Precor, the company that invented elliptical trainers, had a vision for the next generation of their cardio fitness line, which also included treadmills, stationary bikes and climbers.

Besides a complete revision of the industrial design, they planned to update the console and integrate an optional LCD touch screen console with controls for the machine, entertainment options, workout tracking and other features yet to be defined.

I was first brought on board to help validate the desirability and usability of an as-yet undefined set of potential features for the 17” touch screen console. I was tasked with identifying possible features, then, with the help of a Flash Developer, I designed a prototype of the on-screen console and conducted user research to validate the viability and user interest in those features. Read more…

After having helped validate potential features for a proposed touch screen console, I was asked to come work with the Product Management, Engineering and Industrial Design team to define the full set of features and requirements for both consoles for entire product family, for all market areas and product tiers.

Lastly, I was asked to conduct a heuristic evaluation of a proposed web-based workout tracking application that would be integrated with the new line.