Activity Start Flow Simplification Proposals

Status (2026-08-26): Historical. See the status note in Activity start flow analysis; the source chooser and plan pickers this document proposes replacing are gone, replaced by the start hub.

Status: Proposal, not the current implemented flow. Current behavior source: Recording of activity and Activity and training plans. Implementation map: Feature map.

This document explains the proposed improvements for making activity recording, manual activity logging, and planned-workout starts faster and easier to understand.

The core product goal is:

When the user taps a button, the next screen should match the intent of that button.

Today, many activity-related actions open the same generic Activity Entry source chooser. That keeps the code centralized, but it adds extra screens and makes the user decide again what they already meant to do. The sections below describe intended improvements, not behavior that should be assumed to exist in the app today.

1. Intent-Specific Activity Entry Routes

Current Problem

Most activity actions navigate to the same route:

manual_entry/activity

That screen starts in source-selection mode, so the user must choose what kind of activity action they want:

• Create manual activity.
• Create from existing plan.
• Record GPS activity.
• Import route file.

This is inefficient when the previous button already told us the user's intent.

Example:

Dashboard Start -> Activity Entry -> Choose "Record GPS activity"

The user tapped Start, but the app still asks what they want to do.

Proposed Behavior

Support direct entry intents, for example:

manual_entry/activity?mode=record
manual_entry/activity?mode=manual
manual_entry/activity?mode=plan
manual_entry/activity?planId=abc123
manual_entry/activity?activityTypeId=running

Then each button can open the right state immediately.

User Impact

User Action	Current Flow	Proposed Flow
Start workout	Open source chooser, then choose record	Open recording setup directly
Add manual activity	Open source chooser, then choose manual	Open manual form directly
Use a plan	Open source chooser, choose plan source, choose type, choose plan	Open selected plan directly
Import route	Open source chooser, then choose import	Open import/review directly

Why This Helps

This does not require splitting the whole feature into many new screens. The existing Activity Entry feature can remain the central implementation. The route simply carries the user's intent into the screen.

2. Merge GPS Setup And First Start

Current Problem

The GPS recording path has two start-like actions:

Dashboard Start
-> Record GPS activity
-> Go to activity screen
-> Start

The confusing part is Go to activity screen. It feels like a start action, but it only opens an idle recording dashboard. The user must then tap Start again.

Proposed Behavior

When GPS permissions and location fix are ready, the setup screen's primary button should start the recording immediately.

Proposed flow:

Start workout
-> Recording setup
-> Start
-> Active recording dashboard

User Impact

Flow	Current Minimum Taps	Proposed Minimum Taps
GPS recording from dashboard	4	2 or 3
GPS recording after direct route support	3	2

Important Detail

The idle dashboard can still exist internally for edge cases, cancellation, dashboard editing, or GPS preview. The key change is that it should not be a required extra stop in the common start flow.

3. Make Planned Workout Rows Actionable

Current Problem

Planned workouts are visible in the Activities overview, but they are display-only.

Current user experience:

User sees planned workout
-> Cannot start it there
-> Opens Activity Entry
-> Chooses "Create from existing plan"
-> Chooses activity type
-> Chooses the same plan again

The app shows the right object but does not let the user act on it.

Proposed Behavior

Turn each planned workout row into an action surface.

Possible actions:

Planned Workout State	Suggested Action
Not completed, live-recordable activity	Start
Not completed, better as manual entry	Use plan or Log
Completed	Completed/read-only state
Missing permissions	Permission action or disabled state with explanation

Proposed Flow

Activities overview
-> Tap planned workout row or Start button
-> Activity Entry opens with that plan already selected
-> User starts recording or reviews prefilled activity

User Impact

Flow	Current Minimum Taps	Proposed Minimum Taps
Use visible planned workout	No direct path	1 to open/start
Use plan from dashboard/activity flow	5	2

Why This Helps

Planned workouts already have strong context: activity type, title, time, duration, and completion state. The row is the best place to start from because the user has already found the exact workout.

4. Auto-Skip Single-Choice Plan Picker Steps

Current Problem

The planned workout flow always asks the user to choose:

Plan source
-> Activity type
-> Specific plan

That is useful when there are many plans, but wasteful when there is only one obvious option.

Proposed Behavior

After planned workouts are loaded:

• If there is only one planned activity type, skip the activity-type picker.
• If there is only one plan for that activity type, apply it immediately.
• If one plan is scheduled near the current time, place it first or preselect it.
• If there are multiple reasonable choices, keep the picker.

Example

Current:

Create from existing plan
-> Choose Strength Training
-> Choose "Upper Body A"
-> Manual form

Proposed when there is only one plan:

Create from existing plan
-> Manual form prefilled with "Upper Body A"

User Impact

Scenario	Current	Proposed
One activity type, one plan	User still chooses both	Apply plan immediately
One activity type, many plans	User chooses type, then plan	Skip type, choose plan
Many activity types	User chooses type, then plan	Same as today

Why This Helps

This is a low-risk improvement because it preserves the current screens when choices are genuinely needed. It only removes screens where the user has no meaningful decision to make.

5. Split Dashboard Actions By Clearer Intent

Current Problem

The dashboard has quick actions:

• Log
• Start

But Start opens the generic Activity Entry source chooser. From there, the user can choose manual entry, planned workout, recording, or route import.

That creates a mismatch:

Button says: Start
Screen asks: What source do you want?

Proposed Behavior

Make dashboard actions map to clear user intents.

Suggested dashboard model:

Dashboard Action	Destination
Start workout	Recording setup directly
Log	Manual logging options or manual-entry hub
Planned workout row/card	Selected planned workout
Overflow or secondary action	Import route, use plan, advanced options

Proposed Flow

Dashboard
-> Start workout
-> Recording setup
-> Start

For manual logging:

Dashboard
-> Log
-> Choose metric or activity manual form

For plans:

Dashboard or Activities overview
-> Planned workout
-> Start or use selected plan

Why This Helps

Users should not need to understand the app's internal source model. They should see actions that match how they think:

• "I want to start exercising now."
• "I want to log something I already did."
• "I want to do this planned workout."
• "I want to import a file."

Recommended Implementation Order

Step 1: Add Intent-Specific Routes

This creates the foundation. Without direct routes, every improvement still has to pass through the generic source chooser.

Expected result:

Dashboard Start -> Recording setup
Activities Add -> Manual activity form
Plan row -> Selected plan

Step 2: Wire Dashboard Start To Recording Setup

Change the dashboard Start action so it opens the recording setup directly with the preferred live-recordable activity.

Expected result:

Start -> Recording setup

Step 3: Merge GPS Setup And Start

Make the setup primary button start GPS recording immediately once permissions and location fix are ready.

Expected result:

Start -> Recording setup -> Active recording

Step 4: Make Planned Workout Rows Actionable

Add actions to planned workout rows and route selected plans into Activity Entry.

Expected result:

Tap planned workout -> Selected plan opens directly

Step 5: Auto-Skip Plan Picker Steps

Skip unnecessary plan picker screens when there is only one valid option.

Expected result:

Use plan -> Prefilled form when only one plan exists

Step 6: Refine Dashboard Copy And Layout

Once the direct flows exist, rename and arrange the quick actions so they match behavior:

• Start workout
• Log
• Planned workout action
• Optional overflow for imports/advanced actions

Target Future Flow

The ideal common flows should look like this:

flowchart TD
    A[Dashboard] -->|Start workout| B[Recording setup]
    B -->|Start| C[Active recording]
    C -->|Finish| D[Review draft]
    D -->|Save| E[Health Connect]

    A -->|Log| F[Manual log options]
    F -->|Activity| G[Manual activity form]
    G -->|Save| E

    H[Planned workout row] -->|Start or Use plan| I[Selected plan flow]
    I -->|Record or Save| E

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The main win is not just fewer taps. It is that each path becomes easier to predict.

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Generated from docs/proposals/activity-start-flow-proposals.md. Edit it there; changes made here are overwritten.