Visualizing smart-sensor solutions and information ecosystem compatibility in mobile sports applications.
A research, design, and dev project by the Prifina Inc. team.
Prifina is a personal data platform where data is managed entirely by each individual user. Its unique user-held data model enables customers to seamlessly link data to coexisting apps by utilizing aspects such as their wearables, location, and online services data.
ParPro is a sensor-integrated golf app designed to enhance golfers' experience on and off the course via a range of feedback features. Throughout the development of this project the design and software team at Prifina conducted multi-pronged research that reevaluated their existing understandings of user-centered design, data tracking, and golfing culture.
Timeline
January - April 2024
Role
UX Researcher/Canvasser, UX Designer, UI Artist, Documentation
Tools
Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, ReactNative, Bootstrap, Notion
Github Repository
Notion Documentation
Brainstorming and Market Analysis
Conducting market research and analyzing competitors allowed the team at Prifina to identify key features and opportunities. By using open-source intelligence the team worked to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of competing golf apps. This process helped to enhance ParPro’s potential brand position, focusing on studying various communication strategies that would reveal unique attributes that would allow the brand to stand out amongst the crowd.
Ethnographic Interviews
Conducting interviews achieved the goal of understanding golfers' needs and preferences. Questions were administered digitally and in-person to demographic representatives. These individuals ranged between beginners, casual players, and experienced athletes.
The team collected information regarding the opinions and preferences of golf players and were able to accumulate a solid group of data within the designated research phase of 2 weeks.
See full interview documents here
Crafted Personas
User personas were crafted after data from interviews and questionnaires was condensed to identify singular representatives of the demographic population. These frameworks represented the actualized needs among participating users and validated developments throughout each stage of prototyping, ensuring that the desired user experience was centric to the needs of the user and not influenced the opinions of the designers.
User Flow Optimization
Comparing apps across the feedback provided by interviewees allowed development to understand how the user flow of golf maintained and fluctuated between distinct classes of users, reaffirming the gaps left vacant by competitors that were found during prior phases.
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Accessibility: Being able to monitor and track their golf progress without feeling pigeonholed into buying specific golfing equipment and sensor-integrated units i.e sensored clubs, balls, etc.
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Inclusivity: Many existing golf applications allow users to compare their performance to others but are limited solely to those who match up similarly to themselves. Casual golfers expressed heavy interest in being able to compare themselves across higher and lower skill levels.
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Accuracy: Calibrating existing platforms can vary in user satisfaction. For many apps the accuracy of their on-field feedback is inconsistent and often requires the user to input the correct information themselves. The feedback given is also frequently baseline in nature and is not personalized or adaptive to the user’s unique play profile.
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Consolidation: A significant portion of the research demographic relayed that they would prefer if the process of playing a round was streamlined into as few disparate platforms as possible. This included planning, booking, recording, learning, and managing their equipment.
Typescale
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
H0 HEADING 0
Quicksand Bold 48 pt
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
H1 HEADING 1
Quicksand Bold 32 pt
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
H2 HEADING 2
Quicksand Bold 20 pt
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
H3 HEADING 3
Quicksand Semibold 18 pt
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
P1 PARAGRAPH 1
Quicksand Medium 16 pt
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
P2 PARAGRAPH 2
Quicksand Regular 12 pt
Design System
A branded design system was created that was inspired by the Google Materials 3 library. This allowed the team to test, swap, and adjust elements accordingly based on iterative feedback metrics. This organized system also ensured each screen can be scaled responsively.
By using Figma variables color, size, and spacing were organized into categorical hierarchies which allowed for seamless communication and accessibility within the team and organization. The variables system also opened up the capability for different modes such as light and dark modes; each screen is capable of flipping between modes via a one-step toggle.
Home
The gateway to ParPro’s personalized golfing experience featuring a dashboard central hub that displays each user’s unique profiles, upcoming events, notifications, and settings. Users can regularly use this hub to monitor their game, organize their schedule, and plan for future practice.
Play
The gateway to ParPro’s personalized golfing experience featuring a dashboard central hub that displays each user’s unique profiles, upcoming events, notifications, and settings. Users can regularly use this hub to monitor their game, organize their schedule, and plan for future play and practice.
Booking
The play feature integrates swing analysis tools, score tracking, course navigation, and detailed course maps.
While on the field, ParPro links with the user’s smartwatch to record motion data, force input, and travelled distances. The display provides real-time feedback comparison with each hole and offers unique tips based on topology, weather, or how the user is playing in the moment.
Training
Provides golf equipment recommendations, training plans, video tutorials, and drills. Each regimen includes progressive sections that the user can manually select or request ParPro to match up with based on past scorecards.
Syncing with a smartwatch intuitively tracks the data from each swing, chip, or putt and provides personalized feedback and infographics to show each individual a clear route towards their goals.
Scorecard
Visiting the Scorecard tab allows golfers to track their performance, insights, statistics, and handicap calculation. Casual users seeking a simple and intuitive way to calculate their game can skim through to view their unique breakdown.
Archives of each round allow users to revisit past games and view insights for specific hits, holes, or the round in general. User-friendly infographics aid golfers in understanding their progression, trends, and areas for improvement.
Dev Notes and User Testing
ParPro used primarily ReactNative and Expo for development with additional NPM packages. Due to constraints, there is no database to store user data. The development team created a "makeshift" database with React Context to provide mock data that dynamically persists on each screen.
Future goals for this project is to install an actualized backend and utilize any sensor type products/data that are allowed on Prifina's platform.
Sensors and Ecosystem Considerations
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ParPro is designed to use golf as a medium to share an individual’s personalized data across Prifina’s ecosystem of applications. Examples include platforms of social media, conditions, exercise, and commerce among others.
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Given the widespread popularity of golf, it was recommended that Prifina explore the possibility of incorporating golf-related datasets with sensors.
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Because ParPro’s intended use case does not include sensor-integrated sports equipment the app slots into the Prifina library without additional obstacles such as outsourcing or industrial design development. However, such advancements can be considered in the future.
Feedback
Through working on the ParPro project, each member of the team gained invaluable insights and skills that built upon existing understandings of user-centered design, app development, and the intricacies of the golfing industry. Mapping out each stage of the research and development process while communicating between tasks in progress cemented a strong sense of cohesion that helped each member to build on both time management and technical skills while deepening a sense of appreciation for creating solutions that delve into the core of user experience.
Currently ParPro is in the introductory phase of development, functioning on a makeshift database and cycling mock data. The app has been added to Prifina's digital library and is pending further announcements to finalize and develop it fully.
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