“Wearables are dead, long live wearables!”. The age of the single app experience and the inundation of actionless, fancy charts will dissipate and will ultimately be replaced with life-changing individualized single experiences through the “virtual coach” paradigm. This document’s objective is to identify the challenges consumers and companies are facing and proposing a “Version 1” framework of recommendations to meet or exceed customers’ expectations, enabling profitable long-term relationships for companies. The writing is on the wall. Apple, Google, Facebook are leading the way. Are you? This article was published on LinkedIN and best experienced reading from the link below: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wearables-dead-long-live-guillaume-tourneur

1.
Introduction ­ Objective of the study
Executive overview
Research Methodology
Market Trends ­ Challenges, Opportunities
Consumer Profile and Psychology
Recommendations Framework (Version 1)
Use Case 1 ­ A simple solution with powerful results
Use Case 2 ­ Triathlon, a popular multidisciplinary sport to learn from
Use Case 3 ­ Real­time Visual Feedback
References ­ Articles
References ­ Diagrams
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 1

2. Introduction - Objective of the study
“Wearables are dead, long live wearables!”. The age of the single app experience and the
inundation of actionless, fancy charts will dissipate and will ultimately be replaced with
life­changing individualized single experiences through the “virtual coach” paradigm. This
document’s objective is to identify the challenges consumers and companies are facing and
proposing a “Version 1” framework of recommendations to meet or exceed customers’
expectations, enabling profitable long­term relationships for companies. The writing is on the
wall. Apple, Google, Facebook are leading the way. Are you?
Executive overview
Christmas 2013 was a decisive week stuck at the home of my in­laws. I was spending hours
on a sofa researching much­needed life changes built around the pain of a long­term
engagement where marginal gains are celebrated daily and, of course, painfully. I was
awaiting a distraction where the mental meets the physical, coupled with a reason to spend
more time outside rather than inside. I also wanted something where technology (my
expertise) is the protagonist. At last I discovered the world of the Triathlon, which consists of
long­term multidisciplinary outdoor sports training with IronMan title bragging rights as the
ultimate goal. In addition ­ to a marketer’s delight ­ Triathlon training requires expensive gear
and tech. Outdoors? Technology? Pain? I am in! I bought Joe Friel’s “Your First Triathlon,”
one of the most respected resources in this field and even received an immediate and
encouraging response from the author after sending an email to share my excitement.
For years I have been designing B2B and B2C solutions to provide customers with the best
entertainment experience by consuming the right movie or music track at the right time and on
the right device. Finally, it was time for me to shift from building entertainment to building
life­aspiring experiences. Since then I’ve been spending most of my time identifying,
analyzing and experimenting with sports, fitness, health wearables technologies and services.
As a consumer, wearer and analytical engager of wearable apps, my love of this
ever­evolving technological bracket is not only my career, it is my lifestyle. I live, breath, eat
(and run, swim, bike, for that matter) wearables, making me the ideal candidate to translate
the use of wearables from the idea, to the production, to the marketplace, and ultimately into
the user’s psyche ~ ​Guillaume Tourneur​.
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 2

3. Research Methodology
Information and data were collected through various publications and market research, which
are further detailed in the following Google document: ​Sports, Fitness Tech 2015​. This
document was designed to better assess the state of this market ­ its trends and the
challenges and opportunities it has to offer primarily within the Sport/Fitness and Health
markets. It contains the following seven tabs:
● Introduction ­ ​Brief introduction and executive overview
● Market Drivers ​­ The market in numbers
● Key Players​ ­ By brands and platforms
● Watch List​ ­ Vendors that are worth following for their innovation and/or strategy:
Addap, Adidas/MiCoach, Arccos, Atlas, iThlete, Moov, Notch, Plux, Scanadu,
StoneCrysus, SyncStrength, Withings, ZenoBase, Zepp.
● Market Segmentation​ ­ ​Research was grouped according to: ​Customer Category,
product type by Activity, Technology, Core Features and the various type of Reports.
● All Companies​ ­ Eighty six companies were analyzed ranging from major brands and
platforms to small startup
● Resources ​­ List of external resources
More details can be found in this document: ​Sports, Fitness Tech 2015​.
Market Trends - Challenges, Opportunities
The wearable, sport and fitness tech industry faces key challenges, and therefore
opportunities for new entrants and existing ones to improve, grow and innovate.
Lack of interoperability ­ Today vendors are focused on selling devices and therefore
creating a closed ecosystem and fragmented experience where the service layer is
uni­directional. It only tracks what the device tracks. There is absolutely no interoperability
with other systems, meaning no exchange of valuable data to create a single experience
(which is further detailed in sections ​Recommendations Framework (Version 1) and ​Use Case
1 ­ A simple solution with powerful results​.) Consumers are overwhelmed with individual apps
without a central experience bringing new complexities. Independent apps bring independent
experiences, which is not attractive to the modern, multi­dimensional user. Consumers still
have to “hack” their way managing, translating, and correlating information from various apps
to fulfill their goals. ​Use Case 1 ­ A simple solution with powerful results is a perfect example
of this conundrum.
"It takes as much glucose to make an unimportant decision as it does
to make an important one" ­ Daniel J. Levitin
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 3

4. No actionable data ­ Customer are overwhelmed with fancy graphs and charts in forms of
pseudo analytics that do not result into any sustainable action. There is an illusion of
accomplishments through instant gratification ~ “Today you walked 2,312 steps!” Let’s be
honest with ourselves ­ we love gadgets, charts, numbers. It makes us feel good, smart, with
an edge...but it’s merely an illusion. As a result there is no long­term accountability or
sustained engagements. Data is delivered without context and without emotion, preventing us
from achieving long­term “life changing” goals as habit formation and behavioral changes are
rarely documented. Section ​Recommendation Framework v1 aims at providing a framework
of recommendations to create the next generation of life­changing products and services.
“Social media has given companies access to unprecedented amounts of information on
client behavior and preferences ­ so­called Big Data. But making sense of it all and turning it
into actionable policy has been elusive.” ­ Ryan Holmes
Saturated market ​­ Most devices are glorified pedometers or heart rate monitors. In addition,
The Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that smartphone apps are just as
accurate as the wearable fitness trackers available on the market, which generates confusion
and purchase hesitation.
“When you improve your product so it does the customer's job better,
then you gain market share.” ­ Clayton Christensen
Wearables are becoming commodities ­ Hardware manufacturing costs are dropping and
major platforms and brands have the engineering, design, marketing strength and experience
to own a big chunk of the market through their well established marketing and sales channels.
The most successful wearable companies will be software and services firms leveraging
existing platforms (iPhone, iWatch, niche tracking devices, etc.) or their own platform as an
entry point. Success and longevity with particularly be found with those wearables that
combine advanced biometric data on human behavior and biological response.
“42 percent of Fitness tracker owners abandon usage in the first six months.
This is a very high rate of abandonment, mirroring the dropout rate at fitness centers.”
­ NPD’s VP of Connected Intelligence, Eddie Hold.
On April 2015 Wired Magazine released an article: “​Iphone Killer: The Secret History of the
Apple Watch​” by David Pierce. In this article, Apple recognizes “the tyranny of the buzz—the
constant checking, the long list of nagging notifications” ~ Kevin Lynch ­ VP Technology,
Apple. Once a delight, apps are becoming annoying single experiences without context.
“What if you could create a device that could filter out all the bullshit and instead only serve
you truly important information? You could change modern life. And so after three­plus
decades of building devices that grab and hold our attention—the longer the better—Apple
has decided that the way forward is to fight back.” ~ David Pierce, Wired Magazine.
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 4

5. Consumer Profile and Psychology
Understanding the psychology of human traits and behaviors will not only aid in designing
meaningful products that will support achievable goals, but it will also keep us on track, make
us accountable, and ultimately produce a fulfilled life. Leading companies such as Google and
Apple understand this as it is core to their brand. Product experience comes from people’s
emotional needs.
"We want to leave the world better than we found it,"
Tim Cook said in an interview with Charlie Rose.
"Focus on the user and all else will follow", “You can make money without doing evil.”
Google Company Philosophy
“Designers will have to become psychologists” ­
Vijay Chakravarthy, Senior Product Designer, Michael Graves Architecture & Design
We all aspire to a meaningful life. As humans we set “goals” so that we inspire and are
remembered. We participate so we are we “socially” integrated, in the quest for fulfillment
through a meaningful life in a highly technological world. Furthermore, technology is
constantly influencing social, neurological and economical aspects of our lives and behaviors
with both positive and negative results. A wise and educated mind can reap the benefits and
ignore the noise technology produces, although this is a rare and cherished attribute. You can
use technology against technology (isn’t this ironic) to remove the noise and focus on your
long­term objectives. Because at the end of day, you know what is best for you, you are in
control. You just have to be honest with yourself and prioritize from instant gratification to a
long­term rewarding life.
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 5

6.
How do you do this? First you need to track and measure your progression, which is the
“quantified­self” movement’s objective. It incorporates technologies for the data acquisition on
all aspects of a person's daily life in terms of inputs, states, mental and physical performances
with the objective to improve daily functioning as the sum of a greater goals.
“What’s measured improves” ~ Peter Drucker
Diagram 1 ­ Quantified­Self
As we will discover later in this article the tracking is well ahead with a plethora of consumer
devices that virtually tracks anything, but the “advising” or “recommendation” aspect is still at
its ​infancy and ultimately failing the majority of the consumers in long­term life changing
meaningful goals.
It can be argued that too much happiness, performance, health, productivity and many more
variables make our lives complicated and disorganized. This rule has never changed, yet the
technology has and will continue to do so. All these variables can be turned into data that can
be tracked and therefore measured. Measuring the key metrics means measuring your
progress and removing the noise (confusion), which will help you focus and stay on target.
Tracking physical health and fitness is a great start as it lays the foundation for the basic
discipline and methodology in goal achievement. Technology evolves rapidly as we start to
see devices and apps to track your mood, sweat, temperature, body kinetic in real­time and
much more.
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 6

7.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit” ­ Aristotle
As a product designer (and in a way, a psychologist), in order to learn about your customer
and establish a long­term relationship with them will require a deep understanding of ​human
psychology​, identify proper ​methods and ​narrative mechanisms in support of their goals.
These are very important factors of success for rapid production adoption and customer
retention.
Let’s review some of the pillars of humanity, what takes us through the analysis of our needs
(​Hierarchy of Needs​), our personalities (​The “Big 5”​), our environment, our behaviors. In
the context of building meaningful wearables and services, human “Life” can be structured as
follow.
Diagram 2 ­ The Big 5 & Hierarchy of Needs
Your ​philosophy is defined by your wisdom, your knowledge and understanding about
reality, while your ​spirituality is the execution of your philosophy: the position you take in
relationship to the way things are and how you understand them.
“Enlightened leadership is spiritual if we understand spirituality not as some kind of religious
dogma or ideology but as the domain of awareness where we experience values like truth,
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 7

8. goodness, beauty, love and compassion, and also intuition, creativity, insight and focused
attention.” ~ Deepak Chopra
“Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.”
~ Carl Sagan
Both these essential elements create the framework of our reality and define our goals...what
you will do about this reality. This applies to both religious and non­religious individuals.
Your ​personality is shaped by your cultural and educational environment and greatly
influences the actions (the “How”) taken to achieve your goals.
“...behavioral formation is a problem of constant interplay between
genetic potential and environmental shaping.” —​ D.D. Thiessen, Mechanism specific
approaches in behavior genetics, p. 9​1
“Society” is the ​social framework and provides key components of goals and achievements:
inclusion, accountability through support, and competition.
Although sports/fitness and health are the primary focus of this article “​Economical​”
quantification is equally important as it greatly influences purchasing decisions, competitive
status within the social framework. Economical stability provides you with the basics needs so
you can focus on your goals ­ the ones that will bring a fulfilling life.
“​Your Story​” is a new and pertinent brick within the user’s story. Primarily driven by the birth
of social networks such as Facebook or Instagram, it gives everyone the ability to record their
life and their story. Giving everyone the sense of “never forgotten, always alive” through the
use of multimedia publishing tools widely available to anyone. See related article I wrote
“​Facebook Make Me Immortal​”. Now, more than any of other time, your life’s goal can be
shared for not only for greater meaning of your life and accountability, but for eternity.
This is also well described in Maslow's ​hierarchy of needs ­ a theory in psychology proposed
by Abraham Maslow, describing the states of growth in humans through a hierarchy of needs
in the shape of a pyramid with the largest, most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom
and the need for self­actualization at the top.
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 8

9.
Diagram 3 ­ Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Using the “​Big Five​” ­ In psychology, the Big Five personality traits are five broad domains or
dimensions of personality that are used to describe human personality. These are a good
foundation for creating a chart for the different potential customers, in particular those
mentioned in this article, who are interested in or are existing owners of sport/fitness/health
wearables and services. As a product designer you will need to accommodate the
combination of all personality traits by creating “personas” (i.e. your potential customers) to
design an overall experience (features, processes) in support of these combinations,
therefore in support of their behaviors toward a product. By doing this you will increase
customer retention, providing a magical experience to your customers and therefore greatly
reducing the pitfalls of many wearables on the market: “rapid drop rate.” A magical experience
is the one that always adapt to your goals and knows how to communicate these goals in a
personal way.
Diagram 4 ­ The Big 5
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 9

10. We started this article with an overview of the market segments and trends, including some of
the challenges facing the industry. We stepped back in the previous section to better
understand the foundation of human psychology in order to build relevant products and
services. In the following section we review the existing technologies and data points to track
and report on health, fitness and physical performances, including their limitations.
Diagram 5 ­ Human Anatomy Systems
TRACK ­ The above diagram classifies the various systems in our anatomy as a complex
network of biologically relevant entities. On the right side are the common body components
(or whole) that are “tracked” via various devices or methods, which will be further explained
below. There are mainly 2 environmental factors:
● Body at rest
● Body in motion
During “Body at rest” preconditions and postconditions can be tracked and analyzed.
Preconditions usually refers to biological factors that can or cannot be changed. For example,
your DNA, height and body structure are usually impossible to change. But it also includes
factors that can be changed such as Lactate threshold, VO2Max, muscle mass, etc. by
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 10

11. means of various training and conditioning. Post­condition refers to the tracking of one or
more body component immediately after a physical performance or in the long­term.
Tracking a “Body in motion” usually requires real­time monitoring via wearable devices and
more limited in terms of body parts that can be tracked without affecting an athletic
performance or general physical activity. Currently, you can’t swim with a CT scan. Tracking a
body at rest is usually performed with various large scale technology with non real­time
analysis (DNA, bacterial composition). Additionally, certain type of tracking and analysis are
only valid during a long­period of time. Tracking your heart­rate in real­time while you run vs.
tracking your muscle mass growth over six months.
Diagram 6 ­ Tracking Technologies
TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES ­ Although not an exhaustive list, the above graphic outlines
the major tracking methods available today on the market and in relation to health, sport and
fitness. Below are the highlights. A more detailed list of technologies are available in the
Sports, Fitness Tech 2015​ document .
● HEART ­ Heart rate monitoring is the most popular method for tracking endurance and
physical performance during an activity in measured in Beats per Minute (BPM). Some
more recent technologies such as Heart Variability Monitoring (HRM) provides another
layer of physical performance optimization by assessing the effects of stress on your
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 11

12. body measuring the the time gap between your heart beats and assessing the fitness
readiness. That is to say if you should rest, train moderately or go hard on any given
day.
● CORBE/BODY ­ A wide range of new technologies allow for greater overall body
analysis. For example, via the use of 3D motion capture sensors you can now track
your entire body movement, review and improve your technique (swim, baseball,
tennis, golf…).
● DNA/BLOOD/BACTERIA ­ Tracking those mainly provide overall health information
which have an impact on your physical performances. Besides providing information
for long­term health, the information gathered in collaboration with a professional
trainer or doctor will prevent from injury by providing the right treatment, training and
nutrition.
REPORTING ­ Captured raw data is usually coupled with time­based data, therefore a ratio of
“x” over time (i.e. Beats/minute, Miles/Min, Stroke/minute…). Professional team sports such
as basketball, soccer, and baseball have more advanced technologies for team sport analysis
and insight based on players performances, strategic game positioning, etc.
Below is an non­exhaustive list of reporting categories. More information can be found on
sports specialized websites.
● Endurance
○ LT ­ The lactate threshold (LT) or anaerobic threshold (AT) is the exercise
intensity at which lactic acid starts to accumulate in the blood stream.The
lactate threshold is a useful measure for deciding exercise intensity for training
and racing in endurance sports, but varies between individuals and can be
increased with training. Accurately measuring the lactate threshold involves
taking blood samples (normally a pinprick to the finger, earlobe or thumb)
during a ramp test where the exercise intensity is progressively increased.
○ Vo2Max ­ VO2 max (also maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen
uptake, peak oxygen uptake or maximal aerobic capacity) is the maximum rate
of oxygen consumption as measured during incremental exercise, most
typically on a motorized treadmill while measuring ventilation and oxygen and
carbon dioxide concentration of the inhaled and exhaled air.
● Strength
● Flexibility
● Speed
○ Pace ­ defined as a ratio of the number of minutes it takes to cover a mile or
kilometer. Usually calculated via GPS, cadence meter (on a bike) or on a
treadmill.
○ Power ­ has different meaning based on the sport or fitness activity. For the
purpose of this article we will illustrate power technology within the cycling
world. A cycling power meter is a device on a bicycle that measures the power
output of the rider. Power meters provide instant feedback to the rider about
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 12

13. their performance and measure their actual output. Power output is an
essential, quantitative link between physiological fitness and speed achievable
under certain conditions. A cyclist's VO2 max (a proxy for fitness) can be
closely related to power output.
○ Acceleration
● General Health
Each sport requires different “balance” between “strength”, “speed” and “endurance”.
REPORTING FORMATS ­ The majority of consumer reports (and professional to some
extent) are structured as follow:
● Time­based
○ Real­time ­ examples: heartbeat rate per minutes, average speed per hour, etc.
○ Pre­process ­ example: Fitness readiness, carbs and protein intake, etc.
○ Post­process ­ examples: total calories burned, total distance, etc.
● Data
○ Raw data ­ rarely displayed to the user, raw data is sent from system to system
for calculation using various algorithms (i.e. averages).
○ Averages ­ the most common type of data. As explained earlier, a ratio of “x”
over time (i.e. Beats/minute, Miles/Min, Stroke/minute, etc.).
○ Charts ­ visual aids to aid at understanding data in a human readable format.
Also called “visual data at a glance”.
● Report
○ Simple report ­ Most common form of reporting in the market (with average and
charts). For example, activity level ranking, caloric burn for each activity,
Historical trends, Training Stress Score (TSS), etc.
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 13

14.
Diagram 7 ­ Reporting Formats & Advise
ADVISE ­ The majority of devices provide singular, linear information without context. Today
there is no correlation between a sleep tracker, fitness readiness, training, nutrition and
hydration app. You (as the user) have to do the math! Complex triangulation of data
(pre­performance, during performance and post­performance) from various apps, services,
devices to not only assess the status of your goals, but to also recommend the best actions
(actionable data) for you to stay on the course and meet your goals. It includes mood, health,
nutrition, sleep quality, fitness readiness, schedule management and optimization, social
connectivity, etc. on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis. The next generation of products
will provide levels of biometric awareness to any connected device and connected person.
“This is a new frontier of data. We’ll be delving into insights never before possible with every
heartbeat and every sympathetic response, contributing data to new correlations and building
a higher resolution of not only human health, but also human behavior and biological
response.” ~ The Future Of Biometric Marketing ­ Cavan Canavan
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 14

15. Recommendations Framework (Version 1)
The “Market Segmentation” and “Market Trends” analysis highlighted areas of opportunities.
Wearables are getting smaller, smarter, cheaper. Brands such as Apple, Google are
embedding these technologies within their products and services. Heart­rate monitoring, GPS
tracking, basic motion analysis are now common features. The next generation of customers
are ready to embrace life­changing experiences through services that seamlessly integrate all
their data to support users in their life, and precisely supporting them achieving their goals.
They are educated, informed, driven and will be the first adopters and promote the best
products and services through social media where consumers continue to have a strong,
online voice and identity.
From a product design perspective, understanding the human psychology is critical in
delivering life­changing products (i.e. relevant products) with intelligent feedback by
implementing the proper methods and communication mechanisms for customer’s rapid
adoption and long­term sustained usage.
“​Human readable actionable data​”
The below recommendations follow the guidelines of main components for a successful
product or service design within the context of wearables sports, fitness technology:
­ Design & Data Science
­ Narratives
­ Habit formation and commitment
­ Social Motivation
­ Rewards
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 15

16.
Diagram 8 ­ Recommendation Framework v1
The above diagram outlines the key components of recommendations. The ​presentation layer
leverages card­based user interface to deliver actionable data through ​narratives ​and the
creation of a “virtual coach”. The proper ​methodology ​is applied based on a user “Big 5”
personality trait ensuring habit formation, accountability and reward mechanics that work. API
integration allows for data exchange between various systems and devices enabling analytics
engine to provide actionable data. Schedule and Social Network are both critical for making a
user accountable through optimized logistic, social connection and rewards.
Let’s dive into each of these components for more details.
1. User
a. Personality
b. Contextual (Environment, Goals)
2. Methodology
a. Rule­based engine
b. Rewards
3. Social Framework
4. Systems & Devices
5. Data Science
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 16

17. 6. Analytics
7. Presentation Layer (or Interface Layer)
a. Layer 1 ­ Virtual Coach
b. Layer 2 ­ Data & Charts
c. Layer 3 ­ Real­time data
User ​­ As described in the previous section, once a user defines his or her goals, the product
or service must leverage ​human psychology​, identify proper ​methods and ​communication
mechanisms in support of these goals. We have different traits, strengths and weaknesses,
learning curves. Some people need need a social environment to achieve their goals, belong
to a tribe of people with the same goals. Some people are self­driven and excel best when
alone.
From a design team perspective, as people and devices get not even more and connected
but also blended (i.e. the internet of things), collaboration between product managers,
interface designers, data scientists...will also blend to design and deliver true cross­platform
experiences, that are meaningful and that will simplify our lives.
User / Personality​: In section ​Consumer Profile and Psychology​, we outline the “Big 5”
personality traits and the “Hierarchy of Needs”. All these traits must be managed in your
product design to ensure user’s long­term engagement and accountability. Design your
product as a lifetime “coach”.
User / Contextual: User’s environment inside and outside of sport/fitness/health has a huge
influence on the success or failures of goal achievements. It includes, work, schedule,
finance, family, friends, leisure, mood...etc. Those can managed with primarily two areas:
“Schedule” and “Social”. By schedule, I mean the ability to understand a user’s career, family,
leisure activities and manage his/her personal goals with those other priorities. The winning
services will be the ones that can triangulate sleep pattern, work and family schedule, nutrition
and fitness readiness, GPS location in one single, contextualized experience, because today
there is an app for everything but no context.
”Social” is one of the most popular mean for accountability. Family, friends and even
strangers with the same goals greatly optimizes a user’s chance for success. While family and
friends support you in your goals, belonging to a tribe of strangers with similar goals will also
keep consumers motivated and accountable.
Methodology / Rule­based system ­ Based on each consumers profiling of traits a specific
methodology (cue, routine, reward) must be applied for proper behavioral changes and
long­term sustained engagement.
● Cue or Trigger​ ­ A precise, usually time­based trigger to start a habit’s routine.
● Routine ­ ​a regular procedure (part of habit), a sequence of actions taken towards a
reward.
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 17

18. ● Reward ​­ the most important part because this is why we develop habits. As with bad
habits, rewards are powerful because they satisfying cravings. Personality trait and
social component will be the starting point to to identify the best reward and then
develop the routine (aligned with schedule) and cue or trigger for the routine to start.
From a product design perspective, once the consumer objective is identified, a product or
service must measure the key aspects of the current process (if any), analyze the data,
improve or optimize the current process and control the future state process. Most consumers
should be already exposed to these as the work place is more and more instrumented and
data driven.
Methodology / Rewards ​­ personality traits is key for product adoption. Reward for the
self­driven highly competitive profile will be different from person that relies on heavy social
connectivity for support. You need to break down rewards based on the size of a routine
(rewards within the routine) in the form of “progress” or “marginal gains,” which are infinite.
Leveraging connectivity with friends, families and peers is a vital component in any
goal/reward environment. People are often most accountable to other people. In addition,
giving a “human” like audio­visual experience to the reward (a digital character, a voice, a
face, etc.) is important as it connects at the human level by giving a voice and face to a
machine.
Below are screenshots from “MUSE ­ The Brain Sensing Headband” ­ a device and
application aimed at helping people relax via meditation.
Diagram 9 ­ MUSE interface
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 18

19.
MUSE won many awards, including User Interface design awards. The “Rewards” feature is
very fulfilling as well as the entire learning process. Muse takes full advantage of audio­visual
sensory tools available delivered via a simple soothing process found in great “storytelling”
individuals.
Social framework ­ As mentioned previously, leveraging existing social connectivity with
family, friends and peers is vital for accountability and therefore optimizing the changes to
reach your goals. Data alone is not enough. This is even more important in daily
accountability as people are more likely to quit their goals if they are not supported on a daily
basis.
I believe there is untapped opportunity for incorporating “storytelling” as a means to sharing
consumers’ lifetime goals and progress. People are not interested to know that you run 7.2
miles today, but more interested to know what you are competing in 3 or 6 months and how
you are progressing. As a product designer, you can also leverage friends and families to
support your customers goals.
System & Devices ​­ Interoperability is still weak and prevents from deep contextual
implementation. Leaders in this industry ­ such as Apple through their integrated platform and
experience, or “Under Armour” purchase of MyfitnessPal and Endomondo ­ will create the
pressure for vendor to interoperate with other ones for consumer’s benefit.
Companies such as Garmin, TrainingPeaks, Strava, MyFitnessPal are showing signs of
interoperability progress, but it is not enough. Without interoperability, data exchange between
all products and services will fail at delivering meaningful, impactful, life­changing
experiences. Customers expect those today. Below are examples of information data that are
tracked by devices and or services and require better connectivity of contextual
recommendation:
● Heart­rate
● Fitness Readiness (Heart­rate variability)
● GPS Location
● Schedules (personal, work,...)
● Social Networks
● Nutrition
● Hydration
● Health
● Fitness/Sport performances
● Sleep Quality
● Mood
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 19

20. Data Science ​­ Data science and design are blending to provide a continuous real­time and
contextual experience, combining fields such as but not limited to: Analytics, Predictive
Analytics, Performance Analytics, Narrative Algorithms.
Data Science / Analytics ­ The key of analytics is to identify insights that would otherwise
have been missed, offer more sophisticated and granular insights, analyze with greater
speed, with the overarching objective to improve constantly. In the world of fitness and sports
this means turn these data findings into actionable data within the context of the goals set
forth and communicated properly to trigger the desired action for improvement. In the world of
health, actions that will make you live longer and healthier including injury prevention.
Specifically for a professional or amateur athlete to fully take advantage of wearable
technologies and applications is to measure things that they want to improve which greatly
varies depending on sports of fitness categories. A cyclist might want to analyze his power
output (via a power meter) which is an essential, quantitative link between physiological
fitness and speed achievable under certain conditions and therefore a key to improvement. A
tennis play may use a 3D motion analysis device to measure posture or backhand speed. For
a soccer player it might be getting real­time feedback on speed, spin, trajectory and strike
point, so you can learn and improve from every kick, etc.
The below diagram outlines a simple framework for pre, post and performance analytics for a
system to ask through a serie of analytical formulas executed on various data sets from
various devices and systems (nutrition, hydration, sleep, training type, injury, etc.)
Complexities arise from insights formulated in forms of questions such as “what” (descriptive
analytics) to more complex ones such as “what will happen?” and “what should we do?”,
which belong to the predictive and prescriptive analytics.
Diagram 10 ­ Performance Analytics
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 20

21.
This is absolutely critical in order for a system to predict a future state (a good one) by
prescribing the right set of actions to follow. The data set available on the market is already
big enough to already offer valuable insights in pre, post and performance optimization. The
prescription or recommendation should not be presented solely through good looking charts
but in context and plain english like a coach would do by leveraging ​narratives​.
Data Science / Narrative Algorithms ­ Narrative algorithms when implemented present
information in forms of narrative or story format which is best adapted for human. They ​take
data and build a story around it. Because our lives are stories and we want them to be
exciting ones. With a long­term greater purpose. It is the paradigm shift making wearable
devices into virtual coaches. The narrative format goes well with card­based user interfaces
described further below and allowing a better engagement from users with mobile and
wearable devices. Key factors of success for a successful narrative engagement are:
Understanding​, ​Focus​, ​Emotional Engagement​, ​Narrative Presence​.
● Understanding ­ is the process of comprehension. What happened? Why? What will
happen? What to do? It is important for a system to have a good understanding and
evaluation of data for a good story generation. Natural language generation and
human psychology are key success factors as well.
● Focus​ ­ on the information presented without distraction.
● Emotional engagement ­ emotions the viewer has towards the character (i.e. virtual
coach) of the narrative. Within our context “motivational” communication of the action
required. Humans needs rewards and social engagement. Computational creativity,
interactive storytelling, Virtual and embodied conversational agents as characters are
all important elements for strong emotional engagement between a user and it’s
device.
Presentation Layer ­ This where actionable data, insights are presented with a combination
of audio, visual and haptic experience...as a narrative. The narrative algorithm or system
generates a central plot that is presented using visual metaphors and temporal transitions that
contribute to a more engaging visualization.
The way in which a story is told is an important aspect of storytelling. Apart from the content
of the story, the order in which its events are presented also influences how it engages the
audience. This is already a key component for effective communication, education, game
playing, etc.
A card­based user interface leverages the “card” paradigm. Essentially, a card is a container
that logically encapsulates bits of information, a single unit of content or functionality,
presented in a concise visual package. In most cases, a card is a rectangular area that
contains a small amount of easily digestible information. They are the ‘right size’ to hold in our
hands, and that’s why they work well on mobile devices and some wearables. More advanced
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 21

22. cards use that form to surface content or functionality from other apps, and allow users to
interact with that content or functionality directly in the context of where a user encounters the
card ­ “vertically streaming set of context­sensitive cards”.
Cards are a great medium for communicating quick stories, hence creating narratives as well
as conversations and workflows. They leverage essential audio­visual narrative (time­based)
in context and take advantage of animation and movement. Cards are perfect for mobile
devices and wearables and varying screen sizes.
The ​Use Case 1 ­ A simple solution with powerful results section below leverages the
recommendations set forth to improve on existing environment where apps and devices track
and report on data without context.
The ​Use Case 2 ­ Triathlon, a popular multidisciplinary sport to learn from section below
serves as a good example of successful data and science integration through the world of
Triathlon.
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 22

23. Use Case 1 - A simple solution with powerful results
Below is an example of applications and services available on the market for pro and
semi­pro athletes that lacks of simple and yet powerful interoperability, hence the paradigm
shift from single app experience to a contextual one. Below is an example from my own
experience using widely available apps and devices (iphone, Garmin 910XT). I am an
amateur Triathlete training for an IronMan 70.3. I started one year ago, and the training is
getting harder and harder in length, endurance and intensity, therefore requiring detailed
attention to nutrition, hydration, injury prevention and management, as well as managing
work, personal and training schedules. I am married with two kids and a busy work schedule. I
want to leverage any technology to help me achieve my goals, such as completing an
IronMan 70.3 (a 1.2­mile swim, a 56­mile bike ride, and a 13.1­mile run). I use the following
applications on iphone:
­ Sleep Cycle​ ­ ​sleep patterns tracker [website]
­ ithlete​ ­ Heart Variability analyzer for fitness readiness ​[website]
­ Daily Water​ ­ Water Reminder and Counter ​[website]
­ MyFitnessPal​ ­ ​Calorie counter and diet plan [website]
­ TrainingPeaks​ ­ Complete Triathlon training plan and schedule ​[website]
­ Google Calendar ​­ Work and personal calendar ​[website]
Sadly there is absolutely no interoperability between these applications. I spend a lot of time
trying to triangulate the data myself in order to achieve three simple things: ​Optimizing my
fitness readiness ​by eating, hydrating, sleeping properly and optimizing my training
attendance ​by assigning my training schedule around my personal and work calendars, and
finally ​optimize my performances​ during my training.
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 23

24.
Diagram 10 ­ Existing Apps environment and Challenges
Each of these applications have valuable data that have very seldom use without context. The
lack of interoperability prevents valuable insights pre­performance, during performance and
post­performance. The below diagram outlines the ideal scenario by simply promoting data
exchange between applications using the ​Description​, ​Diagnostic​, ​Prediction​, and ​Prescription
model, within ​context and ​time constraints. The idea that these apps sit in the background,
pushing content into a central experience is the only way.
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 24

25.
Diagram 11 ­ Proposed Contextual Apps environment
① At bedtime ​Sleep Cycle asks a few questions to better assess parameters that affect your
sleep quality. Sleep Cycle alarm clock tracks your sleep patterns and wakes you up during
light sleep. Sleeping patterns are analyzed and data should be exchanged with ithlete to
better assess factors for a good night sleep and optimized fitness readiness.
② Within the first 30 minutes after wake up, using a heart­rate band, “fitness readiness” is
assessed. A few questions are asked in order to identify patterns that affect your fitness, such
as sleeping stress, diet, etc.
Data exchange between both Sleep Cycle and ithlete would provide great insights on all
factors that affect sleep quality and therefore fitness readiness. These insights then become
“Actionable data” to optimize your mental and physical state before a performance and after
performance. As described in the next section, a virtual coach (audio­visual avatar) could
simply recommend what to eat, drink, and the time to go to sleep based on “your” biological
factors.
③ & ④. Based on my fitness readiness I have three states: ​Go hard​, ​Go moderate or ​Rest​.
This information should automatically be exchanged with both TrainingPeaks and Google
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 25

26. Calendars in order to assign the proper training intensity as well as the GPS location of my
activities. For example, let’s assume that my training plan for the week has two high­intensity
(Cardio) workouts, one running and one swim. Find a pool to swim is a bigger logistic
challenge than running, therefore system should give priority based on GPS information to
find a date, time and location where I can find a pool. The system ​optimizes my training
attendance​, which is one of the common failure for non­professional athletes. The system
makes me accountable.
⑤ During the performance a wearable device or smartphone tracks the data. Additional
devices such as a heart­monitor, power meter, foot pedometer...etc allow for deeper level of
granularity based on your sport or fitness activity. Once the performance is completed all data
is uploaded back onto the service platform (TrainingPeaks for this example).
⑥ TrainingPeaks holds very important information “insights” on the performance completed
but also data that must be exchanged with other applications such as calories, heart­rate,
exercise level etc...post­performance analysis and recommendations. What I need to eat to
recover (i.e. amount of protein), recommended amount of water and a recommended sleep
time based on previous night, amount of effort and tomorrow’s schedule. This is not rocket
science, and yet essential information that could be automated and allow me to focus on
higher mental activities.
⑦ This is where the rubber meets the road. Finding the right insights and actionable data is
half of the battle. Now you need to present it in a clear, concise and emotional way. No more
“you walked 2,592 steps”. By leveraging narratives and cad­based interface the virtual coach
informs the user of his or her status within the story of his goals. How was the performance
compared to this week’s plan, month plan and overall goals. Which new challenge is coming
up and the rewarding satisfaction that goes with it.
The above interoperability issue workflow is common to many users, just ask around.
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 26

27. Use Case 2 - Triathlon, a popular multidisciplinary sport to learn
from
The following presentation provides an overview of science and data in Triathlon, a
multidisciplinary sport that consists of swimming, cycling and running in a single race. It is the
result of one year of research, reading and practicing this sport. I am training for Ironman 70.3
(a 1.2­mile swim, a 56­mile bike ride and a 13.1­mile run). I use the Garmin 901XT watch and
TrainingPeaks one of the best platform for training plans, data management and coaching.
Triathlon is very mature in terms of science and research for each discipline as well as core
data to capture for performance improvement. There is a lot to learn from this multidisciplinary
sport for the following reasons:
● It incorporates some of the most popular single sports: run, bike and swim in one
discipline.
● The science behind each sport is very mature (including nutrition) and therefore
methods and technologies to track each discipline are well measured. Technology is
widely available for both pro and amateur athletes.
● It is Increasingly popular. The demographics are usually 30+ years old with +100K
salary, iphone owners and big spenders on gear.
The presentation contains the following slides:
● Physiological factors for Triathletes
● Swimming mechanics and data points
● Cycling mechanics and data points
● Running mechanics and data points
● The economy of swimming, cycling and running
● Aerobic Capacity
The TrainingPeaks platform provides complex customizable dashboard with data, metrics and
one of the most important chart in Triathlon called the “Performance manager”. These charts
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 27

28. and data are usually best interpreted by a certified coach who can guide athletes with their
training on a weekly basis. I am looking for the implementation of a “virtual coach” as
previously discussed by enabling the platform to communicate essential data in plain English
and advice its user.
Diagram 12 ­ Triathlon Science Presentation
This presentation can be viewed here: ​http://www.slideshare.net/gtourneur/triathlon­science
Use Case 3 - Real-time Visual Feedback
My next experiment is to create a relevant visual interface for athletes and coaches. I am
looking for UX Designer, analytics engineers, coaches, athletes and sports analytics platforms
to experiment in real­time visual feedback. Contact me at ​gtourneur@gmail.com
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 28

29. References - Articles
Your First Triathlon, 2nd Ed.: Race­Ready in 5 Hours a Week ​­ Joe Friel
http://www.amazon.com/Your­First­Triathlon­2nd­Ed/dp/1934030864
Faster, Higher, Stronger: How Sports Science Is Creating a New Generation of
Superathletes­­and What We Can Learn from Them Hardcover​ – Mark McClusky
http://www.amazon.com/Faster­Higher­Stronger­Generation­Superathletes­­/dp/1594631530/r
ef=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425071750&sr=8­1­fkmr0&keywords=Mark+McClusky.+%E
2%80%9CFaster%2C+Higher%2C+Stronger.%E2%80%9D+
Accuracy of Smartphone Applications and Wearable Devices for Tracking Physical
Activity Data​ ­ Meredith A. Case, BA1; Holland A. Burwick2; Kevin G. Volpp, MD, PhD3;
Mitesh S. Patel, MD, MBA, MS3
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2108876
The Top 12 Venture Capital Firms Funding the 50+ Market​ ­ AARP
http://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/home­and­family/personal­technology/2014­05/Top­12­
Most­Active­Investors­Digital­Health­50­plus­Market­AARP.pdf
The Future Of Biometric Marketing​ ­ Cavan Canavan
http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/21/the­future­of­biometric­marketing/?ncid=rss&utm_source=fe
edburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29
&utm_content=FaceBook
Wearable Sports Technology: What to Expect in 2015​ ­ Jason Fass, Zepp Labs
http://www.twice.com/blog/executive­insight/wearable­sports­technology­what­expect­2015/55
356
Under Armour Snatches Up Health And Fitness Trackers Endomondo And
MyFitnessPal​ ­ Sarah Perez
http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/04/athletic­apparel­company­under­armour­snatches­up­health
­and­fitness­trackers­endomondo­and­myfitnesspal/?ncid=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_
medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=F
aceBook
When the novelty wears off – can we fix wearables’ broken business model?​ ­ By Piers
Dillon­Scott
http://www.eachandother.com/2014/12/when­the­novelty­wears­off­can­we­fix­wearables­brok
en­business­model/
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 29

30. A Wearables Startup Playbook​ ­ Tim Chang
http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/12/a­playbook­for­entrepreneurs­of­wearables­and­connected­
devices/
What is the difference between Philosophy and Spirituality​ ­ Jeff Carreira
http://philosophyisnotaluxury.com/2010/07/19/what­is­the­difference­between­philosophy­and­
spirituality/
Myths And Misconceptions Of Our Wearable Future ​­ Hamid Farzaneh
http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/30/myths­and­misconceptions­of­our­wearable­future/
Automated Insights, STATS combined: What it means for big data, narrative
technology​ ­ Larry Dignan
http://www.zdnet.com/article/automated­insights­stats­combined­what­it­means­for­big­data­n
arrative­technology/
The end of apps as we know them ​­ Paul Adams, VP of Product at Intercom
http://blog.intercom.io/the­end­of­apps­as­we­know­them/?utm_content=bufferee4c8&utm_m
edium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Is mindfulness and less stress worth $299? The Muse makes a case (review)​ ­ Devindra
Hardawar
http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/16/is­mindfulness­and­less­stress­worth­299­the­muse­makes
­a­case­review/
The 9 Baseline Criteria & 3 Behavioral Science Criteria for Adoption, Utilization and
Long­term Engagement ​­ By Daniel McCaffrey
http://www.syncstrength.com/9­baseline­criteria­3­behavioral­science­criteria­adoption­utilizati
on­long­term­engagement/
Profile Performance System
http://www.profileperformancesystem.com/personality­traits.html
Team Sky’s Dave Brailsford on the hunt for cycling’s new technology​ ­ Sean Ingle
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/06/team­sky­dave­brailsford­cycling­new­technol
ogy
The Next Big Thing In Design? Less Choice​ ­ Aaron Shapiro
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3045039/the­next­big­thing­in­design­fewer­choices
25 Ideas Shaping The Future Of Design ​­ John Brownlee
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3043624/25­ideas­shaping­the­future­of­design?utm_source=fa
cebook
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 30

31.
What is a card?​ ­ Khoi Vinh
http://www.subtraction.com/2014/08/26/what­is­a­card/
Why Cards are the future of the web?​ ­ Paul Adams
http://blog.intercom.io/why­cards­are­the­future­of­the­web/
An Algorithm to Generate Engaging Narratives through Non­Linearity​ ­ Vinay Chilukuri,
Bipin Indurkhya
http://www.academia.edu/524674/An_Algorithm_to_Generate_Engaging_Narratives_through
_Non­Linearity
USA Triathlon Annual Membership Hits Record High in 2013​ ­ USAT
http://m.usatriathlon.org/about­multisport/demographics.aspx
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business​ ­ Charles Duhigg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400069289/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smi
d=A137N5PCRAJMCA
Hooked: How to Build Habit­Forming Products ​­ Nir Eyal
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591847788/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smi
d=A1NFO4NDQ9UJBW
Human Anatomy Systems
http://www.innerbody.com/
References - Diagrams
Diagram 1 ­ Quantified­Self
Diagram 2 ­ The Big 5 & Hierarchy of Needs
Diagram 3 ­ Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Diagram 4 ­ The Big 5
Diagram 5 ­ Human Anatomy Systems
Diagram 6 ­ Tracking Technologies
Diagram 7 ­ Reporting Formats & Advice
Diagram 8 ­ Recommendation Framework v1
Diagram 9 ­ MUSE interface
Diagram 10 ­ Performance Analytics
Diagram 10 ­ Existing Apps environment and Challenges
Diagram 11 ­ Proposed Contextual Apps environment
Diagram 12 ­ Triathlon Science Presentation
Wearables are dead, long live wearables! ­ The case for the contextual user experience (April 2015) ​ 31