UX Case Study: Elevating Player Engagement with This Hockey Nation (PoC)
Designed for recreational hockey players of all levels to set up well-attended and talent-balanced games.
Background:
This Hockey Nation, a (proof of concept) premier sports media platform, aimed to enhance player engagement and provide a personalized experience for hockey enthusiasts. Recognizing the passion and dedication of hockey players, This Hockey Nation sought to create a digital hub that celebrates the sport and fosters community among players of all levels.
Problem Statement:
Despite the widespread popularity of hockey, existing sports media platforms often lack the depth and personalization desired by players. This Hockey Nation identified the need for a comprehensive platform that offers unique content, interactive features, and a sense of belonging for hockey players of all skill levels.
Research:
User Interviews: Conducted interviews with hockey players to understand their preferences, interests, and pain points regarding existing sports media platforms.
Competitor Analysis: Analyzed competitor offerings in the sports media space to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for differentiation.
Market Research: Studied trends in sports media consumption and player engagement to inform the development of This Hockey Nation's platform.
Design Process:
User Persona Development: Created user personas representing different segments of the hockey player community, including casual players, competitive athletes, and aspiring professionals.
Wireframing and Prototyping: Developed wireframes and prototypes of the This Hockey Nation platform, focusing on intuitive navigation, engaging content formats, and interactive features.
User Testing: Conducted usability testing sessions with hockey players to gather feedback on the platform's design, functionality, and overall user experience.
Iterative Design: Incorporated user feedback to refine the platform's interface, improve usability, and enhance engagement features.
Solution:
This Hockey Nation offers a dynamic and immersive platform that caters to the diverse interests and preferences of hockey players:
Personalized Content: Players receive personalized content recommendations based on their skill level, position, and areas of interest, ensuring relevant and engaging experiences.
Interactive Features: Interactive drills, training guides, and challenges encourage player participation and foster skill development.
Exclusive Interviews and Insights: Access to exclusive interviews with professional players, coaches, and experts provides players with valuable insights and inspiration.
Community Forums: Dedicated forums and discussion boards allow players to connect, share experiences, and seek advice from peers and mentors
Outcome:
Positive Feedback: Hockey players have expressed interest in using This Hockey Nation to stay engaged with the sport and provide a platform that truly understands and caters to their needs and aspirations.
Future Considerations:
Continued innovation and enhancement of the This Hockey Nation platform to further meet the evolving needs and aspirations of hockey players. This includes
Interactive Features: Interactive drills, training guides, and challenges encourage player participation and foster skill development.
Exclusive Interviews and Insights: Access to exclusive interviews with professional players, coaches, and experts provides players with valuable insights and inspiration.
Conclusion:
Maybe one day I’ll find help (💰) to build it.
Why do I need this in my life?
Skipping the gym, a run or a rec hockey game because you're too busy or tired? Maybe your game is on Tuesday, but your spouse has plans and you can't find a sitter. Whatever the reason for bailing, missing hockey sucks.
You’re right! Missing hockey DOES suck!
This Hockey Nation (THN) is a community where hockey players can easily set-up, plan or join well-attended, talent-balanced pick-up games that fit around their schedules.
Your home page is your hockey HQ
Grab a snapshot of what's happening in your hockey world. View and rate past games, see updates, post media and quickly access:
💯 Your current THN rating
🏒 Join upcoming games
👀 Check ice availability
🚨 Get alerts about your MVPs
💠 ...and much more!
Play when you want
Miss Tuesday's game, but free every other night? Make up that missed ice!
You can Find A Game currently looking for players, or let THN connect you to your local rink's last-minute-ice schedules so you can check ice availability.
🤨 Not feeling the vailable games?
🕹 Become "The Commish", customize your own game
📨 Invite your linemates and MVPs
🦓 Add a ref option for authenticity!
🙌 2 full benches + 2 goalies - EVERY. TIME.
Let's be frank, hockey isn't the same without 2 goalies. We automatically alert all goalies in the system of your game (goalies can mute this feature) and only after two goalies have confirmed their attendance (goalies always play free!) will your game become "live".
It then builds attendance in the community of players who express interest in joining, but also match the game's demographics.
Your newly created game is now live on user's homepages and via the Find A Game section. The homepage card allows them to quickly access the following to determine if they'd be interested in joining or perhaps share it with a friend.
📍Game location
🎛 Game type (Co-Ed, Mens 50+ etc.)
🥇 Talent level
🌡 Attendance status
So yeah, ice costs money💰
For too long some poor schmuck has had to put his/her credit card on the line and chase down folks for their $20.
At THN we say "No more!" We're all adults here (kinda) and we need to be responsible for our actions.
🏧 Deposit cash into your wallet via PayPal or credit card
🔒 As you join games, 1/20th of the ice rental fee is held in escrow
✅ Once the game confirms each player's share is combined to pay for the ice
👍 Game on!
💪 Games are talent-balanced
With the THN anonymous rating system, each user receives a THN rating from other players to help ensure the same calibre of players are joining a game. When setting up a game 'The Commish' can set parameters around gender or co-ed, age, skill level etc. to tailor the games.
Upon signing up THN each user answers a series of questions to help determine their rating. From there, the rating morphs organically based on other player's rankings of you.
For example, someone may sign up as a 9 but after lacing them up with other 9s might consider themselves a 6. They likely didn't have much fun if they couldn't keep up with the game.
Our system is designed to encourage skill development and gradually increase a player's competence thus it will only allow a player to join games +/- 2 points from their THN rating. Therefore a rated 9 player can't show up to a level 6 game, but a level 3 player could join a level 5 game to test those (frozen) waters.
Chirps and banter
In-app messaging is baked in so you can keep all your primo chirps in one convenient location. Come on, we've all sent that "Oops, wrong person" text. 😂