Role
User research, usability testing, task analysis, wireframing, prototyping

Team
3 UX designers

Tools
Sketch, Figma

Timeline
4 weeks

 

 

Big Growth Plans
Tumbles is a rapidly-expanding children’s fitness franchise molding the minds and bodies of the future through a hybrid STEM-meets-fitness curriculum. Tumbles offers curated classes for children four months to thirteen years old centered around age-appropriate childhood growth and development milestones. The company currently maintains eight franchise locations operating across the United States, and boasts ambitious plans to expand domestically and internationally over the next five years. At the moment, the company’s operations are heavily reliant on a handful of loyal and charismatic employees who interact with customers in the brick-and-mortar facilities, but Tumbles is building out their digital ecosystems to support their plans for rapid growth. In order for the company to meet its business goals, it is critical that their locations’ websites provide both new and returning customers a clear and seamless path to enrollment in Tumbles’ programs. We were tasked with redesigning the enrollment experience on the mobile website – since mobile use accounts for 80% of website traffic – in order to increase customer conversion. As such, our primary and secondary target demographics were new and returning customers, respectively.

Multifaceted Research Strategy
We conducted a tripartite initial research campaign to gather insights and data which informed our approach to the project and later guided our decision-making process. First, we interviewed six existing children’s gym customers to learn which factors influence caregivers choosing an extracurricular program for their children. In parallel, we interviewed five Tumbles franchise owners and operators to learn more about the strategies they employ to build and maintain a loyal customer base and how the existing website currently fits into their business model. Next, we conducted an open and unmoderated card-sort exercise with nine participants to test the information architecture of the existing site. Finally, we put the existing website through a round of usability testing with four potential customers. We learned the following:

^{User and Employee Interviews}
Website use issues surfaced on both sides of the equation: Tumbles customers were enrolling and paying for classes in person or over the phone because they found it more convenient than going through the online booking process. Additionally, Tumbles employees were actively encouraging customers to go through their staff rather than use the website to preempt having to troubleshoot or correct errors arising from the confusing online enrollment mechanism.

^{Testing the Information Architecture}
Card-sort participants created categories that closely mimicked those on the extant website, suggesting that its information architecture held up to users’ expectations. To interrogate the heart of the existing website issues further, we undertook finer-grained analyses through usability testing. 

 
^{Usability Testing}
Usability testing revealed where the most egregious usability violations occurred and what frustrated customers the most about using the existing website to enroll in classes. Participants assigned a number score assessing the difficulty of each task completed. We also logged data by error type, location, frequency, and criticality, and applied a basic ranking algorithm to sort the violations by severity.
 

 

^{Task Difficulty (most difficult = 5)}

^{︎Signing up for a class, 4.8}

^{︎Finding a class, 2.9}

^{︎Enrolling in a free trial, 2.4}

^{︎Paying for class, 2}

^{︎Booking a party, 2}

Testing revealed three major problems:

1. There was no clear path to signing up for a free trial whatsoever.
   
2. The information required to make an informed purchase decision (i.e. time, price, curriculum information) was scattered throughout the site’s pages.
   
3. The sign-up flow was not living up to users’ expectations based on familiar scheduling and e-commerce patterns. 

 

Ideating Solutions
It was alarming how heavily the most important avenue of customer conversion – the free trial – was impacted by poor usability. In response to the problem, we developed three concepts for a new free trial flow, addressing the need for a streamlined sign-up process from landing on the Tumbles home screen through to the confirmation of a trial class.
 

Concept 2 – the educational concept – tested best among our seven concept testers. It got parents excited about the classes and disclosed information about how the classes would ultimately benefit the child and the skills they would learn in that context, which made these caregivers feel like they were making a confident, informed decision for their children. Concept 1 – the streamlined flow – also tested well, and certain aesthetic elements from this concept were pulled out and combined with Concept 2 in the creation of an initial prototype developing the concepts further.
 

The initial prototype condensed information which had previously been scattered into a more coherent sign-up flow. However, usability testing revealed that our seven testers were still struggling to complete enrollments. The flow was not as clear and resolved as we had hoped for, and although there were improvements from the existing mobile site, we saw opportunities for further changes and pivoted into developing an alternative flow for our final prototype. 

While the initial prototype had a similar flow and problems to the existing website, the final redesign took an entirely new approach. The final prototype took key decision factors and grouped them on a single page, accessible from anywhere on the website via a sticky top navigation banner visible to customers who have not yet redeemed a free trial at Tumbles. By grouping the steps and placing a prominent CTA on every page of the website, we gave customers a clear path and guided them through it.
  

Our final prototype guides parents through a streamlined process getting a free trial at their local facility by grouping critical decision points and relevant information onto a single website page. It strikes a right balance of information and efficiency, so the parent can feel confident they are making a positive and informed decision, investing in their children’s future.


The improved free-trial enrollment flow was also adapted into a new enrollment flow for returning customers. Since returning customers know which class their child takes, the process begins on the page for that class, but similarly groups important decision points such as payment plan and class time onto one website page.
 

 

Outcomes
Usability testing the final prototype confirmed that our final prototype resolved the remaining challenges users felt while signing up for free trials and enrolling in classes at Tumbles. The client was thrilled with the final prototype. It mimicked the brick-and-mortar guiding experience the company is known for among its patrons while extolling the benefits of Tumbles’ unique curriculum. These changes will be implemented over the next year as the company continues to build out its digital footprint and open new franchises. 

^{Task Difficulty (most difficult = 5)}

^{︎Enrolling in a free trial, 1}

^{︎Signing up for a class, 1.7}