COMP482 Assignment 1 PDF

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Summary

Assignment 1: Task-Centered Design and PrototypingINTRODUCTIONThe name of the app is “SportsID” – it will connect sports-fanatics worldwide; it will allow themto interact with games/matches in a whole new, and thrilling way.Users of the system will get to follow their favourite sports and predict th...

Description

Assignment 1: Task-Centered Design and Prototyping INTRODUCTION The name of the app is “SportsID” – it will connect sports-fanatics worldwide; it will allow them to interact with games/matches in a whole new, and thrilling way. Users of the system will get to follow their favourite sports and predict the outcomes of games/matches. The main pull factor of the system is the competition amongst users for points. There Are many betting sites that allow gamblers to bet on games. This system, however, is for pure entertainment only. Like many fantasy sports apps – the main goal of this system is to attract sports fans who enjoy competition and bragging rights. From the system user’s perspective, the end goal is simple: make the right picks, gain points, interact with other users, and enjoy the bragging rights. My ideal customer is anyone who loves sports. So in regards to demographics, SportsID doesn’t have a specific target for factors such as income level, ethnicity, education, and so on. With that said, however, most customers are expected to be male, and over the age 15. With that said, users tend to focus on different things. Namely; match results, personal stats, global stats, and social interactivity. o

Match results – these users are more concerned with finding out which team won

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Personal stats – these users are more concerned with evaluating their points, selections, where do they rank amongst friends, number of followers (users/friends) they have, and other related stats.

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Global stats – these user are more concerned with evaluating the cumulative stats of all system users. E.g. what teams do users picks the most or least to win.

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Work contexts—a description the work setting

Given that the system’s main goal is not to make everyone happy, there are many system constraints. Most notably: o

System requires and internet connection

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System will not show second by second game/match scores

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System is only available in English

o

Only sports in their most prominent respective leagues are supported at the moment. Namely; Soccer (EPL, La Liga, Seria A, and Bundesliga), Basketball (NBA, NCAA Basketball), Hockey (NHL), Football (NFL, CFL, NCAA Football), and Tennis (ATP, WTP), and MMA.

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Users cannot make picks/predictions on any game

Concrete task examples Task 1 Philip Fernandes, who has just been referred to SportsID by his friend, wants to choose his favourite sports to follow. He goes through the list of sports the system offers and chooses soccer, basketball, football, and MMA.After that, he chooses the specific professional leagues he’s interested in. Philip is technologically inclined and follows sports religiously. Discussion: Philip, like many current users, is new to the system. But because he was referred by a friend, he has a good idea of what the system does and what to expect from using it.

Task 2 Antonio Dias is a former gambler, whom upon going to a focus group, was advised to seek out an alternative to gambling. He navigates to the page showing all of today’s matches in his selected leagues, and starts making his picks. He is aware that picking the team less likely to win yields more points if it manages an upset…so he carefully bases his selections on Vegas odds for maximum points. Tony rarely uses computers, and this is the first time using such a system. Discussion: There are 2 types of gamblers. Those that bet with their minds, and those who bet with their hearts. For those that bet with their minds, having stats help a great deal in making an educated prediction. Thus, the system will show Vegas odds for every match/game. That way, regardless of whether a user is picking with their heart or mind, they’ll will be informed of their odds of getting it right.

Task 3 Nicole Maillet is a professional sports journalists. She’s in the midst of starting her newest article, and wants to first gather some relevant stats on the current NBA playoffs. So she comes to the system and navigates to the stats page. She notes down what teams has been most-often picked to win, and which ones have been on the opposite side of the spectrum. Nicole can navigate the site with ease and has no problem figuring out what the information on the page means. Discussion: Stats are huge in the sports world. Especially in North America – where a sports analyst/journalist would sooner blurt out how many right-handed layups LeBron James attempted this season, than he/she accurately would on their own height in centimeters. For this reason, the system will collect all user activity and gather all sorts of stats that many people, especially sports analysts, will find useful.

Task 4 Jonathan Costa is an avid Soccer fan. He has already made his picks for the day, and is now back to check up on match results and current scores. He navigates to the scoreboard page and observes live scores of all the matches he made picks on. After a couple of minutes, he refreshes the page to load the updated scores again. He repeats this process several times. Jonathan uses computers on a daily basis, and is a veteran when it comes to using such systems. Discussion: Like many sports fans, Jonathan wants to check up on the latest scores. This often happens when someone is on the go, or when they are not on a sports channel where live scores are repeatedly broadcasted. Jonathan, and other users alike, prefer using the system for both making picks, and checking live scores – rather than seeking other apps such as theScore, ESPN, or TSN, for the latter.

Task 5 Carlos DeSousa is a social media junkie who has been using the system for about a week. He really likes the app, and would like to maximize its usage by inviting some of his friends. So he navigates to the invite friends’ page and picks the option to invite them based on his Facebook friends list. He goes through the list and selecting and sending invites accordingly. Carlos is computer-literate and has no problem getting used to the app and its functionalities. Discussion: Anything you do online is irrelevant if you don’t have meaningful people to share it with. That’s why every social platform known has the functionality to add friends and to share content with them. This functionality is instrumental as it will allow users to compete with their friends when it comes to points collected.

Task 6 Kevin Lopez is a seasoned fantasy player. Every year, he gathers a group of friends and creates a pool for the NFL season. He has signed up with the system because he can now do the same, and he’s not limited to only football – not to mention the system is all year-around. He navigates to the pool page and selects the option to create a new pool. He then selects the duration of the pool, followed by which leagues will be included in the pool. Finally, he invites which friends he wants to join the pool. Discussion: The fantasy sports market is big and lucrative. People in the millions sign up each year to partake in fantasy leagues. The most prominent ones being NFL, NHL, and NBA. So this functionality is certainly in high demand and will be the major pull factor for many potential system users.

Tentative list of requirements Absolutely must include: The functionalities below are a must include because, together, the make up the minimal viable product. Not to mention, they are the core features of the app. 1. Functionality to follow favourite sports 2. Making picks on which team to win

Should Include: The functionalities below should be include because they add a social aspect to the app - which is very important to modern application. These requirements, soon or later will get added after the core, imperative, requirements have been successfully implemented. 1. Allowing users to create pools for a desired sport 2. Functionality to send friends an invite to the app

Could Include: The functionalities below could be added as they could improve some users’ experience and usability. They cater to a specific, but important crowd. With that said, they are not imperative since the app could still serve its main purpose without them. 1. Show vegas odds for all games/matches 2. A stats module/page - that displays stats regarding what users pick, what teams are the best bets, and so on

Exclude: The requirement below should be excluded - especially since it requires a lot of resources. Moreover, there are already numerous apps that specialize in doing just that. Thus, unless they app is at a mature stage, and resources and users permit, such functionality is not truly needed. 1. Showing minute by minute results of games/matches

Concluding recommendation To successfully implement the SportsID system, it is important to review and analyze the concrete tasks examples that were provided. Once the team has decided on which tasks and requirements fall into which tentative list category - must include, should include, could include, or exclude - then development can start on the must include. And depending on our much time is allocated for the project, and the size of the team, it might make sense to only focus on the core requirements or add on the ‘nice to haves’ depending on the status and complexity of the functionalities that are imperative to have.

Prototypes and Walkthroughs Following favourite sports and leagues

Interface: following favourite sports and leagues Task: 1 Description: Philip Fernandes, who has just been referred to SportsID by his friend, wants to choose his favourite sports to follow. He goes through the list of sports the system offers and chooses soccer, basketball, football, and MMA.After that, he chooses the specific professional leagues he’s interested in. Philip is technologically inclined and follows sports religiously.

Task step

Knowledge, Believable, Motivated

a. Successfully registers and is forwarded to the initial welcome page

OK

b. Clicks “Continue” and is forwarded to the second screen.

OK

Comments/Solutions

In this case, the user could also click the forward icon to accomplish the same thing So, is the forward icon needed?

c. Examines the available sports and makes selection. When done, Clicks “Continue” and is forwarded to the last screen.

OK

d. Examines the available leagues for the selected sports and makes a selection. Clicks “Continue” when done.

OK

At this point, the user might be asking what they receive from following a sport. Is it for relevant news, scores, social media post,...? Thus the previous or current interface might need to address this: that the sport/league you follow is the one which the the user will view and select picks in.

Making picks on which team to win

Interface: following favourite sports and leagues Task: 2 Description: Antonio Dias is a former gambler, whom upon going to a focus group, was advised to seek out an alternative to gambling. He navigates to the page showing all of today’s matches in his selected leagues, and starts making his picks. He is aware that picking the team less likely to win yields more points if it manages an upset…so he carefully bases his selections on Vegas odds for maximum points. Tony rarely uses computers, and this is the first time using such a system..

Task step

Knowledge, Believable, Motivated

Comments/Solutions

a. Successfully logged in OK and is on the “picks” page - 2nd screen b. Views all of today’s matches in his selected league

OK

The user can always adjust their profile and add more leagues from the home page.

c. Enters scores for the

OK

After the button is selected,

appropriate teams and clicks the “Enter Pick” button d. User clicks the forward triangle button and is directed to the “stats page” 3rd screen - which will display stats corresponding to the applicable team or game.

the changes can not be reverted. The button changes to “Pick Made” and the input box is disabled OK

Considering that this functionality is not a core feature - more of a nice to have- it might be omitted in the beta release...