Stop Betting,
Start Trading
Role - Senior Product Designer
I partnered with product, engineers, and market operators to conduct research, user interviews, and design validation. I led the visual design and creation of an ancillary design system to support the growth of the market ops tool.
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Prototyping
Timeline
Nov 2021 - April -2023
The Problem
The market operations team needed reliable tools for managing app and user data accurately, quickly, and reliably
Sporttrade is an app that launched in 2023 and is positioned to reinvent the sports betting industry by allowing users to bet on sports in the same they would trade stocks. The Market Operations team was using a cumbersome excel document to manage app data and needed something more dedicated and organized to allow them to manage data efficiently for the app’s launch and the business’ future expansion
The Solution
A platform that streamlines a complex workflow that can handle challenges from a growing company
We designed a product with a clean layout that organized a vast amount of information into easily digestible sections. We introduced features, like a sidebar, operator assignment, and a search function that gave market operators control and quickly access to any contest they needed to manage.
Identifying the problem
We spoke to Product Owners and Market Operators to understand technical requirements and user pain points.
Market Operators
Market operators handle the data management for sports outcomes that are then surfaced in the app for users to engage with and bet on. Their original workflow was very hands-on and existed within an intricate Google Sheets document that allowed them to hone their skills pre-launch.
This document was functional, but hard to parse, and was a huge learning curve for new team members. This type of system made it very easy to make an error but extremely difficult to locate and resolve it.
Streamlining the operations team’s existing workflow so that they have more control over their process and new features to better handle challenges from a growing company
Contest Management
To provide the ability to input information faster, we designed a sidebar that gave operators the ability to multitask and keep an eye on other contests they’re assigned to. The sidebar gave them all the information and functions they needed to adjust outcomes.
Operator Assignment
Allowing the assignment of operators for specific contests allows them to better plan their day, complete their goals, and work collaboratively if needed.
App users
An error in data could result in a customer being misled, given more money, or incorrectly having money removed from their account.
This would erode trust in the product, give people a reason to not use the app, and can make the entire platform appear unreliable.
Easy to navigate
A clean layout with information displayed in a way that’s easily digested enables operators to efficiently navigate and filter contests to make the data changes they need, quickly.
The solution was in the cards
We aligned on the card-based approach. After synthesis and through testing, we discovered that the table approach felt too much like a Google Sheets makeover and was overwhelming with so much betting information exposed. The kanban presented the opposite effect of having too little information exposed. Along with too much clicking, and future scalability concerns.
It also future-proofed the experience by providing space to implement other types of outcomes with different views, like tournaments and propositions bets.
Research, Wires, and User Testing
Once we defined the product vision, we explored different experience models that could bring that vision to life. We created wireframes of each proposed approach: kanban, table, or card-based.
We then tested these models with end users using prototypes, gathering their impressions on the way information was organized, how they’d find certain games and bets, and how they would halt and settle outcomes.
Expanding the visual system
We leveraged consumer facing branding as a base and built on it as we dug into visual design. This dashboard posed unique experience needs for net new patterns that the existing system didnt support. We needed to expand on it, and decided to create a "sister" brand to compliment the core Sporttrade brand.
Sidebar Design
To help operators multitask, I designed a sidebar where they were able to edit a contest while still seeing others that are in progress or upcoming.
The sidebar includes contest details and a table view to edit the outcome statuses as necessary. This created opportunities for operators to see results being updated in real-time and give their attention to the contests that need updates.
Designing the cards
The cards on the dashboard needed to provide a lot of dynamic information that was easily scanned and quickly recognizable.
Since we were a small team, we deprioritized building a feedback mechanism within the tool.
We worked closely with our market operators and were able to iterate directly on their feedback. Over time, we worked to transition other functions into the dashboard.
Reference data creation: how games and outcomes get ingested to the system and listed on the app
Other types of outcomes: Golf tournaments, futures, and props
Bulk actions for settling and halting more than one outcome in a contest, resettling an outcome, and display states
