@AlessFitbit wrote:
Hi everyone!
Thanks for posting some feedback on the new Fitbit app dashboard design. We're excited to be testing this out and appreciate any constructive feedback on the new look.
At this time, if you weren't invited to test the new dashboard you won't be able to manually opt-in. If you've already accepted the invite for the new dashboard, you can't revert to the previous design.
We'll let you know of any new information when more updates become available.
Well, actually I found that I was able to switch back, by going into my account settings (the little filing card/ID icon at the top) and choosing "revert to old format" or something like that down at the bottom. I have reverted to the old layout.
Apparently not everyone has (or found) that option, but I was going to say thank you for including it. I guess it wasn't intended, but whoever did put it in, please thank them and give them a raise. Because that is how you should run a beta of a new experience--give real customers a non-binding chance to try it out and give feedback, not come up with something within your closed little group and then roll it out with "here it is and you're stuck with it". I guess y'all did something right, even if it was by accident.
And for the love of all that's holy, listen to your customers and the feedback, particularly when it affects functionality and usability. Don't be those software people that break important functionality and dismiss it with "but it's all shiny and pretty!". The goat-rope that was the redesigned online dashboard is an example; change for better visuals is fine but make sure you didn't break anything or take functionality away in the process.
That process has to involve your real end users. If I learned nothing else from 8 years in R&D engineering, it's that no matter how great and perfect you think your design is, and no matter how thoroughly you think you've tested something internally, the moment your first real-world customers get hold of something they'll find all kinds of new and interesting ways to break your product and come up with all kinds of issues you never even thought about. Sometimes it's because your customers do things differently than you think they do (and since your general customer base vastly outnumbers your developer group and even your focus groups, it's almost certain you haven't thought of all the ways). Sometimes it's because you just plain missed something and were blind to it, for the same reason it's hard to proofread and edit your own stuff (you see what you intend to be there, rather than what is there).
For example, I just had a conversation the other day about the new documentation system we use for our products. That system was recently updated and it entirely broke the search functionality (which never really worked well to begin with). Apparently someone finally complained to the right person... but the response was "why would you ever need to do a search?" And that is the number one feature all of us who actually use those manuals want and need!
Point is, Fitbit, when you go to push something like this out, don't consider it a "nearly-complete, here's what you're going to get, we'll just fix any remaining bugs" release candidate. Consider it a rough draft beta that hasn't been through the editor yet. Be prepared for a lot of critical feedback.
Anyway, feedback on the new beta...
- Biggest point is that the icons for each goal (hours with 250+ steps, sleep, food, and so on) are largely useless now--or at least, really dumbed-down. The sleep icon, for example, used to show an arc with the various sleep stage colors throughout it. Now all that shows up is a plain, uninformative icon that seems to only show whether you hit the goal or not. The hourly activity icon doesn't appear to correlate easily with time throughout the day any more. The calories remaining icon is less intuitive, though I guess not really uninformative per se.
- Next, due to things like challenge status and other stuff getting put at the top, the important stuff I want to see--calories remaining, for example--gets shoved down the list and now I have to scroll down to see the stuff I used to see right off the bat.
- All of the icons now look similar enough that I have to study them and really look to see what's on that line, instead of being able to easily determine it even at a glance.
- With the core stats--steps, calories burned, etc.--they now all bias left. The primary one sits to the left instead of centered, and removing others from view (like floors, because it's inaccurate) doesn't cause the rest to distribute evenly across the screen.
- I do like that the core stats take up less overall room on the screen, however.
- I like that challenge status can now be included on the dashboard instead of having to dig for it.
Again, appreciate the chance to provide feeback on (what was for me, at least) a non-binding beta test. I just really want to implore to the Fitbit developers...
Don't break functionality for the sake of visual appearance! Look at functional improvements before cosmetic ones!
In other words, if you're going to make improvements, concentrate on things that make a usable difference first--e.g., fix some bugs, add things like macros in grams to the food tracker, etc. Fix your food database. No, these things aren't glorious and pretty and new shiny. But they're things your customers have been asking for because those are features and functions that really matter to them and help make their lives better.
Thank you.
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