Documentation
Poster (https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/wiki/Conference-Poster)
Brochure (https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/blob/master/sports%20finder%20brochure.docx)
Basketball Hoop (https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/blob/master/22850511_1623040364419481_1502682449_o.jpg)
Main Prototype: https://invis.io/V4E4FTLFJ
Maps API: https://syren1.github.io/
The Prototype is fairly intuitive. You can use the Invision app to get the full experience or go to the maps API to skip the login screen process. You can access maps API from Invision by clicking on the edges of the map. You can access court pages and schedule from Maps API. Everything within the Invision prototype is linked to each other so you should be able to get to every page within the prototype. If you want, please contact one of us so we can give you access to the screens on Invision so you can see all the screens that were made.
From the login page, you will be directed to the map where you can select what sport you want to play and when those games will be happening. From there you can access the court information page, where you can edit the information and see the rating of the court. On the schedule page you can see the games that have been scheduled to play on that court within the application. Blue highlighted games are games that you are hosting. From there you can "ready up" and the game will commence. When the game finishes the app will ask you to report the score and report any players that break the rules of the game or of the application.
Pickup Sports is defined as the act of organising and playing an impromptu game of any particular sport for the purpose of having fun or having a run around.
People who wish to play pickup sports currently would have to go to a local sporting arena in their area and try to coordinate a game with their mates through the use of messaging apps. Whether they get to play on these fields is solely based on luck as the field might be occupied by another group of people at that time or any other myriad of complication that may arise with turning up to a field unannounced and uninformed. The sporting community currently has no way to organise games with local players or friends or any ways to find people to play sports with aside from joining a club. Many users find the commitment and price of signing up for club sports puts them off and they would prefer to play casually and when they have time, rather than being told when to play.
Sports finder is an app that aims to streamline and simplify the pickup sporting experience by providing users a user driven platform in which they can better coordinate games with others. Users can find upcoming or current games in their vicinity, making it viable for them to coordinate games with either their friends or strangers they otherwise would never have.
Our solution to these problems is to create a platform that gives users the information they require to better organise pickup sporting events. By giving users information about pickup events being organised in their area, they are able to coordinate according to their relevant needs. This takes a lot of the guessing work out of the current pickup sporting scene and provides a new fundamental way to coordinate impromptu games. Games will be displayed based on when they are scheduled to start and games already happening will be shown so users can see which courts around them currently have people playing.
Google Maps API Screen (https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/issues/1)
After the first round of user testing done on the Maps API, it was clear that users did not think the icons were clear enough so we set about to make them clearer. One suggestion we had was to change the jersey colour on the icons to represent games happening at the moment, games happening within an hour, and games happening within 10 hours. These were the icons we came up with:
https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/blob/master/bball%20jersey%20red.jpg
https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/blob/master/bball%20jersey%20orange.jpg
https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/blob/master/bball%20jersey%20green.jpg
After subsequent user testing, we discovered that while these icons were better, the users still weren't entirely happy with the icons. So we changed the icons again, this time based on a suggestion that we just use the balls of the sport and add a coloured ring around them to signify the starting times of games. These are the icons that we designed:
https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/blob/master/basketball-available.png
https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/blob/master/basketball-game-on.png
https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/blob/master/basketball-soon.png
After another round of user testing with these new icons, we found that users found these icons much more pleasing and easier to read. Based off user feedback we also added a legend on the corner of the map (only visible on Invision) with what the colours represented. We ended up with green representing a game happening within 10 hours/arena available, yellow as a game happening soon, and red as a game that is currently in progress. We chose these colours to represent these items based on user feedback that they thought green would mean available and red would mean unavailable.
Player Profiles (https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/issues/2)
After the first round of user testing on the profile pages, we discovered that our profile pages were too complex and didn't fit the overall design of the application. Suggestions we were getting were to make the screens more app intuitive, to utilise the finger scrolling interactivity on a phone, to add more features and to refine the overall design. Below are the initial iterations of these screens:
Images after the above user recommendations:
The changes we made followed our user feedback, as such we changed the page to more suit the application design and make it more suitable for a mobile device as our initial iteration wasn't optimised for small devices. We also added an achievements section to our profile page as we wanted users to see what they had accomplished (e.g. king of the court 3 times, played 50 games, etc...)
Arena and Event Scheduling Screens (https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/issues/3)
After the first round of user testing on the arena and event scheduling screens, it was clear that users wished for there to be a general change to the theme and layout of these screens are they found the overall layout and colouring scheme to be a little chaotic and uninformative. One suggestion was to make the screens longer and scrollable so that more information could be put onto both the arena and event scheduling screens. Below are the initial iterations of these screens:
Images after the above user recommendations:
The changes made to these screens were to make them scrollable, allowing more information to be displayed on the screens. We also made the scheduling screens more informative and intuitive by incorporating this new functional design. We also added a review section to the arena screens so that users could provide a detailed review of the arena without allowing the description to potentially be negatively altered. In future, the goal would be for this aspect to be curated by administrators before being accepted as the new arena description.
Pre-Game Lobby Screen (https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/issues/5)
Our Pre-Game Lobby Screen was similar to our player profiles in that the first iteration wasn't mobile friendly and didn't suit our theme. Another criticism we received on this design was that the background was too bold and made for an cluttered and awkward viewing experience. Other than that users found the design to be both simple and intuitive, which was the goal. Below are the initial iterations of these screens
Images after the above user recommendations:
The final iteration was made easier to read on mobile devices and as a result was a lot easier to understand. We also removed the image background and changed it to a grey background, which follows the rest of the prototypes design theme. We also also added more functionality to this iteration, adding a "ready up" indicator to users nameplates and also messaging capabilities as users felt that both were integral to the apps overall functionality.
Defining User Base (https://github.com/deco3500-2017/HoopsFinder/issues/8)
Our user base was initially going to be very broad but soon realised this application would be targeted at a younger crowd and at people who were more inclined to play sports already. Our final target audience was the young sporting community after some more specific user research. This was because younger people were generally more open to the idea of using an application to go out and find social activities and lots of young people were juggling things like uni, work, and other commitments and were the most time constrained.
- Creating and iterating Maps API Screen
- User testing maps API screen
- Section 2 of Project Proposal
- Creating Brochure for Showcase
- User testing of final prototype
- Creating and iterating Pre-Game Lobby Screen
- User testing Pre-Game Lobby Screen
- Section 1 and 5 of Project Proposal
- Creating poster for showcase
- Putting together final prototype
- Creating and iterating Player Profiles
- User testing Player Profile
- Section 4 of Project Proposal
- Creating and iterating Arena/Court Page
- User testing Arena/Court Page
- Section 3 of Project Proposal
- Creating poster for showcase