Overview
At SWPS University, I worked on a team project to design "Game Changers" — a mobile app that helps board game enthusiasts trade, buy, and sell games more easily. We created this platform to address the growing need for a streamlined game exchange solution.
<aside>
🎯
Main Task: To research, define, design, and test a mobile application concept that simplifies and facilitates board game exchanges, making it easier for players to manage their collections and discover new games.
</aside>
<aside>
🚧
Approach: Our team followed a comprehensive UX design process, encompassing initial research (desk research, observations, interviews), strategy definition, modeling (personas, user flows, wireframes), prototyping, and usability testing.
</aside>
<aside>
🎒
Project Context: Academic project for UX Design/Product Design studies at SWPS University, Sopot.
</aside>
My Role
- UX Research & Analysis: Actively participated in desk research, observing online communities (Facebook groups like Mathandel), designing screeners, conducting in-depth user interviews, and analyzing competitor/existing platforms.
- Strategy & Definition: Contributed to defining the product vision, value proposition, business model canvas, identifying target users, and outlining key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Information Architecture & User Flows: Designed the application's structure, user journeys (e.g., for exchanging a specific game), and task flows for core functionalities.
- Ideation & Design: Created user personas based on research, developed usage scenarios, sketched wireframes, and designed user interface mockups for the mobile application.
- Prototyping & Testing: Built interactive prototypes and participated in planning, conducting, and analyzing moderated usability testing sessions (both remote and in-person).
- Iteration: Refined designs based on testing feedback, addressing usability issues and improving clarity.
Content
- 1️⃣ Starting Point
- 🎯 Project Goals
- 👩🔬 Definition & Research Phase
- 🧪 Solution & Design Decisions
- 👩⚕️ Testing & Validation
- 📁 Results / Impact (Conceptual & Usability)
- 🎨 Interface Design Showcase
- 🔎 Conclusions and Learnings
- ⏩️ Future Scope & Recommendations
<aside>
⏳
9 month project
</aside>
<aside>
⚙
prototype with Axure RP
</aside>
1️⃣ Starting Point
The board game secondary market, particularly for trading, presented clear user frustrations:
The Problem:
- Difficulty Finding Trade Partners: Players struggled to find others who wanted the specific game they offered and had a desired game in return ("double coincidence of wants").
- Platform Limitations: Existing platforms like Facebook groups (e.g., MatHandel) had limitations, such as time-bound trading events, causing frustration. General marketplaces weren't optimized for trading.
- Inefficient Processes: Managing listings across multiple platforms, communication fragmentation, and arranging trades was cumbersome.
- Trust & Security Concerns: Users needed assurance when dealing with others online, especially regarding game condition and transaction completion. Lack of trust in intermediaries was noted.