Research Findings:
Lack of accuracy
For amateur or low-level teams, volunteer-based stat keeping often lacks accuracy. Stat-keepers are using pencil and paper as the source of truth to capture both offensive/defensive stats and substitutions.
Waiting for results
Basketball players on travel club teams receive their individual stats information only after the tournament's conclusion, usually from a service hosted by the tournament sponsor.
Inaccessibility
At the professional level, stat keeping is often automated and verified by specialized league officials, making it inaccessible to the everyday basketball player.
Design Iteration: Exploring stat input
I created mid-fidelity mockups to get early feedback about the information architecture from users and the client. Because Jouzu is a web app, the browser bars infringed on the tap target space and could potentially cause mistaps. The challenge in this iteration was prioritizing the visual hierarchy and accessible touch targets. Due to this technical constraint, I redesigned the previous horizontal wireframes in a vertical orientation to prioritize single-handed, quick inputs as the game action unfolds.
Evaluate: Clickable prototype
After improving the initial statkeeping mechanism, I collected feedback through design walkthroughs with my client and 3 potential users. The takeaways from these interviews were as follows:
1) Coaches indicated the importance of the make/miss statistic
2) Users expect to see a box-score summary of the team's overall stats
3) Substitution needed to feel more familiar
For my next design iteration, I developed a clickable prototype and interview protocol for usability testing. Taking into account stakeholder feedback, I made updates to the substitution and input flows, pre-game team management, and the post-game box score summary.
Usability and Visioning
Following moderated usability testing, the results showed an increase in user satisfaction, task completion, and the overall experience met the initial project expectations. With these results, I handed off the MVP to the development team to begin the next phase of development.
However, I didn't stop there. I continued to follow up with interview participants to explore the potential for an even more social and engaging stat tracking experience. Through these discussions, a common theme among coaches and players emerged: a desire to share information outside of their teams, whether with recruiters or when transferring clubs.
With this feedback in mind, I set out to make Jouzu the LinkedIn of sports recruiting. I envisioned a platform that would enable athletes and coaches to connect and share their stats, creating a more dynamic and interactive community that would help players stand out and make valuable connections.
