Process

During our early exploration of the CHI prompt, we wanted to try and find a user group that could benefit from crowd sourcing and collaboration. We used a grid to chart domains against target users. We landed on collegiate athletes and further sculpted that to those that were now out of school and not continuing playing their sport. A team member was in fact a former collegiate athlete and gave us instant access to research subjects. We conducted two rounds of interviews and a focus group with former collegiate athletes. This research molded the core of our design into helping former teammates maintain camaraderie through competition. We then begin to explore the form that could take and came to a wearable fitness device for the wrist. Next, we usability tested wireframes made in Balsamiq. We realized that usability testing was not enough to prove our concept. I crafted wearable paper prototypes from foam, elastic and paper. We used these prototypes (paired with iPhone apps for functionality) to create an experience prototype. We had former athletes actually compete to see if our experience was realized. This led to insights to guide our design implications for the system.