CASE STUDY
PhysiApp Onboarding - Case Study
PhysiApp is a tool for physiotherapists to help create customised home exercise programs for their patients including exercise videos, pain tracking, and progress monitoring.
I really like the goal of the app so I wanted to have a look on the onboarding.
Onboarding of the PhysiApp
This is how onboarding of PhysiApp works now. I chose „Try demo” so it might miss few steps from the real onboarding. Nevertheless, for the purpose of this case study I am gonna use screens that I went through below.
Alright, let’s see.. I bump right into screen with programme code. I don’t have any programme code, so I will just try out the demo.
It’s nice to see legal codes for reliability though.
Yeah, sure, I accept. Althought even if I click Terms of Service or Privacy Policy it seems pretty small..
Didn’t expect that. It’s quite weird to ask for notifications already before even seeing the app. 🤔
👌It would be a solid improvement to ask for setting reminders after first exercises, as a part of reciprocity rule in psychology (if you want to get permissions, offer a value before).
Also there are few better solutions than a long list of possible times for reminders…
Hick’s UX Law: The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices.
If there are only pounds and kilograms as an option (not that I was expecting more options), do we really need a separate popup for it? 🤔
👌We could just use a switcher between lbs and kg for simplicity.
After few seconds of loading (which could be used for personalized experience) we get to the main screen with bunch of exercises and a big modal.
Seems a bit overwhelming though…
So, how can we do better?
Let’s analyze what we’ve got
- 👍 PhysiApp is offering demo account before you have to pay, it’s a great plus and bow towards a customer
- 👍 Right on the start it’s building the trust with Programme Code as a first option
- 🧠 Log in screen could be simplified and make diving deeper more exciting
- 🧠 During onboarding I miss personalized experience, where I can specify my role as a physio or a patient
- 🧠 I was asked for setting up notifications too soon, before I even used the app (Reciprocity Effect).
- 🧠 Settings screen was unnecessarily complex which increased cognitive load and decision’s making time (Hick’s Law)
- 🧠 I missed Why Before How – a principle in onboarding to explain why I should use the app (benefits and values) before getting know how to use it.
- 🧠 Home screen misses Goal Gradient – allowing the user to complete a simple task early on makes the app feel approachable and reinforces commitment.
After changes
1. Social proof & Simplicity
Let the user know your why before how. Give the good impression and your mission before diving into the app.
Also, keep it simple for customers that are only interested in demo, leave the form behind the button (Hick’s Law)
2. Personalized content
Application will work different for the physios and the patients. Let the user choose from which perspective they want to explore the app.
This is also a great opportunity to advertise specific features for the type of the customer.
3. Simplified onboarding to get customers up to speed
At this point you don’t need exercise reminders. You can ask simple questions for better personalisation instead, so the patient can feel it’s for them.
Psychology Endowment Effect:
Users value something more if they feel it’s theirs.
4. Make the waiting pleasant
Setting up a dashboard can take a while.
Instead of leaving customer alone risking losing them, show benefits, get their trust, show your value.
5. Help them complete first task for Goal Gradient
Quick task should be simple and easy to find and complete.
This will help the user feel your product, getting know how in a guided way, and leaving them with a positive experience after completing the first exercise.
Summary
There are few simple rules while designing an onboarding flow. With this project I tried to summarize best practices to keep it simple, yet effective.
I maintained PhysiTrack basic components like colors, icons and fonts, expanding with components such calendars, graphs etc.
Before and after results
Thanks for reading!
If you have any comments, suggestions, or look for UX project, feel free to reach me out!