More than step count: designing a workplace-based activity tracking system

Abstract

The ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach used in current activity tracking devices such as FitBit, Jawbone, and smartwatches may not be enough to encourage healthier behaviour patterns in people, as much more considerate design is required to create meaningful experiences. This paper focuses on designing an activity tracking system that can be used in a workplace setting. We apply a grounded approach, where we aim to understand employee’s perceptions of physical activities at workplaces and the role an activity tracker can play in supporting that. We describe a three-phase design process, which involves (1) interviewing employees who participated in a large-scale employer-sponsored health and wellness programme, (2) two participatory design workshops that aimed at understanding the role of activity tracking in workplace contexts and generating ideas for activity tracking applications, and (3) studying the use of the resulting design prototype—QUTgo—as a ‘technology probe’ to gather insights into the potential of physical activity tracking in workplaces. This paper contributes to the emerging repoirtoire of studies on activity tracking by providing a user-centric perspective on how to design an engaging activity tracking system that takes into account employees’ perspectives and experiences and the dynamics of specific work settings.