The problem
Broad functionality, no centre of gravity. Users couldn't state the value proposition after onboarding, booking took too many steps, and the social features, the actual brand promise, sat off to one side.
Case study · Tabatwo
Everything, and in need of direction.
Tabatwo could host live classes, custom sessions, instructor bookings and a social feed. The opportunity was to decide which of those was the product. My job was to help the team choose, and to make the choice defensible.
At a glance
If you read nothing else · 40 seconds
What I did
Mapped the high-value journeys, ran five moderated think-aloud sessions across eight product areas, then themed and ranked the findings by impact, frequency and risk to trust.
What changed
A ranked backlog instead of a list of forty observations, agreed success criteria, and a product direction the team could defend to itself during a pivotal build phase.
What we put in front of people
Eight areas, five sessions
How the work ran
Select a step
01 · Frame
The brief arrived as “improve the app”. Before touching a screen I worked with the founders to write down what Tabatwo was for: training with people you know, conveniently. Everything else was supporting cast. That one sentence became the tiebreaker for every later prioritisation call.
What testing found
Eight areas · open one to read the detail
OnboardingHigh impact+
What we saw
- Payment details were requested before users understood what the app offers
- Confusion between “fitness level” and “activity level”
- Concerns about being asked age, weight and gender
- OTP took longer than ten seconds
Recommended
- Collect only what you will use, and later
- Reorder the goals; move “Skip” to the top right
- Explain why each question is asked
Home screenHigh impact+
What we saw
- No clear call to action, and no personalised content
- Users wanted a guiding hand on first open
Recommended
- Decide the single main CTA
- Add a “Let’s get started” prompt for first-time users
- Rename “Bookmarks” to “Saved”
NavigationMedium+
What we saw
- Back button sometimes returned home, risking lost progress
- Search was hard to find
- “+” sat where the profile icon was expected
Recommended
- One consistent position for search and profile
- Unified search defaulting to “All”
- Review the main menu
Custom sessionHigh impact+
What we saw
- Only one of five users managed to play a saved session
- Users had to calculate session length themselves
- Too little distinction between work and rest screens
- Playback issues caused real demotivation
Recommended
- Add a play button for saved sessions
- Audio guidance and a beginner overview up front
- Clear visual difference between active and rest
Booking an instructorMedium+
What we saw
- All five booked successfully, but “Book this instructor” sat at the very bottom
- “Book slot”, “request slot” and “custom request” were confused
- Friends could only be invited after booking
Recommended
- Move “Book now” to the top
- Three steps or fewer
- Invite friends earlier in the flow
PaymentHigh impact+
What we saw
- Unclear what was free and what was paid
- Uncertainty over whether invited friends pay too
- The Apple payment disclaimer read as untrustworthy
Recommended
- State up front that the app is free unless booking an instructor
- Move payment details to profile settings
CalendarMedium+
What we saw
- Time scrolling moved minute by minute
- No week view
- Weeks starting on Sunday caused friction
Recommended
- Scroll in fifteen-minute intervals
- Add a month/week toggle
Friends & communityHigh impact+
What we saw
- “My friends” and “Community” overlapped
- No way to preview a profile before adding
- Posting felt like a less intuitive Instagram; messaging was preferred
Recommended
- Invite a friend during booking, not after
- Reconsider feed-style sharing versus group chats
- Let instructors be followed
How it was ranked
Impact against frequency
High impactMedium
What to fix first
- Decide the main offering, instructors or friends and online workouts, then perfect that flow.Everything downstream was ambiguous because this wasn't settled.
- Guide the first two minutes.Confusion during onboarding cost trust and motivation before the product had a chance.
- Book → select time → confirm.Three steps or fewer, with “Book now” at the top and friends invited earlier.
- Pull the social features into the core.The social proposition is central to the brand and was the least leveraged part of the product.
5Users tested, aged 21–68
8Product areas assessed and ranked
60–90Minutes per moderated session
4Priorities handed over, in order
What success looks like
Agreed with product and engineering
- Users understand the app within 30 seconds
- The home screen guides you to a first action
- Booking takes fewer than three taps
- Workouts run reliably, without friction
- Social features feel integrated, not hidden
- Beginners feel supported and included
“She ran comprehensive user testing, identified actionable improvements, and worked collaboratively with our development team to ensure designs were technically feasible. She approaches design work methodically, focusing on user flows and requirements before diving into visual polish.”