feedback.
APPROACH
RECRUITMENT & SAMPLE SIZE CRITERIA
18 total - Split evenly across:
Height range: 20% female through 80% male (shorter female, taller male)
Gender: Female | Male
Ages 18-30 | 30-45 | 45+ | a couple 55+
Exercise cadence per week: 1/week | 2-3/week | 4+/week
Experience w/ Peloton or Stationary Bike: 0 | 1 year | 2+ years
RESEARCH OUTLINE
Below is a pictorial outline of the Useability Test.
-
Introduction & warmup (5 min)
setting expectations
a few easy questions to get users in the right mindset
Warm up on Bike (5 min)
have users start exercising so we can start to simulate real-world conditions
Test out accessory locations. Have users reach for the accessories. Take a picture of each position interaction. (5-10 min)
First, the current position.
New position number 1 (Weight & Bottle)
New position number 2 (Weight & Bottle)
Inquire about (rate & rank) each location in terms of (5-10 min)
Ease of access
Secure & Safety
Hinderance to exercise
Continue strenuous exercise for 10-15 min with weights and also sprints. We want to recreate real world conditions.
RE-Test out accessory locations. Have users reach for the accessory. Take a picture of each position interaction. (5-10 min)
First, the current position.
New position number 1 (Weight & Bottle)
New position number 2 (Weight & Bottle)
RE-Inquire about (rate & rank) each location in terms of (5-10 min)
Ease of access
Secure & Safe
Hinderance to exercise
New developing hinderance conditions - sweat, fatigue etc. How does it affect access?
Stop exercise. Recap results & expand on user feedback.
Inquire about any additional factors affecting accessory accessibility.
Are there new locations or adjustments that users would like to see implemented?
*Ideally if there is time left over, quickly tryout the new locations, even if we have to manually hold the accessory in place.
These are raw inputs. Shown below are findings prior to analysis or insight synthesis of the research data.
DATA FINDINGS
OPTIMAL LOCATION HEATMAP
Green marks the most accessible area while not interfering with exercise motions
TENDENCY to BRACE w/ FREE HAND
For stability, users often reach for interaction points or accessories with one hand while securely bracing themselves. As a result, users often grab both weights at once.
DATA ANALYSIS
The useability test has shown:
Optimal accessory location preferred by various users
Users’ routine is quite varied, exercise varies throughout the week between Bike + Weights to Bike Only exercises.
Analyzing the above findings, we may want to try the idea of FLEX SETUP. This allows users to configure the accessory locations based on the respective exercise of the day.
ANALYSIS INSIGHT:
FLEXIBLE ACCESSORY SETUP
The useability test has shown:
User often braces themselves with the off hand while reaching for accessories.
If weight is placed on opposite sides, users may have to add a step of switching their bracing hand in order to reach both weights. This adds unnecessary complexity.
A way to address this is to allow the flexibility of placing both weights on the same side of the bike. This should allow users easier access without having to switch bracing hands and sides.
ANALYSIS INSIGHT:
SAME-SIDE WEIGHT PLACEMENT
UNEXPECTED FINDINGS
PRESUMPTION vs. REAL LIFE
When the bottle holder was first designed, it was presumed that users would use standard bike water bottles. In real life, not all Peloton Owners have standard bike water bottles or even know there is a standard size.
In reality, User uses whichever water vessel that's already part of their lives.
Opportunity to improve holder to accommodate all of these water vessels. Shown are some common vessels. Please note:
Most vessels are bigger than the usual 20-26 oz bike water bottle
Wide range of form factors, even includes a lidded water cup with straw
Additional Quantitative Survey should be conducted to better identify the major water vessel type & size.
POPULARITY OF STANLEY CUP w/ STRAW
Stanley Cups are quite popular among Peloton users. This is evident through user feedback & even viral social media posts showing alternative ways to securely hold Stanley Cups.
Great opportunity redesign the water vessel holder to accommodate. Factors to consider:
Ideally Orientation should be Vertical. Straw causes increased risk of leakage
40oz is quite an increase in volume. Holder may have to grow in size accordingly
Stanley Cup has a unique tapered shape with a high center of gravity, making it prone to tip over. Holder geometry should accommodate accordingly.
ACTION ITEMS
QUANTITATIVE SURVEY VERIFICATION
There are several insights from Qualitative Interviews that will be instrumental in improving the accessory user experience. These insights should be confirmed with a larger user pool through a survey in order to ensure our current assumptions are correct. Insights to verify:
Users’ exercise priorities differ over time. Prioritizing Weight vs. Hydration access will depend on the chosen exercise.
Once confirmed, the development team can proceed with implementing flexibility into the bike’s accessory holders’ setup. It should “morph” to prioritize access to match the user’s needs.
Audit the at-home water vessel of users.
Once confirmed, the development team can proceed with redesigning water vessel holders. Factors to investigate are the Water Vessel’s:
Volume & Size
Form Factor - Straw, Special Lids, etc.
Shape & Geometry
PROVIDE DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
There are several insights for the development Team to implement:
FLEX SETUP - Allow users to configure the accessory locations based on the chosen exercise of the day.
SAME-SIDE WEIGHT PLACEMENT - Allow users easier access without having to switch bracing hands and sides.
WATER VESSEL HOLDER REDESIGN - These holders should be redesigned to reflect the vessels that users are actually using in a home environment.
PREPARE SECOND USABILITY TEST
Follow up qualitative test focusing on verifying revised improvements for particular user groups that initially had trouble with the proposed accessory locations. Best to start preparation & recruitment early so we can remain on development schedule.
RETROSPECTIVE
By setting aside time during the Useability Test to allow for additional user input, we were able to overcome our presumptions and discover the myriad of water vessels that Users actually used in real-world home environments. This turned out to be a great opportunity for improvement.
One thing I would change would be preparing the Verification Quantitative Survey earlier in the process. There were early signs of insights that we would want verified and I could have started the preparation early in order to save time.