Designing a better game-day experience for esports teams

Designing a better game-day experience for esports teams

0 —> 1 design of a check-in system that increases match participation and decreases customer support workload 50%

0 —> 1 design of a check-in system that increases match participation and decreases customer support workload 50%
Team
Product Designer (Me), Product Manager, Software Engineer
Timeline
March 2024 to May 2024
Skills
User Research, Interaction Design, Microanimations

Vanta

Vanta

Vanta

organizes

organizes

organizes

tournaments

tournaments

tournaments

for

for

for

middle

middle

middle

and

and

and

high

high

high

school

school

school

esports

esports

esports

teams,

teams,

teams,

giving

giving

giving

20,000+

20,000+

20,000+

young

young

young

gamers

gamers

gamers

a

a

a

safe

safe

safe

way

way

way

to

to

to

compete.

compete.

compete.

Over

Over

Over

several

several

several

tournaments,

tournaments,

tournaments,

there

there

there

was

was

was

a

a

a

rise

rise

rise

in

in

in

match

match

match

no-shows;

no-shows;

no-shows;

coaches

coaches

coaches

cancel

cancel

cancel

last

last

last

minute

minute

minute

without

without

without

notifying

notifying

notifying

their

their

their

opponent.

opponent.

opponent.

Match

Match

Match

check-in

check-in

check-in

Begin Match
Begin Match
Begin Match

streamlines

streamlines

streamlines

match

match

match

setup,

setup,

setup,

and

and

and

gives

gives

gives

teams

teams

teams

more

more

more

chances

chances

chances

to

to

to

play.

play.

play.

Before
After
User Research
User Research

I

I

I

interviewed

interviewed

interviewed

3

3

3

coaches

coaches

coaches

and

and

and

customer

customer

customer

support

support

support

to

to

to

understand

understand

understand

the

the

the

current

current

current

match

match

match

experience.

experience.

experience.

I

I

I

discovered

discovered

discovered

match

match

match

setup

setup

setup

relies

relies

relies

heavily

heavily

heavily

on

on

on

Customer

Customer

Customer

Support,

Support,

Support,

and

and

and

when

when

when

an

an

an

opponent

opponent

opponent

doesn't

doesn't

doesn't

show,

show,

show,

teams

teams

teams

experience

experience

experience

delays

delays

delays

and

and

and

frustration.

frustration.

frustration.

1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3
Existing user flow
1
"I spend 20+ hours/week manually generating credentials for every match." -Customer Support
2
When an opponent doesn't show, coaches struggle to contact them and often escalate to Customer Support, leading to delays of, on average, 30 minutes
3
If an opponent never arrives, teams are left with no match to play, leading to frustration
Ideation
Ideation

I

I

I

initally

initally

initally

explored

explored

explored

an

an

an

event-style

event-style

event-style

match

match

match

detail

detail

detail

page

page

page

that

that

that

centralizes

centralizes

centralizes

match

match

match

setup,

setup,

setup,

removes

removes

removes

reliance

reliance

reliance

on

on

on

Customer

Customer

Customer

Support,

Support,

Support,

and

and

and

increases

increases

increases

the

the

the

chance

chance

chance

to

to

to

play

play

play

by

by

by

2x.

2x.

2x.

Schedule
Match Detail Page
Usability Testing
Usability Testing

I

I

I

tested

tested

tested

the

the

the

match

match

match

detail

detail

detail

page

page

page

with

with

with

4

4

4

coaches

coaches

coaches

and

and

and

found

found

found

the

the

the

check-in

check-in

check-in

window

window

window

didn't

didn't

didn't

follow

follow

follow

their

their

their

workflow,

workflow,

workflow,

and

and

and

a

a

a

critical

critical

critical

step

step

step

was

was

was

often

often

often

missed.

missed.

missed.

Insight:
Coaches
found
it
difficult
to
confirm
their
participation
24-hours
before
a
match
due
to
their
busy
schedules
Action:
Change
the
check-in
window
to
10-minutes
after
the
match
start
Insight:
Coaches
joined
a
scrimmage
before
confirming
their
opponents'
status
Action:
Display
steps
in
a
clear,
logical
order
Final Design
Final Design

A

A

A

simple,

simple,

simple,

just-in-time

just-in-time

just-in-time

check-in

check-in

check-in

flow

flow

flow

Confirm eligibility
Wait for opponent
Join match
Contact coach and/or join scrimmage
Edge Cases
Edge Cases

Scrimmage

Scrimmage

Scrimmage

constraints

constraints

constraints

made

made

made

me

me

me

adapt

adapt

adapt

the

the

the

check-in

check-in

check-in

flow

flow

flow

for

for

for

rescheduled

rescheduled

rescheduled

matches,

matches,

matches,

and

and

and

design

design

design

solutions

solutions

solutions

to

to

to

make

make

make

scrimmages

scrimmages

scrimmages

more

more

more

accessible.

accessible.

accessible.

Alternative check-in flow
For matches that are rescheduled, teams follow an alternative check-in flow that does not include the option to play a scrimmage
Scrimmage page
The scrimmage page shows when the queue is open and allows teams to join a scrimmage even if their match has been rescheduled
Outcome
Outcome

Match

Match

Match

check-in

check-in

check-in

reduces

reduces

reduces

costs

costs

costs

and

and

and

improves

improves

improves

the

the

the

game-day

game-day

game-day

experience:

experience:

experience:

Reduces
customer
support
workload
50%
by
automating
match
credentials
Increases
user
activity
2x
by
introducing
scrimmages
Reduces
no-show
delays
~30
minutes
by
displaying
opponent
contact
details
Zoe Boosalis
San Francisco, CA
Zoe Boosalis
Work
Resume
Open to Work
Contact Me!
Zoe Boosalis
Open to Work
Contact Me!