Football Prototype

As a team of 4, we designed and prototyped a video play review aid for football coaches for use on the field and in locker rooms. Using office supplies we built a paper prototype within a 45 minute timeframe. The assignment concluded with an evaluation phase.

Team

Rachel Bolton, Chad Camara, Matt Snyder, Thalith Nasir

Duration

3 days

Design Approach

Paper prototypes are a great way to quickly, cheaply and effectively test specific interactions before building them. The key interaction we wanted to test was the switching capability that allowed the coach to switch camera perspectives from player to player. We approached our design with a Tablet PC in mind that would enable mobility while interacting with the software using a stylus. The solution allowed for multiple camera angles including a first-person eye-level view made possible by personal helmet cameras.

Our prototype was built using poster board for the screen with several alternative screens drawn out on sheets of paper. Additional elements included a birds-eye view area on the screen as well as a roster of offensive and defensive players. The idea was to allow users to switch between players by selecting them on the roster or on the birds-eye view. Users would be able to know at a glance, what player’s view they were seeing as the roster and bird’s-eye view areas would reflect the selected player. As a final touch, the poster board was taped to a drawing pad that would give test users a more realistic idea of the thickness and mobility of the Tablet.

Evaluation & Insights

As our evaluation used Wizard of Oz techniques to simulate interaction, we had to resort to keeping the prototype on a table as opposed to letting the test user carry it. During the evaluation, we saw that the user attempted to interact directly with the image on the screen. This was something we had not accounted for as part of our design but accommodated the user’s expectations by switching screens based on her selection. This was a key insight of our evaluation that would be incorporated in future prototypes. We also realized that omitting playback controls increased the ambiguity of the interface with users. Even when designing a specific prototype with a specific interaction to test, the omission of contextually relevant information can confuse users.

Methods/Tools Used

Rapid sketching, paper prototyping, Wizard of Oz, poster board, paper, pencil, pen, Post-It notes, Scotch tape, index cards.

Our prototype

Player's view

Wizard of Oz: Delay indicator