FIT Happy Hour: Evaluating the Usability of an Eight-Week Online Asynchronous Fitness Program

FIT Happy Hour, a company co-founded by the researcher, was established to address the need for increased quality and quantity of movement for the target population of women over 30. The company established and retained a core group of members for in-person high intensity interval training group classes, and the success was based on a foundation of community and camaraderie. For this project, an original eight-week, online asynchronous fitness program was created to support and expand the community while retaining the camaraderie. The purpose of this usability study was to evaluate the learnability, effectiveness, and satisfaction of the website. The intention was to generate a program that would appeal and be utilized by the target population.

The researcher designed the website using WordPress and incorporated instructional design principles to heighten continuity, order, and learnability. Original video-guided workout videos were created and streamed through YouTube on the content-protected website. Three rounds of usability testing were conducted using a total of 10 participants. Based on the participant feedback and task completion, revisions were made based on the recommendations and implications generated from each round. Data supported how usability studies can improve user satisfaction, content learnability, and overall effectiveness as intended. With the improvements, it is hoped that the website fitness program will support the target population to improve their movement quality and help them experience greater levels of health and connectivity to others with the same goals. This session will discuss website development as well as study results and website modifications.