Changing the way archers gather
their scores in competitions
Waypoints App, UX Design Case Study
The product
Waypoints as an app orients on archers that participate in competitions.
The Case study is not only a result of prompt “Designing for social good” in Google UX Professional Certificate, it is a passion project as well.
Project Duration: Q2-Q3 2024
Project overview
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Old way of score keeping appears to be time consuming, can induce result writing errors and puts pressure on score keeper.
The Problem
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Create streamlined process using AR and visual aid to simplify score keeping as a whole.
The goal
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UX design process from start to finish.
My role
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Research, Data evaulation, Ideation, Prototyping, Usability testing
Responsibilities
The Old ways
Start of the competition
The Archer registers to the event on website
In the morning of a competition begins hes/hers day by signing into competition with judges
Later then continues by writing his/hers name onto a big sheet of paper next to a number representing both group and number of target. This way it is decided where to start.
Competition and Score keeping
After a signal archers move in groups onto target locations they signed to before.
Archers shoot one at a time. Each archer has two shots (this might change depending on type of competition).
After the shooting is done, Score keeper says name of fellow archers and one of the archers reads target.
Each archer has his/hers own table for writing results.
If any shot causes a dispute and needs to be resolved, archers usually vote if the shot appears to be in one or another score zone.
The solution
Streamlined event onboarding
Two ways to write scores
User research
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My research included collecting data about current situation during archery competitions.
I’ve contacted local archery club LK Jurský Strapec asking to share a form with standardized questions.
8 participants including the club manager were kind to share their thoughts and experiences.
Target users
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Age under 18 - above 50
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Archery competition participants
Competitions include 3D Archery courses (mostly hobby), however the solution can be scaled beyond the hobby segment into more proffessional kind.
Pain points
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Time consuming
Writing on paper takes longer and tends to slow the competition down.
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Writing errors
High possibility of errors during handwriting the scores
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Responsibility pressure
Some participants might feel increased pressure because of responsibility taken as a score writer
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Stress and focus
Writers can be stressed and placed out of focus during the competition what can affect negatively their performance
Design criteria
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The user experience have to be oriented on simplifying/streamlining the score keeping and reliability, since competitions may be situated in areas without or with a limited internet connection.
Ease of use - Apps interface need to be simple, writing scores as a process have to accomodate for users that are not familiar with technologies
Information Hierarchy & User Flow
Mapping the possible journey
First attepmt:
From paper to digital
Paper wireframes
Transfering to digital
Early prototype
You can interact with the prototype by below or open in new tab.
Improving on initial designs
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The first usability study was conducted as a moderated type with 5 participants. Study participants were four members of LK Jurský Strapec and one person from bow store. All participants are active archers, joining 3D archery competitions for hobby segment.
Study findings
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Dispute shots
4 out of 5 participants declared that arrows can land between zones and they need to be resolved during score writing.
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Progress data
3 out of 5 participants asked for a functionality to see progress data when on Map
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Data writing
3 out of 5 participants asked for a way to write data manually, not relying on AR functionality
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Notification alerts
One participant declared a valid point related to outdoor events in general. Including a way to inform users about sudden changes in weather or other alerts might be particularly helpful.
How I addressed feedback
Before the study
After the studyMap update 1
Focused on adding a way to decide which way the user
will enter data to target.
Before the study
After the studyMap update 2
Creating a pull-up bar for quick glance at progress.
How it works:
1. Join the group
Using Maya principle*, I´ve kept the known approach to enter the competition by signing into a Group number and at same time representing starting target.
2. Pick score keeper (or not)
Among entering the group, the user is prompted to participate in score keeper voting. 2 Archers with most points will be score keepers for the group.
This step can be skipped however, keeping the app accessible to each group member.
*”Most advanced, yet acceptable”. Principle popularized by Raymond Loewy (1893-1986).
3. Use map to enter the target
The user journeys during the competition from the map. Each target allows the user to pick how to start writing the scores. Choosing AR or manual is an accessibility choice.
*AR part should be known as an assistant, keeping the user in control of score writing.
4. Write the scores (your way)
Score writing is performed by dragging “score pills“ onto archers card or by tapping the score possition and choosing from standardized scores.
Why this way of score writing?
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My 3 reasons for this sollution.
Two ways of score writing
Each card is intended to represent score for the archer and supports both gamified (dragging and dropping socalled score pill onto a card) and classic score writing through tapping a field and picking standardized score.
Ergonomy first
Cards as well as “score pills” are possitioned under thumbs natural resting possition, thus enabling writing the scores in short amount of time.
Distraction free
Layout of score keeping screen is meant to be simple to navigate. No item on screen shall create any distraction, since the app is intended for use in active competitions where every lost minute could create jam on track.
The User is in full control about score keeping and the way scores are written down.
High-Fidelity prototype
You can interact with the prototype by below or open in new tab.
2nd Usability study
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Second usability study was focused on simulating the feeling of archery competition from start to score writing.
Done with 5 participants. 1 female and 4 male archers that actively compete as hobby in 3D archery.
Study findings
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Keeper voting
4 of 5 participants asked who they are during keeper voting. The user itself was not specifically marked and was relied on avatars.
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Score cards
3 of 5 participants mentioned the fact, that there are no visible clues for how many shots to write.
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Score card behavior
2 participants expected the card visuals to change when done writing.
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Score pills behavior
3 of 5 participants expected the pills to have some sort of animation as a visual clue that they can be dragged.
Final improvements
Before the study
After the studyKeeper voting screen
A simple animation that creates user awareness was added to the keeper voting screen.
This way it is achieved that user can navigate through more easily.
Before the study
After the studyScore writing screen
Enhanced with clearer visuals and micro animations for score pills.
Final prototype
You can interact with the prototype by below or open in new tab.
Key takeaways
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Impact
This passion project aims to create a simpler way to both manage competitions and score keeping by replacing traditional methods, but keeping the known approach.
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Lessons from the project
In this project I've dived deeper into ergonomics of app design and explored ways to keep the user engaged through micro animations.
What I’ll do differently next time
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Study scheduling
One of biggest lessons was for me this time the scheduling of user testings. Unfortunately, for personal reasons I did not planned ahead and did both studies “just in time”. This caused more stress for me, because I’ve set up unrealistic goal and did not account for summer vacations of the participants.
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Animations and file cleaning
Focusing on animations for this project created another obstacle. Not only was the file a lot slower, but created more disorganization along the way. I did my best to clean up the file as much as possible, however this proved to be challenging when comming back to the design after usability study break and later personal reasons.
What’s next
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Diving deeper
Great way to explore the design further could be to build a companion website for managing the competitions.
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Personal Goal
My goal is to show this work to local 3D Archery association and collect more feedback on what could and could not work in real world.
One (or) more thing(s)
Thank you
I truly value the time you spent
to learn about the project.