Industry

Gaming

Client

US Client

Timeframe

Sep 2023 - Jan 2024

Influencer Gaming Sessions: Enhancing User Engagement through Bookable Playtime

Influencer Gaming Sessions: Enhancing User Engagement through Bookable Playtime

The client came with an idea for developing the existing app. The new feature was to be the ability to book for games with influencers for a fee. I entered the project at a time when Discovery workshops had already been conducted and a fairly detailed structure of the app - its initial scope - had been prepared.

My team and I were tasked with creating an app for booking sessions with influencers and promoting this functionality on the platform.

My task was to create wireframes, which were based on the prepared materials (user flows & product structure), and to make corrections imposed by the client.

The process

I joined the project in its second phase - Client came back to us after MVP finalisation. My task was to co-create the wireframes for the new functionalities with other designer. As it appeared, a lot was expected from the client, so we had to prepare in-detail lo-fis. Step by step, we prepared the views for all the planned milestones. I needed to make a lot of benchmarking and desk research, but there was a little to get inspiration from, so mainly I looked at the booking processes on various platforms. The Client couldn't decide at the beginning if the process should be focused more on a game or on the influencer, so we had to prepare two types of the booking. Unfortunately, we couldn't do some in-depth interviews or user testing with the influencers to get that information independently. In the end the process was focused on the influencers.

Main challenges

The biggest challenge was understanding the client needs, as they changed in time and the approvals we got were changing. In general, it was easier to discuss how functions should work, but the discussed flow was often changed, leading to more time spent on updates (mostly on UI stage).

Lessons learned - what could be improved?

  • Estimation Challenges - Our initial project estimates proved insufficient due to the client's unexpectedly high demands. Despite reminders, the client occasionally deviated from the pre-established agreements, leading to additional revisions that went beyond our originally planned time.

  • Team’s Approach - We were instructed to accommodate all of the client's revisions and requests, even those beyond our agreed scope. This approach led to a final product that diverged significantly from the user stories established at the project's start.

  • Resource Gaps - Not having a dedicated business analyst from the start made it hard for us to set and keep clear business requirements. Without this role, we found it difficult to update and adjust user stories as the project changed, which made the process even more complicated.