Getting athlete evidence into Oakley and Intel’s development sprints

The question

Oakley and its technology partner Intel were building a coach that would track a session, respond to what was happening in it, and coach the athlete through it.

They needed to know how athletes would set it up, how it would fit into everyday training, and what kind of relationship people want with a coach that is digital.

Our approach

We worked with runners and cyclists in five countries, who trained with the prototype through a full training plan.

Real training mattered, because how a coach balances tracking, responding and coaching is hard to judge from a specification or a demonstration, and much easier to see in the middle of a planned session.

Every stage came back to trust, to what keeps an athlete motivated and accountable, and to how far a coach should go beyond tracking.

The program was iterative by design. Evidence went to the product team as it emerged, timed to its sprints, so it could inform the product while it was still being built.

What the team came away with

The product team had athletes’ evidence at the pace of its sprints, stage by stage, while decisions were still open.

A final debrief brought the stages together into one view of the whole experience, from the first time an athlete picks the product up to everyday training with the coach.

“They are a master communicator who can put the team at ease and also get things done.”

Senior Manager, Oakley