JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Regular physical activity (PA) is known to offer substantial health benefits including improved physical fitness, reduced risk of disease, enhanced psychological well-being, and better cognitive performance. Despite these benefits, university students often do not meet recommended PA levels, which can lead to long-lasting negative health impacts.

Objective:

In this study the user experience (UX) of the futur.move service was evaluated, a digital intervention designed to promote PA among university students. The service integrates personalized and evidence-based content to encourage sustained PA engagement.

Methods:

A mixed methods approach was employed. The UX of the futur.move prototype was assessed using on-site and online user tests, standardized questionnaires, and online focus groups. Participants included 142 students from various faculties of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HAWK). For the quantitative evaluation the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) was utilized while qualitative insights were gathered from focus groups.

Results:

The quantitative analysis yielded positive UX ratings across four scales: Attractiveness (mean = 1.55), Perspicuity (mean = 1.28), Stimulation (mean = 1.37), and Novelty (mean = 1.27), indicating an overall good UX. Individual features such as ‘Physical Activity Inspirations’ and ‘Physical Activity Groups’ were highly rated by participants, with 90 % and 86 % giving them a positive score, respectively. However, features like manual data entry received more critical feedback. The qualitative analysis substantiated these findings, revealing that students appreciated the service's personalized and diverse PA content, as well as its social networking opportunities.

Conclusions:

The study demonstrates that futur.move has a favorable UX and is well-received by students. The service’s design aligns with user needs and preferences, particularly its personalized content and social features. However, areas for improvement include reducing manual data entry and enhancing the clarity of some features. These findings will inform the next phase of service development, including coding of an advanced prototype and longitudinal evaluation to examine its impact on PA behavior and user engagement over time.