Once upon a treadmill, I realized something: I hate solo workouts. Running with headphones? Meh. Lifting weights in front of a mirror? Felt like I was stuck in a gym-themed Black Mirror episode. It didn’t motivate me — it drained me.
So I did what I always do when a system doesn't work — I redesigned it.
These days, my fitness plan includes pickleball, volleyball, and Zumba — not because I’m training for the Olympics, but because these activities keep me engaged. They’re social. Fun. And unlike solo workouts, I actually stick with them.
This philosophy came in handy when I was working with Atrium Health. Our team built a visitor check-in system that looked great on paper — executives loved it. Clean UI. Pretty dashboards. But when I visited the hospital to see it in action, something felt off.
Receptionists — the ones using the tool all day — were struggling. The page loaded slowly. Unused features (like showing the last 20 visitors) were bloating the experience. So I did the one thing most dev teams forget: I talked to each receptionist.
Actually, I did more than talk — I helped check in visitors, shadowed their workflow, and even joined them for a drink after their shift. That’s when the real insights came out: they didn’t need bells and whistles. They needed speed.
I took that feedback to our devs. We removed the fluff, simplified the calls, and made the system faster — way faster. The receptionists thanked me. Not because I gave them a fancier tool, but because I gave them their sanity back.
Even in play, I found design flaws worth fixing. Our casual group had a recurring issue: players kept rotating with the same partners. The vibe got cliquey. Some folks barely got to play. So I borrowed an idea I’d seen elsewhere and adapted it:
Winners of one round play winners of the next. Losers do the same. Everyone cycles through fresh opponents. No repeat pairings. More fairness. More fun.
People loved it — not because it was revolutionary, but because it solved a subtle frustration they hadn’t articulated yet. That’s the power of user feedback + observation.
Whether it’s a hospital reception desk or a rec center pickleball court, the lesson sticks:
Your users already know what’s wrong — just ask.