Case Study: Advances in Betting

Lets improve two aspects of the betting app

Overview

This is a personal case study on improving the betting experience. My design process will focus on three sections learning, strategy and design. Here are some outlines I'll cover during this study.

Outlines

  • Using the accumulator system Troy is able to easily make multiple bets quickly.
  • Focus on making features fast and easy to use.
  • Conduct user research to verify my issues.
  • Propose design solutions and validate them.

My Role

  • Discovery, strategy and design.

Discovery

  • Problems

    As a father I come across many other dads that use betting apps. They are used regularly and there are so many apps to use. I only bet on the weekends and major sports events, so I don't consider myself a heavy user. I got into a conversation with a friend of mine about the betting app he uses. He explained faults in the app that could be improved. There were two features we agreed users would like to have:

    1. A feature that allowed them to do multiple accumulators.
    2. A quick information feature which give users stats, stories etc for each team.

  • Topic Research

    After some further research I found a number of design solutions which opened up the flood gates on potential new features.

    "164million people using mobile devices to access online gambling by 2018"


    Insight:

    There are many betting apps and many users. A app which provides the user with more features will help the user make more bets.


    Product:

    Betting application


    Description:

    A betting app where the user makes bets


    Opportunity:

    The user will get information on leagues, games and players to help them bet. There will also be a unique accumulator system to help them make multiple bets easier. The design will also make the betting process quicker by cutting out steps in the existing user journey.


  • Competitor analysis

    Rival betting apps:
    Bet fred
    Paddypower
    Skybet

    Sky bet ...
    Paddy Power Sky Bet image
    Bet Fred Sky Bet image


    Findings:
    The Sky bet app has a small section of bullet points about the next match. This is good but not thorough enough to help the user who has no knowledge of the game or league.

    It take a long time to make a large accumulator in the Paddy Power app. This would discourage users from making more accumulators due to the usability.

    Insight:
    Some users will spend more time researching a football game or league. If the app could provide this information quickly and effectively this would set it apart from the other apps as the user believes they will win more because of the research. In reality there's no way to predict a result, but giving the user more information would give them confidence to bet. This also applies to the accumulator feature; if there was a way to make multiple accumulator bets, maybe even auto accumulator feature this would improve usability.

Strategy

  • User research

    Now I need to understand the attitudes, behaviours, needs and goals of the users.

    User: I identified the market to be aged between 20-50 years and bet casually.

  • User interviews

    I conducted serval user interviews from young people who frequently use betting apps. I choose these category of people to understand pain points from their day to day challenges.



    Findings:
    Here are the features request from the user interviews:
    • Show football stories
    • Show stats
    • Player touches stats as they play
    • Multi matches
    • Video
    • Radio
    • Randomise accumulator
    • Auto accumulator
    • Form
    • Summary of form
    • Compare teams
  • Empathy Map

    After the user interviews I mapped out the feedback from the users to understand their connection with their current betting apps.

    Key quotes from users

    After the user interviews I mapped out the feedback from the users to understand their connection with their current betting apps.

  • Personas

    Here are two types of users that use our product.

    Drew
    Story:

    When del bets he knows allot of information about the lower leagues and other football leagues. Because of this he is able to make more effective bet while spending low amounts.


    Age: 38
    Siblings: 2
    Frequency of bets: Every weekend and main events
    Statement: I wish I could see all of my research in my betting app while I bet. I have to go the BBC sport to look at form etc.
    Troy
    Story:

    When observing Nathan bet he has multi accumulators. There are other types of bet but the accumulator is the one he uses the most.


    Age: 31
    Siblings: 1
    Frequency of bets: Every weekend and main events
    Statement: I wish I was able to make multi accumulator easier without having to go in and out of the menus.
    ompany by filling in the form.

  • User Journey and process
    Points
    • Using other sources to get stats and news on players
    • Too many steps to create and manage accumulators
  • Mood board

    Looking at the look and feel of the app I researched imagery that would relate to soccer and stats based on the finding of the user interviews.


  • Ideation + Validation

    Looking at the look and feel of the app I researched imagery that would relate to soccer and stats based on the finding of the user interviews.

    • Using the data I found in my researched, I sketch out concepts to soul the previous pain points.
    • I critiqued each idea to try and see them from a user perspective.
      • Is this easy to use?
      • Does this answer the user goals expressed?
  • User process

Design

  • Style guide
  • Design
    States (goals)

    Using my research I created key goals that'll show how my vision came to life.


    • Create multiple accumulators easier
    • Manage multiple accumulators
    • Access team, league and player information
    • Compare Player stats
    • Access sport news
  • Storyboard

    I made a storyboard to visualise the ideal situation our user would use the app.

  • Prototype

    Link to prototype

Takeaways

Adding new features into a system was a challenge, but I found that looking at other apps which have no relation to sports and betting help me think outside the box to create a unique but functional experience. If I had user testing on the prototype I feel I could refine the experience more which feels very rewarding.