A question regarding the vision behind the App/Dashboard development.

[TomasMG]

Hi, 

This question kind of goes out to the developers behind the Fitbit app and dashboard.

Reading the recently placed posts regarding the Fitbit Dashboard I constantly see a tug of war going on between the "customers wish" for more customization and the way the app is being developed by Fitbit as of now.

Personally, I am really curious on what your ideas are behind the new dashboard.

1. Why have you decided on making the "Steps/distance/active minutes/calories" the most important (top) goal for everyone, no matter their personal goal?
   Personally the data I want to focus the most on are 'sleep' and 'Hourly activity'. Having the huge steps in a fixed giant pool of white is therefore not my ideal. Is there some research or theory behind this placement that for instance showed that this view improved the users step count the most? or has this been chosen on only a graphical standpoint? I'd be interested in hearing.
2. What are your opinions on user customization? and where does this fit into the development of the app and dashboard?
   Personally, it bugs me that I do not have the option to actually edit the things I'd like edited (that to me - as a non-software developer seem quite trivial and easy to implement, I however can be mistaken)..
   To take the example of the Quick-add function of the water bottles... Being able to edit the amounts of water in a quick-add seems like a really logical thing you should be able to do. 

These hardcoded, unchangeable things feel clunky and weird... and especially since Fitbit is a world leader in the activity tracker world, it surprises me that (as far as I can see) little attention is given to the insane amount of different needs, personalities, wishes, working styles etc. that reside in this world.

Some people get motivated by sparkly colors, some people like tiles, some like horizontal bars.. Others love pie charts, excel sheets and dusty books about math (yeah.. they excist)....

Why not give them the option to have a horizontal bar? or a tile? or both! and have them place it wherever they want, in a way that feels good to them?

Compare it to a house you move into to. If all you can do is rearrange the existing furniture, you'll have a hard time feeling at home... When you are allowed to add some other colors to the wall, replace some of the furniture you can make it really feel like 'your' home... (Hence -> Customization can improve the way we value our Fitbit-experience).

On an ending note... A lot of the things you have added is absolutely great and I couldn't be happier with my flex2. In my eyes, the only thing that bothers me is the user customization of the app/ notifications and the dashboard views.  Fix this to a point that goes just a tad beyond only replacing or removing furniture... And you've got yourself another customer for a lifetime.  

Thanks for reading,

T.

Moderator edit: Format. 

[AnnieFitbit]

Hi there @TomasMG! Thank you for joining us in the Community! 

First, I'd like to thank you for your feedback in regards the redesign of the app dashboard. Feedback from our users is very important because it helps us improve our services, so I'll make sure to pass it along! 

I'd like to mention that, since steps, distance, calories and active minutes recorded by the tracker is what helps the app to determine other feature's information, that is why they are primary in the app. 

Also, as a friendly tip, if you have any suggestions you'd like to share in regards app or tracker's features, you can go ahead and post them in our Feature Suggestion board. You can also vote and comment for other user's ideas! 

I'll be around in case you need anything else. See you around!