Buddy-Up

Requirements Gathering

Method:

Survey (n=42):

We chose a survey because it is a cheap and relatively quick way of gathering information. Google Forms allowed us to set up a short 5 minute survey that automatically aggregated our data into charts and a csv sheet for easy reference.

Survey Findings:

Demographics:

The age of the 42 people surveyed skews young, with the most common ages being 20 and 21 years old. Although this is the case, Buddy Up should appeal to any age group that frequents the gym. Slightly over half of respondents reside in medium cities, such as suburbs and larger towns. Both large cities and small cities make up slightly over 20% of the responses each.

Summary:

When asked how often they go to the gym, 40.5% of respondents said never, 23.8% said 1-3 times a week, 16.7% said once a month, and 19% said daily. This lack of attendance is reflected in the answers to the Likert scale questions, in which the respondents were asked to rate their experiences with the gym. When evaluating the statement “The gym can be intimidating to go by myself”, over half (52%) of the respondents chose Strongly Agree, with a mostly even split between the other options. When asked if they were experienced with gym equipment, over 80% participants answered with Strongly Disagree, Disagree, or Neutral. Over 55% of the respondents Agreed or Strongly Agreed with the statement “I need someone to motivate me to go to the gym.” Less than 20% selected a form of disagreement.

Strength building, weight loss, cardio, and lifestyle improvement were the most selected answers for reasons to go to the gym. Bodybuilding and specialized classes were the next most popular. 76.2% of the respondents said they are looking for long-term gym partners, and a majority of respondents said that it was important to them that the people they go to the gym with have similar interests to them. In terms of gym partners, 73.8% of the respondents said they would prefer to only have 1, and the remaining respondents answered that they would want 2.

There is a bimodal distribution in the times most respondents either wish to attend the gym. The peak times were morning to noon (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM) and during the evening (4:00 PM - 8:00 PM). About 40% of respondents are only willing to commute 0-5 miles to a gym and around 47% were willing to go up to 10 miles.

When asked about their best and worst experiences attending a gym, there were two common responses in each category. For best experiences, people reported incidents where others motivated them and also times when the gym was empty, which let them have more freedom to use the machines and weights. The worst experiences often mentioned either a lack of a partner or instances where the gym was very busy.

Conclusions:

From the data, we can conclude that many of our potential users are not experienced gym goers. Regardless of experience, they want long-term buddies that can help motivate them to go to the gym. Thus, Buddy Up should have features to cater to this. Having a way for users to indicate their experience and a good system for communication and connecting would be good features to have as they would increase the effectiveness of matches.

Most respondents selected multiple reasons for going to the gym. As such, there should be a feature that allows them to specify the goals they are willing to pursue. This can be used to let users see if their desires match up with potential gym buddies. The desire to share interests with potential gym partners indicates that users may need an efficient way to learn more about each other.

Since respondents have common complaints about busy gyms, it may be worthwhile to implement the ability to report how busy certain gyms are at certain times. This information can then be displayed to users. Since respondents seem to prefer gyms that are nearby, it may be beneficial to list gyms based on proximity. Including these features could have a positive impact on user satisfaction.

Caveats:

A caveat to this survey is that although it is a method that can be widely spread with ease, it only allows for quantitative data rather than qualitative data. The survey also makes it difficult to have respondents explain their answers. An interview would allow us to ask more in depth questions and get to know what habits gym-goers or non gym-goers have that could help us improve both the personas and scenarios that we create. Additionally, the survey was primarily spread to young adults, thus it lacks information on older users. The app should be designed for people of all ages who may struggle with finding a person to workout with, rather than just those in their 20’s.

Personas:

Summer

College girl

22 year old female in San Marcos, California • Student at CSU San Marcos • Majoring in Political Science

As a student, Summer is constantly busy with both work and school and finds it hard to find a balance between it all. She loves wandering downtown, trying to find new places to eat. She’s an outgoing person, constantly making friends in her classes and getting to know her customers at work. She loves listening to rock music, creating new coffee drinks, and immersing herself in her research.

Summer wants to start going to the gym, but everytime, she thinks of an excuse to not go, “Oh, I’m too intimidated to go by myself, I’ll find myself a gym partner and go then” or “I don’t feel like going today, I’m too tired, I’ll go another day.”

Goals:

David

Accountant

27 year old male in Seattle, Washington • Accountant at a large company

David loves working out and keeping track of his fitness, nutrition, and weight goals. He is a kindhearted and outgoing person, always looking to help others out. He also loves to frequent bars to meet new people.

Before he moved from a quiet town in the Midwest to the busy streets of Seattle, he originally worked as a fitness trainer in a private gym before working a typical 9-5 job. As he goes to the gym now to work out, he notices that other people look nervous at the equipment, and some leave as soon as they walk in. Given his previous background as a trainer, he wants to help these people out but does not want to make assumptions about if they want to help or not. Additionally, because he moved to a new gym, he also wants to find a gym partner where they could keep each other motivated to push for new PRs as well as have similar interests.

Goals:

Stefan

Chinese Man

39 year old male in London, Kentucky • Forensics Analyst for the Department of Transportation

Stefan loves his office job where he can work in an office with minimal contact with others. His job is task oriented where he can set a schedule for himself and get his tasks done. He is typically shy, not wanting to talk to too many coworkers if he can and usually communicates through email and text, which is more comfortable for him.

After some chiding from his doctor, Stefan has been wanting to improve his lifestyle but is afraid to start going to the gym. He has never gone before and is worried that everyone there already knows what they are doing and that he will seem foolish as a beginner. He wishes he knew someone who could guide him through some exercises.

Goals:

Scenarios:

Summer is running late:

Running late to class after trouble finding parking, Summer found herself fast-walking a couple blocks to campus. Getting into the classroom, she finds herself panting loudly and sweating. Embarrassed, she sits down and vows to start using the running track in the university gym. However, she has trouble staying committed and wishes that she could find a friend to talk about common interests with. Unfortunately, none of her friends can match her schedule.

David in Wonderland:

Having recently moved to Seattle, David finds himself all alone at the gym. He loves going, but he misses the group he used to hang out with back in his sleepy Midwestern hometown. Despite being outgoing, he’s had a bit of trouble making any substantial friends in Seattle. He’s starting to wonder if the “Seattle Freeze” thing is true. David would love to find someone to exercise with and he doesn’t mind helping out beginners. “Teaching is just another opportunity to learn,” he thinks to himself.

Stefan’s Dilemma:

Stefan has been suffering from back pain and putting on the pounds. After a recent talk with his doctor, it was recommended that he begin regular exercise. Having an intense hatred for most cardio, he has decided to try out weight training at the local gym. However, being a bit self-conscious, Stefan is wary of going alone. He wonders if there is any way to meet someone who would be able to accompany him and show him the ropes.

Supplementary Materials:

Link to survey: https://forms.gle/8LaKxFZ6UJqJS1ku5