Work
Nike Research Tools
Client
Nike
Project Results
Web & Mobile Solutions
Scope of Work
Product Design, User Experience, Research & Testing, Stakeholder Alignment, Product Management.
Sector
Sports Research
Overview
Nike Sports Research Lab collects & analyzes data from elite and non-elite athletes
That data is crucial for Nike to innovate and elevate the Nike brand and its products
The Problem
Nike, an athletic apparel brand, was using clunky, outdated, manual (ah!) processes to manage its athlete data.
They desperately needed a digital solution that would revamp their incompatible systems of the past while streamlining their laboratory workflow.
The Solution
Two digital products, custom-built to meet the needs of Nike researchers.
Fourtrack: a mobile app that digitizes and automates laboratory workflow
Area42: a smart database made for sorting and analyzing athlete data
Here's the story…
Nike was in the process of becoming a technology-focused company.
They saw value in matching the quality of their internal systems with the quality of their research. So, Nike hired me as Experience Designer and Product Owner in the development of software solutions for Nike Sports Research Lab (NSRL).
Understand What Wasn’t Working
Researchers were struggling, big time.
Trying to view historical data, manage duplicate entries, perform analysis or even upload data to shared storage locations was too complex.
Collecting new data was even worse.
I decided to shadow the researchers in live sessions with their athletes to experience the issues first-hand.
Sure enough, the biggest pain points in the process were in simple fundamentals:
Checking athletes in
Capturing accurate data
Analyzing the data after a session
Replace Labor-Intensive Tasks With Single Taps
Armed with a clear understanding of the problem, I began creating wireframes and flows.
Initially, I planned on creating one interface for the entire experience. Researchers would use the same interface in the lab as when they managed the data after live sessions.
With feedback, I realized that wouldn’t be possible.
Data collection in the lab had to be mobile and light. Researchers needed to tap rather than type so that they could focus on their athletes and accuracy.
So, I decided we’d create a tablet app, later called Fourtrack, to manage athlete check-in and all data collection in the lab.
But we weren’t done there.
Elevate Researcher Capabilities
With a plan set for fixing data collection in the lab, there was still the question of
“how can we upgrade data analytics?”
To answer that question, I designed a web app, later called Area42, that would be able to do more than just store data digitally.
With this custom-built smart database, Nike researchers would be able to:
Compare data
Generate reports
Remove duplicate data
Manage complex queries
Sort athletes based on attributes
Here’s how I did it:
Get To Work
I developed a six-week design plan. Each week, my team of developers and I would execute the following:
Research, Design, Development and Testing.
I worked closely with Nike researchers and stakeholders each week to keep their needs top priority.
I designed wireframes for the development team to prototype.
I was also responsible for crafting a styleguide and a user guide, in addition to building the foundation for the team’s component library.
At the end of each week, we sat with Nike researchers to watch them test our live applications.
With their feedback, we’d iterate and return the next week with a better product.
Deliver solutions
After 6 weeks of intensive design and testing, Nike Sports Research Lab internally launched Fourtrack and Area42.
Fourtrack
A tablet application designed for seamless management of athletes and data within the laboratory.
Fourtrack enables users to effortlessly view and create participant profiles, eliminating the need for physical forms.
With this long-awaited digital solution for data collection, researchers are able to devote their attention to their athletes while trusting in the automation between lab instruments and the database.
With Fourtrack, conducting quick searches for existing athlete data and lab instruments becomes effortless, enhancing the overall efficiency of laboratory workflows.
Area42
A powerful web application designed to let researchers run faster and exhaustive analytics from their live sessions with athletes.
Area42 offers a range of tools for creating, managing, and comparing queries, as well as generating reports.
By eliminating redundant data, researchers can quickly locate and organize athletes based on their specific attributes.
Saved queries can be accessed at any time, and combining multiple queries yields more comprehensive results.
By simplifying athlete data management, Area42 streamlines the Nike athlete analysis for meaningful innovation.
