I served as the UX Lead for a fitness studio seeking to improve its cycling class reservation experience. Members struggled to locate the reservation feature across multiple portals, and the system lacked support for selecting specific bikes.
This case study focuses on designing a mobile-first reservation flow that consolidated the experience into a single entry point and significantly reduced user friction.
Process: Discovery sessions, current-state assessment, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing, and cross-team collaboration.
Challenge
Club Woodside needed a modern way for members to reserve specific bikes for cycling classes and view their performance metrics. At the time:
• The reservation feature technically existed, but was buried deep inside the member portal
• Members navigated across multiple disconnected environments (mobile app → marketing site → member portal)
• There was no way to reserve a specific bike, only join the class
• The experience was inconsistent, difficult to find, and required too many clicks
• Instructors had no real-time data to enhance class experience
• The studio wanted a seamless, branded digital touchpoint—but each environment looked and behaved differently
The core challenge was to reduce complexity, consolidate fragmented experiences, and create a simple, mobile-friendly reservation flow that aligned with the brand.
Solution
I led UX discovery, mapping the full current-state flow and identifying pain points across the member and instructor journeys. From there, I facilitated workshops with the client to define goals, constraints, and the minimum viable product (MVP).
Key UX Decisions
1. Consolidated Entry Point
Instead of navigating through multiple apps and portals, we defined a single, dedicated cycling reservation portal with:
Instead of navigating through multiple apps and portals, we defined a single, dedicated cycling reservation portal with:
• clear class schedules
• quick bike map selection
• consistent, unified visual design
2. Mobile-First Reservation Flow
Most members booked via mobile, so the flow was optimized for:
Most members booked via mobile, so the flow was optimized for:
• minimal scrolling
• large tap targets
• a clear class → bike → confirm progression
3. Bike Selection Layout
Created an intuitive “studio map” layout allowing members to tap the exact bike they wanted—something not possible in the legacy system.
Created an intuitive “studio map” layout allowing members to tap the exact bike they wanted—something not possible in the legacy system.
4. Workflow Simplification
Reduced the number of clicks dramatically by removing environment hops and presenting all key actions in a single, focused interface.
Reduced the number of clicks dramatically by removing environment hops and presenting all key actions in a single, focused interface.
5. Iterative Prototyping & Testing
Using Adobe XD, I produced interactive prototypes and ran usability sessions with internal staff and select members.
This surfaced navigation blind spots, clarified content hierarchy, and validated the simplified reservation flow.
Using Adobe XD, I produced interactive prototypes and ran usability sessions with internal staff and select members.
This surfaced navigation blind spots, clarified content hierarchy, and validated the simplified reservation flow.
6. MVP Prioritization
Through discovery, we uncovered that “performance dashboards” were not essential for launch.
The client agreed to:
Through discovery, we uncovered that “performance dashboards” were not essential for launch.
The client agreed to:
• MVP: reserve a bike
• Phase 2: display performance metrics
• Phase 3: instructor real-time data
This narrowed scope and would have supported a faster go-to-market.
Outcome
Although the project stalled due to reasons outside the UX team, the work achieved:
✔ A drastically simplified reservation flow
Members could now find a class and select a specific bike in just a few steps, rather than navigating across multiple apps and portals.
✔ A unified design system for future digital experiences
The new cycling portal established a more consistent experience across the client’s fragmented digital ecosystem.
✔ Clear MVP definition
Focusing on bike reservation allowed the client to prioritize development efforts and reduce complexity.
✔ A scalable framework
The designed architecture supported future enhancements including:
• performance dashboards
• real-time instructor views
• integrations with fitness devices
• class history and metrics
Even though the app did not launch, the UX direction provided the client with a clear roadmap and resolved long-standing frustrations around class bookings.