Mobile App Research and Development Final Design Document IXDS5603 User Experience Prototyping, Lindsey Wilson College Professor: David Meyers By: Venus Popplewell May 7, 2015
Table of Contents Concept Brief and Solution Objectives ..................................3 Market Usage....................................................................4 Target Audience & Demographic Behaviors Target Audience Identification ....................................5 - 6 Primary and Secondary Personas................................7 - 8 Competitive Analysis ..........................................................9 Competitor Comparison Evaluation ....................................10 Solution Development Site Map ....................................................................11 Concept Sketches ........................................................12 Medium Fidelity ..........................................................12 Requirement Specifications ...........................................12 Tech Specifications ......................................................12 Research Goals................................................................13 Participants .....................................................................14 Test Outcomes .................................................................15 Second Iteration, High Fidelity ......................................16-18 Third Iteration ..................................................................19 Resources........................................................................20 2
Concept Brief and Solution Objectives Problem: In a market saturated with news and mobile solutions for sports fan engagement, an unmet need has been identified. The abundant content retrievable by sports mass media – delivered through mobile application – often prevents users from quickly and intuitively accessing fundamental sports information.
Solution: The objective of SportsPocket is to provide an uncomplicated mobile interface to deliver reliable season schedules for professional and collegiate level teams. The long-range projection is to add community sports, including but not exclusive to local middle school and high school teams and community league sports.
Research procedures began with a general competitive analysis. Based on published information about rankings, the top-rated sports media apps were downloaded and notifications were enabled to develop a better understanding of the current solutions. Preliminary medium fidelity wireframes were developed for user testing. Research participants were selected based on demographics and behaviors that identified them as potential users or current users of mobile sports applications. User feedback and high fidelity iterations resulted in an interactive prototype designed around the singular purpose of retrieving a reliable sports schedule anytime, anywhere and for any sport at all levels. 3
Are Sports Apps Marketable? Yes! Yes!
Time spent with sports apps more than tripled worldwide between August 2013 and August 2014, with a growth of more than 210%. By comparison, total app usage over that same period rose 65% (Apps Win Over Fans, no date).
Yes!
Mobile apps are now a part of the game experience for sports fans. Sports fans use sports specific apps more than twice as much as the average app user. In-line with this rise in usage and engagement, football fans are 12.8 times more likely to be using sports app than other sports enthusiasts. (Sports Apps Win Over Fans, no date).
Yes!
Fantasy football participation grew to include 6.4 million women in 2013, a 10 percent single-year jump from the 5.8 million who played in 2012. (Chemi, 2014)
Yes!
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Mobile solutions providing comprehensive sports information and news in a smartphone application have become indispensable tools for sports marketers.
Based on U.S. Arbitron Mobile Trends (March 2013) men, age 35-44, are the most avid users of mobile sports apps in the Arbitron Mobile smartphone panel, representing the largest share of users within a demographic—22.8 percent, and the most time spent with mobile sports apps—77.1 minutes per month. Men, age 25-34 who use mobile sports apps, do check in with their app most often—42.1 sessions per month.
Target Audience Demographics & Behaviors Few recreational past-times approach the appeal sporting events have across broad segments of society
.
Allegiance to sports teams can have an enduring and “emotional pull on consumers, making sports-related marketing a powerful tool for sponsors.” (Marketing to Sports Fans - US - Consumer market research report company profiles - market trends - 2014, no date).
The profile of an average college sports fan according to a report by Learfield Sports (no date) based on data collected by Scarborough Sports Marketing in 2012 revealed: • • • • • • • • • •
over 64 million avid college football fans 43% of the country follows college sports 40% female 60% male 71% of fans are over the age of 35, with 36-40% aged 45-64 80% are white 42% have an income of $75,000+ 33% are college graduates 59% are married 30% have children
Of fans who are likely to attend collegiate sporting events: • 51% are more likely to be college graduates • 57% are more likely to have incomes of $100,000 or more • 41% are more likely to be adults age 18-24
Profile Characteristics Summary (Average based on college and professional data) • 60% Male • 70% White • 71% over 35 years old • 50% have an annual income of $75,000 • 33% are college graduates • 50% are married • 30% have children • Women are the fastest growing NFL market • Men age 35-44 are most avid users of mobile sports apps based on Arbitron trends
The average demographic and behavior profile among fans of professional sports: • 33% female • 67% male • Age demographic for all sports trends up with approximately 30% age 35-54+; the PGA, Major League Baseball and NASCAR having the oldest fans at 50% being 55+.(Derek Thompson is a senior editor at The Atlantic et al., no date) 5
Target Audience Identification Primary Target Audience
Secondary Target* Audience
• White male, married
• Any ethnicity but likely white,
with 1-3 children • 35-55 years of age
female, either married or unmarried
• College graduate
• 22-35 years of age
• Yearly personal income:
• College graduate
$65,000-$120,000+ • Loyal sports fan, especially to alma mater • Avid smartphone user, Fantasy Sports
• Yearly personal income $45,000-$80,000+ • Loyal sports fan, watches and attends games with friends as a social outlet
*Studies show women are less likely to follow a sport because of a male influence and more likely to follow it for social interaction -- often women attend games in groups. Markovitz and Albertson (2012) wrote “participation in the consumption of sports, is as fundamental a part of contemporary American culture as it can be, it is important to most women because of the opportunities that such a participation offers for social inclusion” (p. 160). Further, Markovitz and Albertson (2012) also asserts “women’s relationship to sports commences at an early age.” 6
Primary Persona Chris Cooper, Sales Manager
Age: 38, Married with two kids Location: Lives in Gallatin, works in Nashville, Tenn.
Salary: $135,000 a year plus bonus Edu: B.S. in Business Management, some grad school
Offline Activities: Frequent gym user, weekly basketball game with friends at local gym, spending time with family including movies, a nice meal, zoo trips and about 3-4 Saturdays a season to see his alma mater, the Tennessee Vols, play football and the occasional Titans game. Watches the stock market but yet to invest. Travels frequently for work and spends downtime watching ESPN, movies and television programs like the Walking Dead and HBO’s True Detective.
Online Activities: Twitter, Facebook (few posts), sports blogs to check recruiting info, Fantasy Football, CNN app with notifications activated, Bleacher Report mobile app, ESPN mobile app, weather.com
“I want a smartphone sports app that is so simple to use that I can look up any team, anywhere and know exactly when they play.”
Biography: Chris is an upper level sales manager who lives in the suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee. He grew up in Tennessee and met his wife, Jennifer while attending the University of Tennessee. Chris is an avid sports fan having played basketball in high school -- he follows most college sports and professional sports. He doesn’t mind the cost of travel or tickets to see his favorite teams play. His family wears team gear on a regular basis. Chris still enjoys playing sports including the weekly pickup game with his buddies and the occasional golf outing. Chris is constantly connected with a smartphone and tablet always available -- part work and part play. Chris and his friends have an active fantasy football league. After church, Sundays are spent with his feet up and preferably, football on the television.
Technological comfort point: Chris is a consumer of many technical services and products. He understands how to operate the media in his home but doesn’t have a great knowledge of the technology that powers them.
User Goals: Chris enjoys the rich experiences apps like ESPN and the Bleacher Report provide but they tend to be cumbersome with too much information. Chris’ busy schedule has him in a lot of different cities week-to-week. Chris needs sports schedule solution that could quickly provide the dates, times and locations of games of the area sports teams. If Chris knew when and where the games were being played, he would use some of his down time attending sporting events on the road. 7
Secondary Persona Stephanie Turner, Physical Therapist
Age: 27, Single Location: Birmingham, AL
Salary: $80,000 a year Edu: B.S Degree in Physical Therapy
Offline Activities: Frequently attends group fitness classes mostly for social purposes. Stephanie enjoys hanging out with friends, shopping, reading, spending time with her family, and volunteering at the local animal shelter. Stephanie enjoys watching Downton Abby, Scandal and Mad Men. Biography: Stephanie attended Auburn University for PT school but is a devoted University of Alabama fan. Her entire family has cheered on the Crimson Tide for generations. Stephanie enjoys attending games with her girlfriends (when it’s financially feasible) but also likes to hang out with her dad during Alabama events. Football is her passion and she knows every player on the team and follows them on Twitter and Instagram. Nothing stands in the way of Stephanie on game day -- whether she be at a bar or the stadium with friends or home with her family -- Steph is definitely watching the game. On most Saturdays, game day or not, Steph is in her “roll tide” gear!
Technological comfort point: Stephanie always has her smartphone on hand and she is texting and posting frequently. She owns a Kindle Fire and is comfortable posting videos, photos, making collages and Vines -- basically any social media platform and tool is an option for Stephanie.
User Goals: Stephanie and her friends love Alabama athletics and while they cannot afford season tickets they do try to attend games. Stephanie needs an app so she can check game times, dates and locations. Online Activities: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, Tumbler -- where she follows her favorite celebrities and sports players posting 2-3 times during favorite sporting events. Stephanie also has apps for ESPN, AP, the Huffington Post, the Today Show and ABC News. She enjoys the convenience of her Kindle and reads when she can. Stephanie is in a fantasy football league with her brother and his friends.
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“Roll tide! I need an app that lets me quickly check game times and dates for my team without the clutter of all the other sporting news.”
Competitive Analysis Identify the Competition To understand the potential competitors for SmartPocket, a search of the iTunes App Store was conducted, specifically, a search for the terms “sports schedules.” Two direct competitors were identified – My Pocket Schedules and Sports Schedules. These apps are ideal comparisons – they offer a similar solution to finding sports schedules as SmartPocket. *It is important to note competitor identification is flawed as the only app store available for study
is the iTunes Apple Brand store. Therefore, apps offered for Windows and Android mobile phones are not represented in this analysis.
The second method of competitor identification involved searching the Internet for the top rated sports apps offered for mobile devices. (Only apps available by the iTunes App Store could be evaluated). Not surprisingly, the leaders in sporting news and televised events are also the leaders in mobile device apps. Comprehensive sports app rankings were found at these sites: • http://www.businessinsider.com/best-sports-apps-2012-10#espn-scorecenter-for-keeping-up-with-your-favorite-teams-1 • http://www.mensfitness.com/life/gearandtech/6-top-sports-apps-your-smartphone • http://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/599-best-sports-apps.html Some of the highest rated apps available for both Apple OS devices and Android devices are: ESPN, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report Team Stream, NCAA Sports, theScore, MLB.com at Bat and THUUZ Sports. SportsPocket cannot compete with the media powerhouses of the nationally marketed sports news companies. Mass media products provide more sports content than SportsPocket. Because these apps are the most used by sports fans and provide a component of our product offering -- mass marketed, multi-media apps should be evaluated.
Using search results, these competitor apps will be compared based on key features comparable to SportsPocket: • ESPN • Yahoo Sports • Bleacher Report Team Stream
• SEC Football • My Pocket Schedules
• Sports Schedules • NCAA Sports
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Competitor Comparison Evaluation
Key Dimensions for Comparison: In serving a niche category, SportsPocket will consider only the dimensions in which it is directly comparable. The focus of SportsPocket is to intuitively deliver reliable season schedules for all sports at all levels. Comparison features will concentrate on intuitive interactions with the app to retrieve sports schedules and identify pain points during the engagement.
Outcome: Based on the key features evaluated in the competitive analysis – SportsPocket has an opportunity to compete in the sports app market. Usability must be intuitive with a clutter free environment and the singular purpose of delivering reliable sports schedules must be at the center of all design.
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Solution Development Site Map: Solution development began with a site map. A visual representation of the relationship between screens was needed to gain a better understanding of navigation features.
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Solution Development Conceptual Sketches: Sketches began interface design Medium Fidelity Wireframes and Axure prototype: Sketches were turned into medium fidelity wireframes and interactivity was added with the software called Axure to allow for usability research. The aesthetic design and information architecture is provided by Venus Popplewell, coding will be accomplished by an outside source. Projected Platforms: • Android • iPhone • Windows Required Technologies: • Axure – wireframes and prototypes
Features:
• PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, CSS, HTML – Programming
• Push notifications for game alerts
• Swift or Objective C – iPhone/Apple development tool
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Medium Fidelity Prototype Link: http://7cqc0e.axshare.com
• Customizable favorites
• Trending teams
Research Goals and Procedures Usability Research Goals Goal 1: To determine if there is anything complicated or frustrating about accessing schedules from SportsPocket. Research should identify usability pain points. Goal 2: To determine if the user interface is intuitive, providing the appropriate affordances for ease of use. Goal 3: To determine if the user is satisfied with the information delivered by SportsPocket.
Research Methods and Usability Procedures The research method used was micro-usability testing by observational research. Each user was given a list of tasks to complete. They were scored based on their ability to complete the task. As the test participant progressed through the app interactions, comments were recorded. The primary goal of the app was strongly considered as key tasks features were developed for testing. The purpose of each task was to deliver a season sports schedule quickly and intuitively without barriers to success.
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Research Participants User test participants were chosen based on demographics and lifestyle behaviors which aligned individuals with the primary and secondary target market profiles. Participants are family and friends of the developer therefore no recruitment techniques were employed. Participation rewards were not necessary with this group of user testers.
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Usability Test Outcomes and Recommendations Outcomes: 0=Fail 1=Succeed with many barriers 2=Succeed with few barriers 3=Immediate success Task
Kara
Brian
Stacy Anthony
Discover schedules of trending teams Determine if home page is useful and intuitive
3
3
3
Search for Louisiana Tech Did user understand autocomplete feature How long did it take to complete task
3
3
3
3
Find user favorites Is interaction intuitive and useful
3
3
2
3
User testing through interactive medium fidelity wireframe prototype revealed pain points in usability with the SmartPocket
3
mobile app. Enhanced features like identifying and saving favorites were achieved but with barriers. Animation features on the main navigation menu were considered unneeded by users.
Find favorite schedules Is interaction intuitive How long did it take
3
Edit favorites Was task easily discoverable
1
Delete a favorite team Was task easily discoverable
1
1
3
3
Users enjoyed the focused simplicity of the content delivered, 4
3
2
3
3
3
3
3
Add a new favorite team Was task easily discoverable Did user understand to use autocomplete search bar
3
1
Go to settings Was task easily discoverable
3
3
3
Set game alert reminder Is interaction intuitive
3
3
2
5
1
Edit favorites from settings Is interaction intuitive
3
3
2
6
3
Discover Game Alerts Did user understand the icon
2
3
3
2
2
3
satisfying Goal #3. Recommendations for High Fidelity Wireframes: • Add a “back” interaction/button
3
• Remove animation on home feature so all functions are visible, “+” symbol was confusing
3
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• Some features need explicit affordance (labels) • Favorites/personalization was not intuitive and needed improved affordance to reveal usability
3
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Second Iteration, High Fidelity Wireframes User feedback was critical in moving forward with iterations. Overall users progressed intuitively through the app but barriers with important features like personalization needed to be addressed.
The following five iterations represent the screens accessible from the main menu navigation.
Main menu navigation was improved by removing the animation feature and using more recognizable metaphors for affordance.
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Second Iteration, High Fidelity Wireframes
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Second Iteration, High Fidelity Wireframes Secondary screens reveal options to edit and add favorite teams. When favorite teams are selected, screens change to team colors.
Back button/interaction available to navigate breadcrumb trail. 18
Favorite teams are communicated by a yellow star icon.
Third Iteration Improvements and Conclusion Users were asked to interact with SportsPocket a second time.
Test 2 Results: All users scored a success rate of 3 on all tasks. It was decided “edit/add favorites� had become a learned affordance and still had usability issues and could be improved.
Test 3 Results: Users were presented with the new edit/add feature and the response was favorable. Conclusion: Three iterations resulted in an overall user experience that was uncomplicated and intuitive. The goal of SportsPocket to deliver reliable sports schedules in an uncomplicated format on mobile device appears to be a realistic solution for devoted sports fans.
Link to Axure prototype
http://ecyfhz.axshare.com/#c=2
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Resources: !
TARGET AUDIENCE RESEARCH RESOURCES: Chemi, E. (2014) The NFL Is Growing Only Because of Women. Available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-09-26/the-nfl-is-growing-only-because-of-female-fans (Accessed: 30 April 2015) Derek Thompson is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where he writes about economics, markets, labor and @dkthomp, the entertainment business. (no date) Which Sports Have the Whitest/Richest/Oldest Fans?. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/02/which-sports-have-the-whitestrichest-oldest-fans/283626/ (Accessed: 30 April 2015) Eby, D. (2014) ‘2013 Sports Fan Demographics’, Female Sports Fans: An Untapped Sports Marketing Demographic (no date) Available at: http://www.askingsmarterquestions.com/female-sports-fans-anuntapped-sports-marketing-demographic/ (Accessed: 16 April 2015) Marketing to Sports Fans - US - Consumer market research report - company profiles - market trends – 2014 (no date) Available at: http://store.mintel.com/marketing-to-sports-fans-us-july-2014 (Accessed: 29 April 2015) Markovits, A. S. and Albertson, E. K. (2012) Sportista: female fandom in the United States. Philadelphia, Penn: Temple University Press Sports Apps Win Over Fans (no date) Available at: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Sports-Apps-Win-OverFans/1011434 (Accessed: 29 April 2015) Year in the Sports Media Report: 2013 (no date) Available at: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2014/year-in-the-sports-media-report-2013.html ( Accessed: 16 April 2015) (no date) Available at: http://sportsaffiliates.learfieldsports.com/files/2012/11/College-vs.-Pro.pdf (Accessed: 30 April 2015)
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