PLAY POOL

THE TEAM
Sunny Lee - Interaction Designer
John Grace - User Researcher
Irene Huberman - Visual Designer

DURATION
2 Weeks

TOOLS
Sketch, InVision, Omnigraffle, Pen & Paper, Post-Its, Whiteboard, Keynote

CLIENT
Jason Evans - Developer & expert pool player

PLATFORM
IOS, iPhoneX

OVERVIEW

Our goal for the project was to connect pool players and help them schedule matches with people of similar skill easily. Since our client had already started developing the basic framework of his application, we were brought in to test the existing product, and shore up any gaps that we found in his design to get the product to market as quickly as possible.

FIRST STEPS

Identify the app’s early adopters and design a framework specific to them. Determine which features would be necessary and construct an minimum viable product prototype that was as easy as possible to use.

THE APPROACH

Due to the quick turnaround, we decided to work backwards from our ‘fixed’ delivery date.  Our first step, was to evaluate our client’s initial design by usability testing the system, and the issues we identified were drawn up to develop our statement of work. After our SOW was approved by the client, we each had approximately 4-days in our respective roles before handing-off the baton to the next person in the pipeline.

CHALLENGES

After completing our heuristic analysis of the application, these were the first 3 issues we needed to sort out.

SKILL LEVEL ASSESSMENT
With so many different rating systems available, which would work best for our app at this stage. Which rating system would work well in the long-run? When you’re a casual/social player, it’s even harder: Dunning-Kruger effect - Why we often overestimate our competence

A GREAT MATCH
Not only are we looking to pair players with similar skill, but users also need to have similar expectations for the type of game. Competitive players and social players don’t get along. Competitive players mean business. They take the game more seriously and aren’t as interested in getting drinks, taking breaks and socializing. Often, these things tend to distract and annoy more advanced players, but it’s not always the case. Social players are also turned off by other players that are only interested in the game.

PROMOTING SOCIALIZATION
How do we create a system that encourages users to join and host games with strangers? After the game, if two users become friends, would they be willing to continuously put themselves out there to play with other strangers or try to organize games amongst themselves?

PERSONAS

We identified our persona Danny as our early adopter since his he plays frequently and is continuously searching for new players. Since his main source of income comes from tournament winnings, he’s always on the hunt for new competition and wants to hone his skills by facing opponents with variable talent.

THE VISION

Our goal was to create the simplest method to match players as possible. We wanted the system to be one step ahead and tailor fit to match every user’s need. It all started with this user flow. 

FRICTIONLESS AUTHENTICATION

The idea was to allow new users to experience as many features as possible without providing personal information. We would only request necessary information when absolutely needed and explain our intent to earn user trust.

SCHEDULING GAMES

This being one of the most important sections of the app, I really wanted to spend as much time testing and designing a robust framework that would be the foundation of Play Pool. Rather than adding functionality to the pre-existing framework, we ended up starting from scratch and designed ways to search for, host and manage games.

GAME TYPES

It sounds obvious, but we learned that experts are only experts at certain games. Which is why this was why it was critical that we get the selection right for our local Seattle early adopters. John developed a list of games that best fit our demographic. 

Another discovery was that even some of the advanced players, just want to play for fun. Providing the option to specify whether you wanted a casual or competitive game help set expectations and refine the pairing process further.

SELF-EVALUATION

To recap, we were searching for the best way to help people rate themselves accurately. Since most rankings were subjective and relative, our researcher John decided that the best course of action was to take a preexisting system that our advanced players were familiar with, and add descriptions that helped provide further clarity around what each rating meant. The end goal was to create better initial pairing to gain user trust.

PROFILE & RECOMMENDATIONS

In order for players to trust each other and schedule games initially, profiles were necessary. We examined what information our competition was requesting, and tried to create a lean & friendly questionnaire. With all of that data gathered, we wanted to create a recommended section on the join games page, that pre-filtered games based on preferences.

MESSAGING & FRIENDS

When we analyzed the original app, we noticed that the developer and user were maintaining two separate lists for messaging and friends. We decided to integrate the 'friend' feature (represented with stars) throughout the application. So when hosting a game, the user is able to host a game with everyone, or only their friends.

We also thought it would've been great to be able to host groups of friends. However, the client was concerned that the motivation to socialize would create a stagnant atmosphere and wanted us to encourage our users to find and host new games.

GAME OUTCOMES

Our client had not yet had a chance to develop this feature, but he wanted to develop an interface that would allow players to evaluate each other after a match. He described a scenario in which a few hours after the game was finished, both players would receive a notification asking for feedback on how the game went. Based on client feedback usability tests and internal discussions, we ended up with our latest design. 

NEXT STEPS

• Translate IOS MockUps for Android design
• Build a Community section. Include local tournaments, events and leaders.
• After the our client is able to establish his early adopter user base, we recommend he shift his focus on adding functionality around social billiards games like cut throat and allowing the interface to manage multiple players to each game.
• To add a positive spin on the games page, we thought it’d be a great idea to add medals or badges to the Outcomes page. After players rate each other, it’d be great to be able to endorse them for a skill. We could then take that information to then pair players with different endorsements so they could become more well-rounded players and learn from each other.
• At the more social billiard halls, waiting for a table can definitely eat into your playing time. Being able to reserve a table on a busy weekend could be a unique feature that sets this app apart from the competition.

LESSONS LEARNED

• After our class presentation, we asked each other what we'd do differently.