Exploratory Research
for Playbook Five
Uncovering the everyday realities and aspirations of individuals who consider themselves part of an athletic community.
The Outcome
Two personas and five overarching themes emerged from the research which suggested that adding an interactive aspect to the virtual reality tool would enhance the experience.
The Challenge
Determine what community means to athletes and how they remain engaged with their communities when they are unable to actively participate.
Project Overview
Playbook Five came to our team with a number of unanswered questions and assumptions about their virtual reality playbook software, which they were looking to grow into new markets and applications. We were tasked with unearthing their research questions, developing a research plan, and ultimately providing them with actionable insights to continue building their offering.
Ultimately, my research focused on uncovering the everyday realities and aspirations of individuals who consider themselves part of an athletic community. I developed research questions designed to gain a better understanding of what community means to these individuals and how they remain engaged with their community when they are unable to actively participate. The answers to these questions led to new insights to inform product design.
Approach
client kick-off > Exploratory research > personas > THematic findings
Research Questions
What does being a part of a community mean to a person?
What makes a person feel like they belong to a team / community?
How do athletes engage with one another?
How does engagement with other teammates impact an athlete’s performance?
How does a person outside of a sports / athletic community feel engaged with that community?
I used the NCredible framework to categorize the research questions and approach. My questions were all exploratory in nature and fit on the left-side of the NCredible framework, as they pertain to human behavior and did not go into the details of the product offering. They were further categorized on the top half of the framework since they drove organizational objectives and addressed the lived realities and aspirations of individuals, as opposed to surfacing general topics or descriptions.
The NCredible framework as developed by Meena Kothandaraman and Zarla Ludin.
Study Design
This study used a one-on-one semi-structured interview style to answer questions around elements of belonging and engagement. Each research question was mapped to a specific set of questions or a relevant activity which provided a guide for the interviews while enabling a more fluid conversation with participants.
As this was an exploratory study, the sample was made up of representative individuals. Ideally, this would include individuals who currently consider themselves part of an athletic community; however, as this was a friends and family recruit, the sample was expanded to include individuals who were no longer actively involved in an athletic community. Additionally, due to the recruiting limitations, this study was conducted out-of-context over video-conferencing software.
In order to understand what community means to an individual, participants were asked to complete a collage of a community that they are a part of in advance of the interview.
During the session, participants were asked to think of up to three key individuals on their team and represent them with significant fictitious characters, creating mutual understanding.
To end the session, participants were asked to think of a time that they were not able to actively participate with their athletic community. They then filled out an empathy map detailing that experience.
Findings
A number of themes emerged from the research questions which suggest that virtual reality would be a helpful instructional tool. The Value Seeker will more immediately connect to the product as it will allow them to focus on their skills and stay mentally connected to the sport. In order to keep the Relationship Seeker invested, however, Playbook Five should address the need for personal connection within the application. Including an interactive aspect with other teammates within the application could be a successful approach.
Personas
Two personas emerged from the research, the Value Seeker and the Relationship Seeker. The Value Seeker represented two of the five participants and broadly defined community as any group of people who share a common interest or values. The Relationship Seeker, who represents the other three participants, defined community as a group of people that they not only shared common interests with but also had a deep personal connection to.
Summarized Themes
A number of themes emerged from the research questions which suggest that virtual reality would be a helpful instructional tool. The Value Seeker will more immediately connect to the product as it will allow them to focus on their skills and stay mentally connected to the sport. In order to keep the Relationship Seeker invested, however, Playbook Five should address the need for personal connection within the application. Including an interactive aspect with other teammates within the application could be a successful approach.
An abbreviated version of the themes presented to the client are organized below by the research questions that they address.
THEME 1: COMMON INTERESTS & MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
The first theme emerging from the research shows that in order for communities to exist, there must be a basic sense of shared values and interests. In addition to this, the Relationship Seeker must feel personally connected to those within the community. The deeper these shared interests and relationships go, the stronger the community is.
THEME 2: MAKING A CONNECTION
A sense of belonging becomes evident once the Value Seeker and Relationship Seeker make what they believe to be a meaningful connection. As the Value Seeker bases community on a base-level of common interests and values, they tend to feel that they belong to the community much earlier than the Relationship Seeker who only feels that they belong once they have developed meaningful connections.
THEME 3: SOCIAL (MEDIA) ENCOUNTERS
Athletes engage with each other in a variety of ways and across various mediums. To the Value Seeker even a simple wave hello on a familiar running path creates a sense of community and belonging while the Relationship Seeker strives for deeper connections that only come with time and face-to-face connection.
THEME 4: FOLLOW THE LEADER
Both the Value Seeker and the Relationship Seeker described two primary characters that they interact with on their teams as ‘The Leader’ and ‘The Follower’. The Leader sets the tone for the rest of the team and is a source of consistent motivation and encouragement. The Follower represented a large portion of the team and was important but generally seen as replaceable.
The Leader is the person on the team or in the community that raises everyone else up, challenges them to do better, and is a source of information and encouragement. The Leader effortlessly lifts the team up through a combination of success and humility. The Leader is one of the best players on the team and without them, the team would crumble.
The Follower represents a vast majority of the team and is often described as replaceable. They do their job and support the team but they do not bring a unique skill to the group and could easily be replaced by another player if need be. Their presence does not greatly impact the performance of the rest of the team.
THEME 5: SELF-RELIANCE VS. LOST WITHOUT YOU
When outside of their athletic communities both the Value Seeker and the Relationship Seeker react in very different ways. The Value Seeker more easily stays connected to their community through personal motivation or online forums. The Relationship Seeker, alternatively, finds it difficult to remain engaged with their community if they are not able to actively participate in it. Without active participation, they often disengage from the community entirely.
Next Steps
The research done to date has exposed two primary personas and a number of key themes around the makeup of athletic communities. With a better understanding of the lived realities and aspirations of the intended audience, the next phase of research should (1) validate the personas through self-selection, and (2) conduct definition research in which product-based ideas and solutions can be gathered to address the unearthed realities and aspirations of users.