As someone who is unfamiliar with the basketball world, game rules and basketball lingo felt like foreign languages.
User Interviews
What is important to the Scorekeeper?
What is the most frustrating part of your role? What information is most important when you are managing the game? What would help you better follow players involved in each play? What do you wish you could change about the scorekeeping process?
assist = ASTfoul = flb3-pointers = 3ptfree throw = FTair ballsteal = STL2-pointers = 2ptblock = blkrebound = reb2nd halftimeoutOvertime = OT1st half6 fouls per player per half6 fouls per team per game3 timeouts per team each game2 timeouts per team in first half1 timeout per team in overtimegame time = 40:00 minHalf time = 20:00 mina play = stats leading up to a scored point
8 different stats per player ...per each play. + MORE!
Literature Review
Looking to the pros... only to find more dead ends
There are no scorekeeping tools to reference. I redirected my focus to creating a tool that is unique to Cosmo's needs.
Analyze what current tools Cosmo scorekeepers use.
Cosmo scorekeepers have their hands full... literally.
Problem
The inefficient scorekeeping process prevents scorekeepers from keeping their focus on the game.
Scorekeepers are disrupted by scoresheet inconsistencies and need to constantly alternate between TWO paper scoresheets.
Design Approach
Affinity Mapping
What disrupts the scorekeeping flow?
Pain Points:
Tracing spreadsheet cells are time consuming and tedious
Super tiny spreadsheet cells are hard to see
Present players and team rosters are often inconsistent
Not everyone shows up to each game because Cosmo is a casual local basketball league
Marks are difficult to distinguish
Mistakes covered by hasty scribbles are often confused with correct marks
How might we help scorekeepers record game stats efficiently?
Exploration
Prototyping
Creating a control panel for scorekeepers that matches their flow
Low Fidelity
Selected the vertical layout to display all players and their information in rows.
ITERATION 1
Displaying active and passive information
Focus: adding and removing stats across all players
Making the scoresheet interactive with counters:
Problem Is it necessary to display every player's stats at once? How can we add stats more easily in a rush when movements are not as precise?
ITERATION 2
Narrowing the scorekeeper's focus on the player
Focus: enlarging touch points to make adding stats easier
Breaking out of the conventional stat sheet: - adding stats to each player = primary - no need to look at all the players at once - other player's stats don't matter when recording
The tool's role is to simply record. The book's role is to display.
Problem Not enough room for players
ITERATION 3
Displaying active information
Focus: Displaying team limits and constraints
What information is active vs. passive in the game?
Conditions and rules vary between the 1st and 2nd halves of the game, depending on the team's progress
ACTIVE INFORMATION Tracking stats that affect the team's limits and constraints - max fouls - max timeouts
Problem Difficult to scroll between two teams
ITERATION 4
Anchoring interaction
Focus: minimize the need to scroll constantly
Teams are displayed side by side Selected player appears on top, inline with the stats panel
Problem Player stats, stats panel, and adding/removing switch did not feel related
ITERATION 5
Unifying components
Focus: Helping the user make easy associations
Adding/subtracting switch moved inline with stats panel Fouls and timeouts stylized to look like info, not buttons Problem Grayscale color palette feels plain, but maintains neutrality between teams
Success Metrics
How quickly can scorekeepers switch between players?
Initial interviews: scorekeepers take 3-4 seconds to locate a player on the spreadsheet. - naming inconsistencies create gaps on paper that disrupt the flow - tiny rows and columns are difficult to trace on paper With Swift, scorekeepers located a player in 1.5 seconds! - more visible buttons - less steps (automatic score calculation)
Scorekeepers are less likely to miss a crucial play when they look down for a shorter amount of time!
Impact
Why is this shift worth it?
Scorekeepers can now stand up and carry the digital scoresheet panel, allowing them to follow players more closely and keep their eyes on the game. Additionally, all data is instantly logged into the system, giving scorekeepers back their time.
