Case Study · Product Design · 0→1 Platform
A unified system that brings scheduling, billing, check-ins, and workout tracking together to streamline gym operations and elevate the member experience.
Hero view of the BTWB Gym Management platform across web and mobile.
Over a two-year 0→1 initiative, I led the end-to-end design of Beyond the Whiteboard’s Gym Management platform, transforming the product ecosystem from a workout-tracking app into a fully integrated operational system for functional fitness and CrossFit gyms.
This case study highlights my ownership, domain expertise, and the impact of the shipped work.
BTWB had already been thinking beyond "just a workout tracker" when I joined—they saw an opportunity to become a full operational platform for functional fitness gyms. My prior experience designing the CrossFit Affiliate Portal in 2018–2019 gave me useful context for this problem space: I'd already spent time thinking about what gym owners need from their tools, from affiliate management to day-to-day operations. That background helped me hit the ground running and contribute meaningfully to BTWB's vision from day one.
Designed the UI, interactions, visuals, and UX strategy that enabled smooth, successful conversions for gyms switching from other management platforms to BTWB.
Built the foundational design system and core architecture from a blank canvas to a fully scalable SaaS platform.
Most gyms used BTWB for workout tracking but were forced to juggle 3–5 other tools for their daily operations — billing, check-ins, scheduling, POS, and client management. The fragmented experience created:
We identified an opportunity to consolidate all of this into one platform, built around the strengths and needs of functional fitness gyms.
Before: a fragmented tool stack across billing, scheduling, check-ins, POS, and workout tracking.
This project demanded more than UI work — it required deep understanding of how gyms actually operate. I led the user research effort, partnering with a trusted group of long-time BTWB gym owners. Together, we mapped:
Decision Maker
"I need to stop acting as IT support and start coaching. My systems need to talk to each other."
Power User
"I want to know who's in class and what their PRs are before they even walk in the door."
End User
"I just want to sign my waiver, pay my bill, and log my score without checking 3 different apps."
Owners spend too much time fixing billing errors. Needs to be "set and forget".
Must happen digitally before they step on the floor. No paper clutter.
"Pausing memberships needs to be one click, not a support ticket."
Programming ↔ Check-ins ↔ Results. If a member PRs, the system should know.
"I need to see athlete ability levels on the class roster to scale workouts appropriately."
Milestones, Committed Club, Year-in-Review. Celebrate consistency automatically.
This research directly anchored our roadmap: we prioritized foundational operations first, then layered in fitness-centric features impossible with disconnected systems.
This demonstrated deep domain understanding — not just how gyms look, but how they run, make money, retain members, and coach effectively.
With constraints and domain context understood, the next step was turning that into a product that felt coherent across surfaces, calm for daily operators, and trustworthy around billing and memberships.
Early explorations split the product into separate billing, people, and schedule sections. Gym owners kept gravitating back to one question: “What’s happening in class today?” We re-centered the IA around classes as the primary object — each class became the hub for rosters, memberships, waivers, and performance history. This matched how coaches and owners think about their day and reduced navigation hops for core tasks.
The original onboarding asked new gyms to complete a long sequence before they could even explore the product: create an account or log in, create an organization, choose a subscription, go to a separate Stripe checkout, configure payment processing, and then finally add a gym location. We collapsed this into a three-step path — create account → create organization → add gym — and moved subscription and payment setup into focused flows inside the app. This cut the perceived setup cost, reduced drop-off risk, and helped owners reach an “I can actually use this” moment much faster, without sacrificing clarity or control over billing.
A shared typography scale, spacing system, and component set shows up in web admin, the member app, and in-gym displays. This makes the platform feel like a single ecosystem instead of disconnected tools, and lets the team ship new features across surfaces without re-solving visual decisions each time.
Beyond scheduling and check-ins, the platform included a comprehensive reporting system—"Gym Reporting"—that transformed raw operational data into strategic business intelligence for gym owners.
Gym owners needed to make data-informed decisions but were buried in disconnected operational data. They needed answers to business-critical questions: Which members are at risk of churning? Is revenue growing month-over-month? Are coaching resources allocated efficiently? Which membership plans drive the best retention?
Raw data existed across billing systems, attendance logs, and membership records—but it wasn't actionable. Owners needed a unified analytics layer that surfaced insights, not spreadsheets.
I designed a multi-dashboard reporting interface with seven core analytics views, each addressing a specific business intelligence need:
Business intelligence dashboard tracking financial performance over time with trend visualization and detailed breakdowns by revenue type. Features included:
Member lifecycle and retention dashboard providing cohort analysis and engagement trends:
Operational metrics dashboard visualizing class utilization and member engagement patterns:
Resource allocation dashboard tracking coaching capacity and distribution across programs:
Cash flow forecasting dashboard for financial planning:
At-risk member identification system for proactive retention:
Member relationship management tool:
The reporting system transformed BTWB from an operational tool into a strategic business platform. Gym owners went from asking "how many people showed up today?" to "should I hire another morning coach based on 6am capacity trends?" and "which at-risk members should I reach out to this week?"
The MIA (Missing In Action) dashboard exemplified this proactive approach—rather than waiting for owners to notice declining attendance, the system automatically identified at-risk members and surfaced them with contact information for immediate outreach.
The analytics layer became a key competitive differentiator—gyms using BTWB's reporting made faster, data-informed decisions about programming, staffing, and member retention than competitors stuck in spreadsheets.
From concept to release, I acted as the Lead Product Designer, owning the full design lifecycle across all product surfaces.
We didn’t ship Gym Management as a single “big bang” release. Instead, we built in three tightly scoped phases — first stabilizing core operations, then connecting the platform across BTWB, and finally unlocking fitness-first features that only a unified system could support.
Ship the must-haves first: give owners a reliable, modern backbone for running the gym day to day.
Outcome: Replaced a patchwork of legacy tools with a single, dependable system for running the business.
Once core operations were stable, we focused on connecting Gym Management into the rest of BTWB.
Outcome: Members and coaches experienced one coherent system instead of separate apps stitched together.
With operations and integrations in place, we could design features that made the gym feel more intelligent, personal, and motivating.
Outcome: Gym Management became more than admin software — it became a platform for coaching, community, and long-term engagement.
Phase 1: Core operations — scheduling, memberships, waivers, and daily admin in one place.
Phase 2: Connecting Gym Management into the broader BTWB ecosystem.
Phase 3: Fitness-first features built on top of the new unified platform.
While the project was not framed around proving strict business metrics, the shipped work clearly changed how gyms run on BTWB — from tool consolidation to member experience and coaching quality.
Gyms already using BTWB began adopting Gym Management quickly — far faster than is typical for gym software. Many consolidated 3–5 external tools into a single platform, reducing operational overhead and simplifying their tech stack.
Members moved from juggling multiple logins to using a single app for workouts, class reservations, and check-ins. Progress, milestones, and badges live in one place, making the experience feel cohesive and more rewarding.
Coaches gained pre-class intel, integrated performance history, and balance-aware programming tools. Instead of piecing together information across systems, they could see readiness, risk, and opportunity from a single view.
Gym owners reported less admin work, fewer workflow gaps, and more confidence in their data. With attendance, retention, and performance visible in one place, they could spend more time coaching and less time troubleshooting software.
Feedback from the BTWB community was consistently strong, with high engagement on new features and growing international adoption across 26+ countries. Even without formal analytics, ongoing investment in the platform reflected its impact.
This project represents a major expansion of the BTWB ecosystem — one that unified previously scattered gym operations into a single, fitness-first platform.
As Lead Designer, I drove the vision, strategy, design, and daily execution across a multi-year 0→1 build. I developed deep domain understanding, collaborated closely with owners and cross-functional partners, and shipped features that delivered meaningful impact on gym workflows, member engagement, and community adoption.
This case study showcases my ability to: