Making every step count for The Prince's Trust

Fundraising challenges are a great way to bring people together. But when hundreds of participants are recording their activity manually, keeping everyone up to date can become a challenge of its own.

For The Prince's Trust, Future Steps was a workplace fundraising event encouraging teams to get active, count their steps and raise money to help young people build brighter futures.

Previously, participants recorded their steps manually, while the charity collected the results in a spreadsheet and updated team leader boards each day. The charity wanted to make taking part simpler and more engaging, while reducing the time spent managing the challenge behind the scenes.

A simpler way to take part

The Prince's Trust developed a mobile app that would automatically record participants' steps and display live team leader boards. Instead of submitting their activity each day, participants could connect their fitness trackers, follow their progress and see how their colleagues were getting on.

It was a better experience for everyone involved, but with the event approaching, the charity needed confidence that the app would work across the different phones, fitness trackers and health platforms people used. That's where we came in.

We joined the project bringing testing expertise and access to a wide range of real devices. Our focus was on the journeys that mattered to participants: joining a team, connecting a fitness tracker, recording steps and checking the leader board.

We tested across different phones and platforms, including Apple HealthKit, Google Fit and Fitbit, and carried out load and performance testing to assess how the app would perform as more people joined the challenge. With a limited window before launch and several teams involved, flexibility was particularly important.

More participation, less administration

The Future Steps app launched on time, giving participants a simpler way to record their activity and stay connected with their teams. Automatic step tracking and live leader boards removed much of the manual work involved in running the challenge, making it easier for The Prince's Trust to manage the event and welcome more participants.

For the charity, the app created an opportunity to grow Future Steps without the same administrative demands. For participants, it meant more time enjoying the challenge and raising money for a good cause.