Nrl Tipping

A redesign that makes watching footy fun again.

My Role

End-to-end UX/UI Designer

Tools and Skills

Figma, Market Research, UX Research, Wireframing, Prototyping

The Team

Sole designer!

Timeframe

4 weeks (Jan 2024)

CONTEXT

The game is fun — the app isn’t.

Ever since my friends started a tipping comp for the NRL season, I have heard constant complaints and frustrations about using the app.

IT BEGAN WITH RESEARCH

My experience with the app is just that — mine. How can I challenge my own bias and be sure of what the user wants?

Due to the app's niche nature, a traditional competitive analysis was not feasible. Instead, I conducted both primary and secondary research in the forms of an online ethnography and five user interviews with the objective of learning more about current user experiences. I was curious to know what people enjoyed, their motivations for using the app, and find what was causing them grief. The following questions guided our research.

Understand why people decide to download the NRL Tipping app

Discover what attracts and deters people from using the app

Find out what people feel as they use the app

RESEARCH FINDINGS

Overall, people found the app too confusing to navigate, and called for a more intuitive experience.

“I didn’t know how to leave a competition, and then I found out that it’s in the about page? Weird.”

100%

of users had issues with saving their tips

All participants like the concept of tipping because they can compete without spending real money or gambling, but felt unmotivated due to their in-app experience

5-8 seconds

is the average amount of time that a user takes to switch between Tipping and Streak

“I didn’t know how to leave a competition, and then I found out that it’s in the about page? Weird.”

100%

of users had issues with saving their tips

All participants like the concept of tipping because they can compete without spending real money or gambling, but felt unmotivated due to their in-app experience

5-8 seconds

is the average amount of time that a user takes to switch between Tipping and Streak

THE HYPOTHESIS

Because the app is hard to navigate, confusing, and not intuitive, users are turned away from participating in social competitions with their friends and miss out on interacting with their favourite sport.

THE GOAL

How might we minimise these navigation challenges to enhance user satisfaction and engagement with the app?

PROTOTYPING

I wanted anyone to be able to use the app, not just existing users.

Sketching was my chosen ideation method as it was quick, easy, and cost-effective

I tested to see if people could complete six tasks in the prototype without aid

I took onboard all of the feedback from user testing and implemented changes

Sketching was my chosen ideation method as it was quick, easy, and cost-effective

I tested to see if people could complete six tasks in the prototype without aid

I took onboard all of the feedback from user testing and implemented changes

Sketching was my chosen ideation method as it was quick, easy, and cost-effective

I tested to see if people could complete six tasks in the prototype without aid

I took onboard all of the feedback from user testing and implemented changes

Sketching was my chosen ideation method as it was quick, easy, and cost-effective

I tested to see if people could complete six tasks in the prototype without aid

I took onboard all of the feedback from user testing and implemented changes

Click each tile to view

THE SOLUTION

Introducing the new NRL Tipping app

A sign up and onboarding process that flows, and doesn't ask twice

Easily switch between game modes by the tabs on the home page

Invite friends or leave a competition at the touch of a button

LESSONS LEARNT

A short timeframe doesn't = rushing the process.

Going into this challenge thinking that an app re-design would be an easy task, I quickly realised just how wrong I was. I learnt just how important it is to implement rounds of usability testing and that having more unrefined iterations is better than having a few polished ones. Due to time constraints, I felt that the end-to end design process was extremely rushed. If I had more time, I would research deeper and conduct more rounds of testing. Additionally, I wish to explore how the Tipping app can be integrated with the normal NRL app, which many users use to watch match highlights and see team lists.