A sports psychology platform that helps players to overcome their mental blocks
COMPANY
Light A Fire
Consultants
DURATION
Aug 2022
(9 Months)
ROLE
Product Design
User Research
On a Tuesday in July 2020, Simone Biles did something revolutionary: She walked away.
“I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being,” Biles explained when she pulled out of the women’s team gymnastics final at the Tokyo Olympics. It was a move that surprised fans who had expected the then 24-year-old gymnast, widely regarded as the greatest of all time, to lead her team to the gold.
Typically, athletes are expected to "persevere" and push through any ailments, physical or mental. Thankfully, this notion is slowly changing. In order for circumstances to change, however, it's going to have to involve sports, academies, coaches, and sports psychologists.
To address this issue of mental health in sports, we decided to develop a sports psychologist platform. The platform would leverage the power of technology to connect sportspersons with trained sports psychologists and offer tools and resources to help them overcome mental obstacles and optimize their performance.
Problem Space
To build a platform for sportspersons that provides personalized mental training and support. The platform should enable psychologists to remotely consult, monitor and analyze athletes' psychological state, while sportspersons can access customized exercises and resources to improve their mental resilience and performance.
Background
Light a Fire Sports Psychology consultants are a trusted name in South India, and have collaborated with multiple sports academies. Currently they are offering in-person consultations, and they focus on clinical and educational therapy to help players overcome psychological barriers. Their goal is to support sportspersons in achieving their goals through counseling, assessment, and skill development.
Business Goal
To have 3X growth within 1 year after launching the platform, by
- Reducing appointment calls,
- Reducing time to find psychologists’ information
- Enabling patients to book appointments online
- Eliminating cases of medical data loss.
Sports psychology in India
Sports psychology in India is still in its nascent phases and faces a large number of drawbacks. One of the main reasons is the negative connotation associated with psychology. Some of the other reasons are the lack of resource personnel, lack of awareness, image management and following traditional methods of coaching with little emphasis on sport psychology and sports science.
After players signed away access to earlier psychologist, U-17 women’s team now left unsupported
Using sports psychology to succeed in everyday life
Mithali Raj : Sports pyschologist help us to play best cricket under pressure
A Barrier to Performance: How Mental Health of Athletes Is Perceived in India
Research
I began my research by conducting a round of secondary research to gain a better understanding of the background. From there, I proceeded with qualitative research, which enabled me to gain insight into the users and their work processes, as well as to identify any pain points they were experiencing. The qualitative research comprised four methods, which are outlined below.
Interviews
Conducted interviews 12 participants (4 players, 2 psychologists, 3 coaches, 3 academy admins) over video calls.
Mock sessions
Shadowed mocks sessions with Psychologists (since it was not ethical to shadow a real session.)
Field work
Watching tournament matches with Coaches to understand their perspective and to gauge the player's performance.
Performance Reports
Post matches, spent time with Coaches and Academy Admins to study the process of generating reports.
Understanding Sessions
It was clear from the qualitative research that the sessions between the Player and the Psychologist are the core of the project. Sessions are usually 3 types :
First session:
A psychologist evaluates the player's mental aptitude, family and sports background to identify areas for improvement. Tournament schedules, player statistics, and conversations with parents and coaches provide further insight. Based on the assessment, the player is given a learning module for self-improvement or prescribed a treatment plan.
Follow-up session:
Previous module completion and/or treatment plan would be monitored and assessed.
Emergency related session:
If a player has any sort of psychological emergency, a session would be booked at earliest available time, to discuss the same.
The sessions last about 45-50 minutes. While they were mostly conducted in-person, post Covid, there was a rise in the number of video call sessions.
Defining Users
To understand the key players, the events surrounding a session are divided broadly as -
i. Before the session
ii. During the session and
iii. After the session
The 4 sets of users and their main tasks were identified:
Psychologist
Manage appointments
Conducts Sessions
Create profiles of patients
Sportsperson/Patient
Make appointments
Attend sessions
Records exercises
Coach
Player's appointment information
Access to player's profiles
Keep track of player's exercises
Academy Admin
Appointment information
Access to profiles of sportspersons
Key Findings
The first round of research helped in identifying the different set of goals for users
General
- Coaches were handling psychological issues in many cases.
- No systematic way to keep coach and academy involved
- No platform to track sportsperson’s routine
- A healthy mind needs to be checked, with or without problems/symptoms
Players
- Major uncertainty to have sports as career
- After session, unsure whether they should disclose about it
- Need a confidential space
- Great positive change in their performance and outlook after sessions
- Not interested in updating yet another time-consuming tracking form
Psychologist
- Multiple levels of privacy in the data they’re dealing with
- Works using diary and calendar
- Sessions could be in-person or online
- Refer Previous notes vs feedback
Designing the foundations for a usable interface
After establishing a shared understanding of the objective with the team, I started creating userflows and determining the necessary steps for the users to accomplish key tasks. I explored various approaches and validated/invalidated them in collaboration with the XFN teams.
Once we found the right alignment, I began by creating rough sketches followed by low fidelity mocks and then iteratively improved them based on the feedbacks received. Subsequently, I used Figma to design an interactive prototype that allowed for dynamic testing and validation of all the key product features.
User Testing
We did multiple levels of user testing to validate our assumptions and to assess the areas of improvement, before developing the high fidelity mockups. This was done separately for the web app for the Psychologist and for the mobile app for the Players.
PROCESS
There were 5 participants each and this was done over zoom call while sharing the mid fi prototype. The study was moderated and there was a list of tasks that was shared and it was assessed based on how easily the users can complete those tasks. The users performed tasks while I observed and recorded the sessions. I asked them to talk through their steps along the way and to ask questions if needed.
KEY FINDINGS/ITERATIONS
The iterative prototyping process provided a clear-cut way for understanding the user experience. This led to important consensus and direction regarding feature requirements and scope, which was able to guide the project as we moved forward.
These are some of the high-ranking issues that needed to be addressed and got iterated:
Wireframe of Session notes
Mid fidelity mock of Session notes
One of the most important tasks a psychologist does while having sessions is how they take notes. Though initially we had decided not to include this feature in this version, it came up in the user testing how it was a repetitive task of entering the notes, filtering them from rough notes to formal case notes and treatment plan. They also had to go through the previous session notes multiple times.
Iterations of daily tracking
The feature of daily tracking was initially considered important, but was postponed until version 2 due to perceived complexity. However, during user testing, it became clear that some level of assessment and engagement is crucial for the user. As a result, it was decided to simplify the daily tracking feature and include it in the current version.
An evolving style guide
Developing a style guide proved to be a vital step. The style guide established a consistent visual language and design system, ensuring a cohesive experience. This guide provided clear guidelines for typography, color palette, button styles, iconography, and other visual elements, which helped to maintain consistency throughout the app's various screens and interactions.
Introducing MindFit Web app
(for Psychologists)
The initial design of the app was focused on enabling communication with the players via the web. However, following conversations with several users, we gained a deeper understanding of their primary needs and use cases. With this insight, we began to make targeted improvements to the product, tailoring it to better meet the needs of our users. By putting the user experience at the forefront of our design process, we were able to develop a more effective and user-friendly app that truly serves the needs of the psychologists.
Managing Appointments
The homepage has been designed to easily action the tasks related to appointments. Also, a color-coded calender on the right side to help plan the day and to quickly gauge the relevant information.
Dynamic User Profiles
The interface design of profiles strives to be straightforward. In spite of having a lot of information, the design is uncluttered, clean, large and well spaced. Ensured there is consistency in the designs.
Be it in-person or online : Sessions made easy
The app allows psychologists to quickly start sessions with players with a helpful note-taking feature. They can also refer previous session notes parallely.
Players' app
We wanted our design decisions to exude a sense of confidence to the users. The decision to choose dark mode for an athlete's app UX is based on several factors, including reducing eye strain, conserving battery life, and providing an aesthetically pleasing look. These features are essential for an athlete's app, as they help to enhance the user experience and encourage athletes to use the app more frequently.
ONBOARDING
We wanted to ensure that app onboarding process is simple and seamless, and not oerwhelming the user with too many questions/steps. This was achieved by providing clear instructions and by using simple and easy-to-understand language, both tailored to suit the user's needs. This results in a positive user experience and increased engagement with the app.
HOME
To create a contextual and user-friendly home page, we made it easy for users to update the information they need to track their progress towards their goals. This removes the hassle of daily tracking, and the learning modules are readily available. Users can also check their upcoming appointments and module completion status.
MODULES
The brand's USP is its modules, which offer tools and resources to improve mental health and well-being. They include interactive elements like audios, videos, and quizzes and provide reliable, practical, and actionable information, such as guided meditation exercises, stress-management techniques, and tips for better sleep. The module tests assess the user's mental state.
APPOINTMENTS
The interface of appointment feature in the app is designed to make booking appointments as easy and straightforward as possible. This feature allows users to view their psychologist's availability in a calendar view, select the reason for the appointment, and easily book or reschedule appointments and provides useful reminders.
Current State
The development of the app is currently underway and is expected to launch by September 2023. The team is working diligently to ensure that all the features are thoroughly tested and refined, and that the app is user-friendly and visually appealing.
Incubated
Mindfit got selected at IIMB NSRCEL incubation. A program that helps entrepreneurs get access to resources that can help them come together and innovate the future of India.
New partnership
Bridges of Sport Foundation, India - A not-for-profit organization committed to develop India's fastest sprinters from marginalised & socio-economically weak rural communities - has signed partnership with LAF consultants.