The problem
Lots of features and no clear centre. After onboarding, people couldn't say what the app was for. Booking took too many steps, and the social features, the whole point of the brand, were tucked away.
Case study · Tabatwo, fitness app startup
Helping a fitness app startup find its direction
Tabatwo is a startup building a fitness app for iOS and Android, for training with friends. The app had live classes, custom workouts, instructor bookings and a social feed, and the team needed to decide which of those mattered most. I tested the app with users to help them choose.
At a glance
What I did
Mapped the journeys that mattered most, ran five moderated think-aloud sessions across eight areas of the app, then ranked what we found by impact, frequency and risk to trust.
What changed
A short, ranked backlog, success criteria everyone agreed on, and a clear direction for the team at an important point in the build.
“She ran comprehensive user testing, identified actionable improvements, and worked collaboratively with our development team to ensure designs were technically feasible. Andrea also helped us clarify fundamental product concepts that became central to our platform's direction.”
What we put in front of people
How the work ran
- FrameThe brief was “improve the app”. First I sat down with the founders and wrote one sentence about what Tabatwo is for: training with people you know, easily. We used that sentence to decide priorities later on.
- MapI mapped the journeys that mattered most: onboarding, booking an instructor and starting a workout. This showed problems early: three overlapping ways to book and two ways to search.
- TestFive moderated think-aloud sessions of 60 to 90 minutes, with people aged 21 to 68, across eight areas of the app.
- RankI grouped the findings into themes and ranked them by impact, how often they came up, and risk to trust. The team got a short list of what to fix first.
- Hand overWe agreed what “fixed” would look like: understand the app in 30 seconds, book in under three taps. The handover was a working session with product and engineering.
What testing found
Onboarding
High impactWhat 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 screen
High impactWhat 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”
Custom session
High impactWhat 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
Payment
High impactWhat 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
Friends & community
High impactWhat 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
Navigation
MediumWhat 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
Booking an instructor
MediumWhat 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
Calendar
MediumWhat 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
How it was ranked
High impactMedium
What to fix first
- 01
Decide what the app is for
Instructors, or friends and online workouts? Pick one and make that flow great. Until that was decided, other decisions were hard to make.
- 02
Guide the first two minutes
Confusion in onboarding cost trust and motivation before the app had a chance to show what it does.
- 03
Book in three taps
Book, pick a time, confirm. Put “Book now” at the top, and let people invite friends earlier.
- 04
Put friends at the centre
Training with friends is the heart of the brand, and it was the most hidden part of the app.
What success looks like
- 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