Field Testing Allows Playform Creative Way to Understand User Perspective

In designing an app for youth soccer players, Playform knows the importance of testing the product in the field, exchanging office attire for cleats and athletic wear. Even with the full assurance of clinical testing, there is a great amount that can be learned from experiencing the app from a player’s perspective, in their cleats and in their backyard.

As app developers second and soccer fans first, Playform’s team knows that there is only so much that can be done behind a computer screen. Hitting the field offers a great opportunity to validate the long hours of coding and test out the app’s latest features from the user’s perspective. With the whole team on site field testing turns this opportunity to fine tune the app’s measurement tools into a unique and fun problem solving activity that will become increasingly necessary as the app gains developmental force.

Taking to the field under the Tel Aviv sun, Playform’s club aimed their sights on a fresh look at the seven key drills that form the foundation of the app. These drills- precision kick, pass accuracy, speed, vertical jump, dribble, power kick, and agility — inform the basic assessment that every user takes when first joining the platform. This initial data acts as the starting point for the smart technology that produces personal drills and recommended workouts. It is with these seven drills that each player’s basic skill level is determined and used to guide their training process with Playform.

Of course, testing our app in this relaxed and enjoyable environment isn’t the only way the team isolates problems and finds solutions. Before the launch of the app, Playform’s drills were rigorously tested to prove the strength of the prediction model behind the app and the correct selection of the seven basic drills. Following this clinical process, the drills were determined to represent the most holistic assessment of a player’s skill set, aggregating hundreds of data points into a user friendly analytics tool.

With the predictive technology working at full force, Playform’s app is able to not only guide an individual’s training process, but inform coaches of the player’s ideal role on the team. This is made possible through the comparisons between players that coaches can see on their dashboard.

In addition to performing drill tests, the Playform club split into two teams for a scrimmage that left both sides thoroughly winded. When the dust had settled, and gatorade bottles had been sucked dry, the scoreboard read: Blue Team 3, White Team 0. Following the thrashing blow out loss, Playform’s white team took to the player comparison tool to reconfigure their lineup in preparation for future face offs. With data to inform even the most lax game, they might consider a change of strategy or spending all the R&D money to convince Ronaldo to come play with them for an afternoon.