Kojo Boateng Studio

DISPLAYING GAME ACTIVITY IN THE FEED

CLIENT: VPAR

VPAR introduced a feed feature which allowed golfers to see their activity and the activity of their friend. The feed includes news updates, challenges and results from rounds played. The previous design for completed games showed results for Strokeplay and Stableford games but not for Matchplay formats. In order to expand this feature they wanted to provide a solution that considered different golf formats and what can we show. 

The original display of a game result within the feed

We started by looking at what the current game formats are displayed as results in the feed. The main format displayed on the feed was Strokeplay, one of the aims of the project was to establish a way to display a variety of scoring formats whilst retaining a consistent overall design. The design also needed to introduce a way to show matchplay formats and Stableford formats.

Talking to users
 
During the initial research phase I interviewed our cohort of user about what were the important aspects for users engaging with the feed. Users told us that they wanted a quick way to see how each person performed within their individual tee time. In the event that they had side bets on a round.
 
Some users told me that they would be more interested in seeing the scores of other players who were in another tee time. Depending on the type of format being played and the golfers handicap. Some statistics were more important than others to be shown in the feed. For example users who play in tournaments, seeing the scores from their own tee time was less important than seeing the performance of other players in the competition.

Comparing features

To get a more complete overview of the Feed section I did a comparative analysis of other social golf apps created. I created a spreadsheet and compared features to see where VPAR had leverage over our competitors and also where there were potential opportunities for the app.

What we learned

What I found from my research was that whilst all the apps displayed results from round in their feed, many also favoured social media style updates which included photographs and the ability to upload their own photos. This tended to make them look and feel more like Instagram or Facebook. Some users in the older demographic felt these sorts of features were less important. we decided to focus on the needs of the golfer, specifically their desire to see round results displayed in a clear and consistent manner.

Concept 1

We wanted to explore  placing game scores and stats on the card. We made the image course image larger and laid the designs over the image. We wanted to make the information on the page more conversational rather than only displaying scores. From a technical point of view the the display of statistics may look inconsistent of the user doesn’t enter all the statistics as they play.

Users liked the use of a larger image and the new layout but some felt that there was too much information on the screen and that it may be too much information to read on the screen.

Design Concept 2
 
We re-rearrange the layout of the the score and statistics, placing the statistics in a fixed position at the bottom. 
 
Whilst the user liked this design more, they still found some information difficult to read. There was also issues user had in terms of understanding quickly who had won a round. Users told us that they wanted to decipher their standing more quickly, and in a more traditional way.
Design Concept 3
We decided to go back to the original design and how score were displayed for strokeplay and stableford games. For matchplay games we used simplified what we had learned from the visuals from larger competitions. Whist the designs for strokeplay/stableford and matchplay games 
 
What users told us
Users liked this layout a lot, but were concerned that for matchplay rounds, the design was not bold enough. The arrow that indicated the winner and the score was a little too small. We felt that we were onto something with this new design so designs were passed on to a visual design for more refinement

Scoring for tournaments

For our research we looked at how the professional competitions like the PGA tour and the US open showed their results. We also looked at our own live scoring feature to see what we could learn from the VPAR Live Leaderboard.  Our challenge was how to simplify the display of  matchplay games within the feed. We needed to display individuals or teams as ‘Player 1 beat Player, then the outcome. By looking at these designs we simplified the layout in wireframes. Our next direction was less conversational and much clearer.

Design Concept 4
 
Once we were happy with the initial wireframes. A visual designer  created a more distinctive layout using colours and arrows which made it much clearer to the user what the final score was. This layout was also used on the round details page which showed the full scorecard and leaderboard. The visual designs were passed on to an an Android developer.

The final build

The final design is a cleaner more flexible layout which allows the consistent display of multiple game formats for Strokeplay, Matchplay and Stableford for  individuals, teams and tournaments. The introduction of a larger course image gives the feel of a social feed, whilst still focussing on the game of golf. Feedback from users has been positive making the feed feature more social more dynamic.