REI Mountain Project

The Challenge:

IoS App for mobile - 2 Week Sprint

REI wants to be the #1 brand in the eyes of climbers. This project focuses on redesigning Mountain Project to be useful and intuitive by improving the workflow and applying the user needs. The application needs to include REI brand standards.

Solution

"Digitalized Guidebook"

The rock climbing community counts on reliable, useful information as well as a platform where they can communicate to form trust in order to have a successful and safe climbing experience . 18 out of 20 of our users relied on printed guidebooks for information before and during their climb and Mountain Project's website to find advice from the experts. In our solution we made sure to cater to experienced climbers while also considering a novice climbers needs. Through our research and strategy we identified three features to assist our users.

Filter feature • Find the right climb for you • Beginner Climber

"Researching and trying to find the right climb for me can be difficult because I've only climbed in gyms"

Route Detail Page • Preparation, Up-to-date Information • Expert Climber/Beginner

“I never know what condition the rock is in, the route could have changed due to natural causes so I really rely on constant communication within the rock climbing community.”

Climb Page • Location services/Downloadable map •  Beginner/Expert Climber

Tools:

My Role: UI Design lead

This project was completed with 2 other UX designers. My role was to create the User Interface, structure of the application and maintain brand standards. I lead design studios and created mid to high fidelity mockups and the clickable prototype, while assisting with user research and usability testing.

User interviews, Google Surveys, Competitive Analysis, Contextual Inquiry, Affinity Mapping, Personas, Design Studio, Clickable Prototyping, Usability Testing

Data & Insight

• 95% percent of our users said they use The REI Mountain Project at some point during their rock climbing experience. 88% vocalized the importance of location services when it comes to rock climbing 

• Guidebooks are a vital resource for the rock climbing community to   gain knowledge and ensure a safe, successful climb.

• Planning and preparing for a climb is vital to the climbing process to ensure safety. Mentorship within the rock climbing is common. 

• Understanding the rock climbing culture, vocabulary and gear is important in order to understand our users goals and make an effective app that speaks their language.

"I usually find myself taking pictures of the guidebook so I can refer back to it once I get out there"

USER RESEARCH

We went to REI and Wilderness Exchange to conduct interviews and contextual inquiry. We spoke to four rock climbers, from beginner to advanced to understand their climbing habits/process. We also conducted a Google survey that received roughly 30 responses, which helped us gather qualitative and quantitative data that later impacted our design decisions and solution.

REI Mountain Project Downfalls

• Flawed search function                    
• Limited UI
• Difficult to navigate
• No live map feature 

Research Takeaways:

Our initial hypothesis of a Gamification feature was proven wrong by the feedback on our surveys.

IDEATING

Through Affinity Diagramming, we defined the main pain points and themes, then paired them with potential features ideas based on our research.  

Here's what we discovered

1. Routes with User Feedback was a common theme among climbers. Being able to see what the current state of the route, parking and other details are important
2. Location Services/Offline maps are also crucial for climbers, because they aren't always able to access cellular service.
3. Preparedness could make or break a climbing experience.

Cam's Solution

Through journey mapping Cam’s entire rock climbing process from beginning to end, we were able to pinpoint his areas of frustration which generally occurred in the preparation stage

Cam needs a new comments feature that will allow him to select specific routes of a climb and receive detailed information and real time feedback in order to prepare for his climb. We also needed to make sure Cam could download all of this information incase he does not have service in the backcountry.

“There's nothing worse than showing up to a climb after a four hour drive with the wrong gear” - Cam

CREATE

After defining our ideas, its time sketch! We used Design Studio method to generate timed iterations of early sketches for each of our features concepts. After several rounds, we decided as a group which designs we liked the best and constructed a paper prototype.

We conducted three rounds of usability testing, iterating between each round. I created the designs in Sketch and used InVision to create the clickable prototype.

Filter Search Page

        What we learned:

• Replaced slider with buttons: Changed the functionality of the slider to buttons because 100% of users struggled with our original slider design

• Help Option Icon: Changed the functionality of the slider to buttons because 100% of users struggled with our original slider design

• New Filter Added: Its important for the climbers to know how long it will take to get to the crag