Hammerhead Karoo Data Screens
Role: UX Designer & Researcher
Technology: Android OS
Duration: 6 Months
Team: Design Team, VP of Product, Software Engineering Manager, Full-stack Development Team
Hammerhead produces the Karoo, the most advanced cycling computer on the market. It is an Android-based cycling computer designed by an in-house industrial design hardware team. The Karoo provides best-in-class cycling-specific navigation, beautiful data visualizations in real-time while you ride, and a dynamic & fully customizable UI.
The Challenge
About two years into my tenure at Hammerhead, we were beginning to increase the size of our Design and Product teams to prepare for a new hardware device. This new device, the Karoo 2, is not just an upgrade but a complete reimagining of what a Karoo device and experience could be.
Our Industrial Design team, in close collaboration with our trusted manufacturing partners, embarked on a journey to enhance the Karoo hardware. They meticulously compiled usage data and industry feedback, identifying key areas for improvement in the new Karoo hardware. Together, our broader design team decided to augment the number of physical buttons, align the screen resolution and dimensions with our competitors, introduce a speaker/beeper, and incorporate additional connectivity options (redesigned SIM, USB-C, new Bluetooth antenna, etc.).
These changes opened up a world of possibilities for our design and product development. The new screen resolution, the integration of a touchscreen and additional hardware buttons, and the addition of a beeper/speaker all present exciting opportunities for us.
As part of this broad UX rethinking, we started by reimagining the ideal in-ride Karoo experience. This experience includes our mapping functionality as well as our data screen pages.
Research & Analysis
We began our research phase for the In-Ride Karoo 2 experience with the addition of two new designers to the team. One of the new designers would solely focus on the end-to-end redesign of the Karoo UX, of which I was focused on simplifying the in-ride experience options (map screens and data screen pages) available on the Karoo.
Our team had been diligent in gathering a comprehensive range of data and feedback. We tapped into the insights of our customer experience team, sought the expertise of industry professionals, consulted with senior Hammerhead management, analyzed existing Karoo usage data, and conducted in-person Karoo user testing at our NYC office.
I focused on trimming our in-ride experience options, driven primarily by our in-person user feedback sessions and our existing Karoo usage data. I compared the feedback from the two sources to hypothesize the ideal options we should focus on.
For our data analysis, I utilized Tableau to visualize our existing Karoo data. This allowed me to compare the number of data points shown on a given screen and the profiles (idealized set of screens for rider usage type - ie gravel, no sensors etc.) against sensor usage. This comparison was crucial as it revealed that some data points displayed on a given screen require data points from a compatible ride sensor paired with the Karoo. For instance, to display a data point of heart rate, a heart rate sensor paired with the Karoo is needed to sync the data live for display.
Outcomes
Regrettably, the Covid pandemic struck during the Karoo 2 buildout, leading to a significant downsizing of our team. This challenging period saw me being laid off from the company.
Before my departure from Hammerhead, I had the opportunity to present my research findings on what we were now referring to as the 'Map Cards' and 'Data Cards' for the in-ride screen options. The positive feedback from our new users and previously highly engaged users was a clear indication of the value of these options. This optimism and confidence, driven by the impact of our work, led us to select these as the final options for the Karoo 2.
Key Learnings
It was a unique challenge to onboard two new designers who were relatively new to cycling into the Karoo experience. Then, once they were more familiar, we decided as a team to completely reinvent what we had done due to this new hardware. Luckily, we had a lot of usage data from the first Karoo device to draw upon. We were also in a unique situation where our developers were cyclists, and we paired this with what I would refer to as the most engaged user base I have ever worked with as a designer. The active participation and feedback from our user base played a crucial role in the success of the new Karoo 2 experience. Having multiple external and internal avenues to test our hypothesis was critical to the success of this new Karoo 2 experience.
