Abstract. I wanted to create a product which would innovate on some aspect of sport. I kept an open mind as to which particular area to focus on until after a round of exploratory interviews. This project was conducted using a design-thinking process.
My role. Product Designer (personal project).
Process. I began this project by scheduling a series of interviews with a diverse set of people either directly or indirectly involved in some area of sport. Interviewees consisted of 1 Primary School Teacher, 1 Physiotherapist, 1 Sports Coach (GAA), 2 College Students, and 2 Adults who played amateur sport to a high skill level. Moodboards, personas, and journey maps were created following the interviews from which data could be organised and ranked in order of importance. Insights were extracted from these findings and researched.
Key Insight. A common theme amongst amateur athletes (particularly those of a school going age) is that they often play multiple sports which can lead to over-training and subsequently, a higher risk of injury. Furthermore, coaches aren't aware of the player workload from other clubs much of the time. Players themselves are often oblivious as to the risks of over exercising.
Problem Statement. Tim is a youth team coach who needs up to date information on player health and activity because of the risk to player welfare through over exercising in a multi-activity lifestyle.
Solution. YOBIO is a product for player metrics which is shared amongst local teams. The vision is to create a transparent platform that can benefit players and clubs alike. Coaches from different clubs can log training sessions so player workloads are visible to all stakeholders. Gathering of data will allow the program to suggest a balanced training schedule across different clubs. If certain players are training excessively in a certain discipline, this will be highlighted and adjustments on an individual level can be suggested. Medical notes can be attached to a player profile to best inform others of any injuries or concerns.
Research. both quantitative and qualitative research was conducted to test the viability of the insights. A second round of interviews was conducted with the coach and physiotherapist, while medical papers were researched around the area of over-training in particular. A problem statement was formulated on which to build the product around before entering the design phase.
The design phase started with a sitemap and some simple wireframes on paper, multiple layouts and ways of graphically representing data were explored, and favourites brought forward for user testing. I like to get user feedback at multiple stages of the design stage to ensure continuous improvement to the product and highlight any issues early on.
Once happy with basic wireframes, the project was moved forward to low fidelity prototypes and a new round of user testing. The product was tested by a product designer, a parent, a sports coach (GAA) and a primary school teacher (2 female, 2 male). Feedback was analysed and some changes were made to the design before a high fidelity prototype was produced and tested by the same group.
