Projects
Vhi Parkrun
User Research
UX
UI
Created for Vhi at Graphite Digital
Leading Irish health insurance provider Vhi partnered with parkrun to reward users for being active and participating in parkrun events, which are weekly group 5k runs/walks. Our task was to help define what the new program could look like, validate whether users would be motivated by a rewards program, and determine what other features we could introduce in the future. My role in this project was to work with the client and engineering on defining the requirements and then lead the UX and UI implementation.
Business goals
Vhi's mission is to help their customers "lead better, healthier, happier lives". As a health insurer, they want not only to help their customers get the medical treatments required, but also assist with preventative care, so it's a win-win situation for both the company and their customers. The feature was seen as an experiment and a potential first step towards that goal.
Undestanding user needs and pain points
First, we conducted a user research study to find out about user needs, pain points and motivations. We wanted to uncover what drove them to stay active and healthy, and then narrowed it down to running and parkrun, to see how that fit into their overall health and wellness journey. Since Vhi wanted to reward parkrun users for staying active, we also tried to understand if that was something users were going to be interested in and motivated by.
The research revealed a few interesting findings. When participating in parkruns, most users were motivated by the sense of community and belonging in gave them. That sense of belonging was the absolute main motivator, above any gifts or rewards. However, participants also mentioned that if they were offered higher-end, quality items they'd have to complete multiple parkruns for, it would motivate them a lot more than smaller, instant gratification types of items.
Design sprint
Once we had gathered the user insights, we kicked off the design process by doing a 5 day design sprint with the client. The sprint ensured that there was a space for everyone to provide insights and considerations, exchange ideas and get onto the same page. After the first three days, we had our concepts defined, with a few potential journeys and functionalities. We then went away and prototyped them, to test with active Vhi users.
Designing the MVP
There were three ideas that we tested: swapping physical rewards for digital options, setting goals and receiving badges for achievements. All those options were well received, but due to limitations in time and resources, only digital rewards made it into the MVP.
Thanks to the rewards system, users would be getting a €5 voucher from a list of selected partners for every 5 runs they complete. They'd also be able to track their history, including parkrun locations they participated in, and their running times.
Post launch
The new Vhi and parkrun rewards partnership was launched in January 2020. The feedback was really positive, and users felt that the new rewards system helped contribute towards their motivation to participate in parkruns.
In the first three months, 62% of app users with linked accounts completed at least one run using the app. 57% saved digital rewards towards a bigger item to redeem as the user research had initially suggested.
The rate of feature adoption suggested that users were looking for ways to improve their health and take a more active role in managing it. That unlocked additional budget for adding more features addressing preventative care to the app.