The rise of smartphones and the democratisation of small, affordable sensors in the last decade has fundamentally changed the way we interact with technology. Equipment that only a few years ago required athletes to visit expensive labs and invest extensive time and effort is now available in your pocket, with greater convenience and at a much more affordable price. We will begin by introducing you to the concept of heart rate variability (HRV), what it is, why it's useful, and how athletes from many different backgrounds use ithlete's tools to plan and manage their training schedules to achieve their potential. What is HRV? we'll look at the science behind the technology, its use in sport and how ithlete was built a short demonstration of the smartphone application, dashboard and the custom finger-sensor to show HRV levels Building an effective UX strategy in a startup we'll show how the team developed ithlete to guide users through their first few uses, helping them reach their 'lightbulb moment', where the application feels like it can predict the future exploring the importance of data visualisation and how the layering of complex data can aid user engagement discussing the use of personal sensors with mobile apps and the challenges the team had to overcome to appeal to new users Working with users and experts to optimise the experience how expert user feedback has led to ongoing product development and new service lines tackling the age-old UX problem of making sure the dedicated core users still felt like they were being serviced, while the user base grew and demanded new features This session will be of value to you if you're interested in: cost-effective approaches a technology startup can use to ensure they are developing a user-centred application that meets real user needs tools, systems and design approaches that encourage habitual use data visualisation, data validity and the layering of complex data how to maintain a positive user experience when integrating with sensor technology

1. Sensors,
data visualisation
and habit
Simon Wegerif
Founder, HRV Fit ltd.
@myithlete / @SimonWegerif
Christopher Bush
Head of UX, Sigma
@wearesigma / @suthen

2. • What is HRV?
• Who cares about HRV (and why)?
• Our approach to UX and what we’ve learnt
• An overview of the app and its continued development
• Where next?
Agenda

3. What is HRV
Analysis?

4. What is HRV analysis?
• HRV is a medical measurement
• known about for a long time
• Sensor attached to body
• Originally performed using ECG
• Some models of HRM strap
• Pulse at finger tip
• Traditionally expensive & complex to perform

5. Cardiac rehab
Recovery after surgery
Auto immune conditions
Diabetics
Patients
Astronauts
Space Jumpers
F1 drivers
Endurance
Professionals
Who cares about HRV
Balancing training & recovery
Maximise performance
Keep healthy
Athletes
& sportspeople
Human factors
teams
Monitoring user
biometrics and behaviour
across different situations

6. Objective measure of overall health
Fast response to lifestyle changes (+ve and -ve)
Right timing & frequency of exercise
All of us really
Who cares about HRV

7. The timing of training is important
• Deliberately & repeatedly stress the body
• Force adaptation through super compensation
• Get stronger, faster, more efficient
• The magic happens during recovery
• Training = Workouts + Recovery
• If the balance between Workouts & Recovery is wrong, either:
• Under-train – improvement is slow or does not occur at all
• Over-train – improvement also does not occur !
• Overtraining = Under recovery

8. Introduction to:
ithlete
HRV

9. Our approach to UX
and what we’ve learnt

10. Improving the UX on a budget
Experienced
athletes,
researchers
& coaches
Casual
users
Magazine
reviews
Heuristic
review
App store
feedback
& forum
Where we’ve collected data

11. Improving the UX on a budget
Idea
generation &
paper
prototyping
Wider
consultation
& review
Feature
backlog
Design &
Development
Feasibility
study
What we did with it.

12. What we learnt:
ithlete
HRV
UI was very
technical
Learning
curve was
steep
Use of the
app was
habitual
It takes a
while to
build trust
in the data.
The first
HRV scan
of the day
is
important

13. How do we grow?
Crossing the Chasm (Moore G, 1991, r.2014)
The user adoption chasm

14. User experience isn’t just UI
The original sensor configuration

15. User experience isn’t just UI
The new sensor configuration
Why not
wireless?

16. The solution:
ithlete
HRV
What we
improved

17. The solution:
ithlete
HRV
Removed
clutter from
reading screen
Introduced
breathing disc

18. The solution:
ithlete
HRV
Introduced
the collection
of subjective
measures and
comments

19. The solution:
ithlete
HRV
Introduced
a
dashboard
for
personal
analysis

20. The solution:
ithlete
HRV
Establish value
by letting
users correlate
their HRV with
subjective
indicators

21. Ithlete HRV:
Demo

22. What we learnt:
ithlete
HRV
The UI & flow
improved
users
perception of
the app
Apps are
great for
input &
‘I need it
now’
information
Opportunity
to refine &
improve
subjective
scale
Planning
activities
tended to
happen off
device

23. Extending the
experience:
ithlete pro

24. User feedback
Keeps user
data safe
&
portable
User
desire to
interact
with their
data
And..

25. User feedback Training
support and
guidance
Improved user
insight
through
complementar
y visualisation

26. Where next?

27. Where next?
Challenges
• How do we engage with mainstream consumers?
• User expectations are becoming more reliant on mobile devices
• Which features should be free or chargeable (subscriptions)?
• Users expect seamless integration between mobile app and
services
• Improving (anonymised) big data to provide more personal
guidance
• Whether or not to integrate with other health services
• Be a specialist tool
• Share data into other health hubs

28. Thank you
Any questions