The Social Networking Application For Sports Players
User (Player )
User (Owner)
User (Invitee)
User (Player - Tennis)
User (Player - Workout)
User (Player - Yoga)
The Project
Duration: 2 weeks
Project Type: Personal
Role: UX Research, UI Design
Method: Sketch, Surveys, Interviews, Affinity Wall, Usability Testing, A/B Testing, Preference Test,
Think- Aloud, Wireframes, Prototyping
Tools: Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Google forms
Project Brief
About what?
This app will give people who want to play sports the opportunity to do so by combining the following items We also hope that it will result in increasing the number of sports people, providing them with a healthy lifestyle, and relieving them from loneliness.
For whom?
People who are looking for the teammates/teams/buddies
What problems are users having?
There are no easy opportunities for people who want to play sports to participate. There are teams, but they are already over capacity or there are not enough teams to begin with. And currently, there are unclear ways to create opportunities for people to participate in sports.
How did I find this need?
We can use a number of community sites to connect with a variety of people and fulfill our goals.
However, there is one way I have used them that I have not been satisfied with.
I had looked at various community sites to find a volleyball team, but it was time consuming and I didn't know which site was appropriate.
This is in regards to the sports community.
So I planned to create a sports exchange app.
Create a team page for each sport.
Recruit members
Find opponents
Share available dates for games
Communication tools for each team site
Communication between team representatives
Tournament creation
Viewing tournament progress
The same goes for individual sports.
For individual sports that are not competitive, we would like to create a page where you can recruit people to go jogging with you, for example.
Search for opponents
Share available dates
Create Tournaments
Communication function
Recruit buddies (e.g. jogging, gym)
Target
Age: Over 14-year-old.
Gender: Follow all genders
Area: N/A
Occupation: Follow all occupations. Unemployed, students, adults, housewives, singles, retirement, etc.
Needs
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Provide an opportunity for people who want to play sports, find a new team, or have an opponent to play against, to increase their activity.
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Make it easy to participate in sports.
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This will lead to better physical and mental management.
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Easier to find opponents.
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No need to connect via FB, etc. since the contact function is only within this app.
Competitive Overview
Method Used
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facebook
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Kijiji
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Craigslist
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Google
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Spyn
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Groundwala
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Playo
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Sporty
System Goals
Goal1
People who want to play a certain sport can find a team and join right away. (Can quickly find a team that is looking for people)
Goal2
Increase the number of opportunities to interact with people through sports.
Recruiting and Interview Design
I plan to conduct informal unmoderated interviews with three participants between the ages of 14-80.
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Participant 1: age 14-20
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Participant 2: age 21-30
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Participant 3: age 31-50
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Participant 4: age 51-70
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Participant 5: age 71-80
Interview Criteria
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Men and women, approximately equally distributed.
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People who play sports or are trying to play sports.
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People who belong to a sports team.
Interview Guide and Questions
Below is an outline of potential questions I will use to guide the interviews.
What kind of sports do you play now?
-Team sports
How did you find your current team or buddy?
Did you use a website/app?
How do you communicate with them?
When you need people for that team, how do you recruit them?
How do you find your opponents?
-Individual Sports
How do you find your opponents?
Do you use a website/app to find a buddy? Have you ever used one?
How do you stay motivated?
Needs finding and Initial concept
Conduct Needs Finding and Analysis
I conducted research on applications for handicaps.
I assume that the users want the following things
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Has a status indicator for vaccinated
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People can recruit people for your team.
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Can post a message that people want to play a sport together
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Can find opponents.
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Can communicate with them on the app.
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Tournaments can be arranged.
Current Practice
It has become a standard for ordering to have the following features to meet the needs of users.
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Home workouts can be encouraged with online participants.
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If it's a team sport, it's clear which positions are open.
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There is a section to describe team policies.
Functional Requirement
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Make it easy to join a team.
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Easy to find a buddy.
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Safe to use the app.
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Ability to arrange tournaments.
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Have a message function.
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Find opponents.
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Share available dates.
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Can block people who are trying to use this app for purposes other than its specifications.
Constraints
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Too simple
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Too many features
Affinity Wall
Persona
Sketch and ideate storyboard
1. There is a button for participants to applaud each other in an online exercise class.
(I did not add this feature this time.)
2. Users can search for players, teams, and buddies in sports (individual and team sports).
3. Users can search for opponents.
4. A feature to create tournaments.
5. Calendar feature to list practices and events.
6. Team chat is available.
7. A feature that allows captains to chat with each other.
8. A function to indicate that a player has been vaccinated twice.
(I didn't add this feature because I don't know if I'll be able to get two vaccines in the future when I use this app.
9. A function that can show the position and style of the sport.
10. A feature that allows users to create a course if they want to jog.
(We have not added this feature at this time because we are not sure if we will be responsible for accidents caused
by running on this course.)
11. A feature to display team policies.
12. A feature to display past game results.
13. A feature to search for leagues and matches.
14. A feature to check practice dates and times.
15. Users can check the date and time of the game and let the team owner know if they will attend.
16. Show what is needed for practice and games.
17. A feature to create events.
18. There is a voting function.
19. A feature that to reserve a gym.
(I didn't include this feature because it would require the gym to install the app and embed it on their website.
20. A feature to save photos of your memories.
Scoreboard
Low-Fidelity Prototype and
Micro-usability Test
Wireframe
Based on sketches I started creating wireframes.
UI Kit
Following the Style Guide, I crafted a UI Kit that would inform the Design System for Sportopia.
Micro-Usability test plan - Overview
○ Overview
I check if the user can reach the goal as soon as possible after installing this app (friends of each sport, team recruitment page, etc.).
Then, I also ask the user to Think-Aloud and find out where the user gets lost and stressed on this app wireframe.
○ Test Goal
Test Goals of this initial user testing is to answer the question:
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How is the system less or more efficient are not addressed when the users are attempting to solve their difficulty using this app?
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What problems or needs are not addressed when the users are attempting to solve their difficulty using this app?
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What experience would satisfy the users of this app?
○ Specific Recruiting and Diversity Criteria
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The participants for this test are aged 14-80.
- Non-gender regardless. People who want to play, start, participate to sports(team) and looking for people or team play with.
- In addition, these are the diversity criteria as below.
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Test participants should have a mobile device.
Test Component
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Note Taking(laptop)
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Audio Recorder
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User Test Plan
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Tasks
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Consent Form
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Wireframes
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Script
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Post-Test Questions
The Sequence of Test Activities
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Consent Form
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Pre-test Interview
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Task 1 - Task 10
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Thank Participants
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Post-Test Questionnaire
Consent Form
Logging Sheet
Micro-Usability Test Plan - User Test Script
Pre-test Check List
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Double-check that all dates in the task are in the future
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Fill in all blanks with the name of the app (all documents, including the test plan, test script, and informed consent form)
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Go through all of the tasks before performing the test
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Print out the task for the user
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Print out each task for the user
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Print out a post-test questionnaire
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Print out or type into the logging sheet
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Print out the user script
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Record when the test begins
Pre-test questionnaire
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When you belong to a sports team, or want to, and are looking for a buddy to be with them, have you ever looked for them online or in an app?
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Which site or app did you use?
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Did they help you achieve your goals?
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How did you feel when you used them?
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What features would you like to see in a sports app?
Task Instructions
Print tasks and present them, one at a time. Read each task aloud and give the printed sheet to the participant. Make notes of successes and failures while the user performs the test.
Task 1
You are a user looking for a soccer team. Find a team and ask for them on the team page.
Task 2
You are a member of a soccer team. You are looking for a teammate.
Find a player and ask them to help you.
Task 3
Find out when the next practice is.
Task 4
You are a tennis player. You are looking for a doubles buddy in this app.
Find a buddy and say hi to them.
Task 5
You want to play a tennis match.
Find your opponent and say hello to them.
Task 6
You want to be a workout buddy.
Find a buddy and talk to them.
Task 7
You enjoy yoga and are looking for someone to do yoga with.
Please find a yoga companion.
Task 8
You are the captain of your soccer team.
Create a team page on this app and give functional permissions to each member.
Task 9
Create a tournament and send invitations to the teams you want to participate in this tournament.
Task 10
Find teams and become friends with them.
Post-test Check List
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Keep recording when the post-testing
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Stop recording, save audio and video
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Save informed consent form
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Save logging sheet
Debriefing
The focus of the debrief is to walk through any problems that were encountered during the tasks. If any time remains afterward, ask higher-level questions 2-5.
1. Review parts of the test where the user struggled:
(Examples)
- What difficulties did you have with Sportopia?
- I noticed you struggled here, can you tell me what happened?
- You paused here, tell me more about that.
2. Preferences: What did you think about the app? What did you like/dislike?
3. Changes: If you had 3 wishes to make this better for you, what would they be? Why?
4. Understanding: How would you describe this to a friend?
5. Use Cases: Under what circumstances would you use this? Why?
User Test Script
Moderator (with a big smile!): Thanks for coming in today! We’re constantly trying to improve our product, and getting your frank feedback is a really important part of that.
The goal for today’s session is to test the application - Sportopia. I’m here to learn from you so I’ll ask a lot of questions, but I’m not testing you. There are no right or wrong answers.
I’ll start this session by asking some background questions. Then I’ll show you some things we’re working on, and ask you to do some tasks. As you work on the tasks, please think aloud.
This means that you should try to give a running commentary on what you're doing as you work through the tasks. Tell me what you're trying to do and how you think you can do it. If you get confused or don't understand something, please tell me. If you see things you like, tell me that too. I want to emphasize that, you won’t hurt my feelings by telling me what you think. In fact, frank, candid feedback is the most helpful.
If you do get stuck, I’m going to try not to answer your questions or tell you what to do. I’m just trying to see what you would do if you were using it on your own.
But don’t worry-- I’ll help you if you get completely stuck. Do you have any questions before we begin?
Consent Form
A present consent form, summarize and receive a signature from test participant.
Conclusion
I think that's all the questions I have for you. I want to leave a little bit of time to see if you have any questions for me about the website, test, or anything like that.
Okay. Then I just want to say thank you very much for participating, and if you have any follow-up questions please let me know and we really appreciate your time. Thank you!!
Post-Questionnaire
Provide the post-test questionnaire to the user at the end of the user test.
For the post-test questionnaire, we will administer the standard SUS questionnaire on paper.
The form should be printed out before each session.
User Test, Mid-prototype
Create Med- Prototype/ Prototype Screens
Survey
User Testing
The target population: 5
Recruitment method: I asked my roommates. I asked a friend of mine who seemed to make a fair decision.
Analysis methods: Interview, Questionnaire, Think-Aloud, Debrief Question, Morae.
Conduct Heuristic Evaluation/ Prioritized List
Final UI & What's next
What's next
I may have used too much color in my previous work and set a goal to make a simple app next time.
This time, I kept the design simple for both UX and UI.
Next time, I would like to challenge myself to create a more complex app and make the UX and UI compatible with it.
Based on my own experiences, I envisioned an app that would help people who really want to play sports but can't, and help them expand their sports circle more easily. Now, I want to create an app that is more closely connected to people's lives and that is indispensable to their daily lives.