COMPETITIVE/COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
We looked at competitors and comparative companies to see how they communicated sports news to their users. On the comparative side, we looked at which information users wanted to see. Additionally we discovered that there was indeed a need for this service as none of our direct competitors serviced this particular market.
CONTEXUTAL INQUIRY
I went to a Yankee game with a willing screener participant to observe the goals and frustrations of our target user while attending a sporting event. Furthermore, we wanted to see first hand how our user's environment will affect the way they would use the product.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- User was not following along most of the game.
- The user mostly had questions surrounding buzzwords, plays they say and lingo they didn't understand.
- The user only resorted to asking her seat mates questions when a simple google search couldn't provide a simple answer.
- Her kind seat mate was typically able to provide answers to her questions in 10 words or less.
- User said she was most curious in the human interest factor: players stories and team match up backstory.
- The game became more interesting to her once she gained more understanding on how it was played.
USER RESEARCH
We conducted various forms of user research in order to better understand our user base. We sought to validate our assumption that the sports novice, though they may not understand the game being played, would want to know more about the sport in real time in order to be a part of the conversation.
screener survey - qualifying the user
We first sent out a screener survey to find viable users to interview. The infographic below describes how we determined viable candidates for our user base.
user interviews- understanding the user
Once we found viable interviewees, we conducted user interviews to understand the wants, needs, and behaviors of the sports novice.
Synthesis- storyboards
From our interviews, we determined that the majority of our users felt left out and lost at sporting events they were not familiar with. This is a scenario we heard many times during our interview process. This was also a scenario experienced during contextual inquiry.
PERSONAS
After completing our research and developing a strong understanding of our user and their needs, we created two personas that encompass The Gist's user's behaviors.
PRIMARY | THE SOCIAL SPORTS NOVICE: Recommend events by location, event live feed, sports lingo dictionary/education section.
SECONDARY | THE CLIENT FACING PROFESSIONAL: Pre-match up page/information, customizable notifications, stealth mode.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
