Reversing Digital Decline: Driving User Growth by Consolidating Fragmented App Personas into a Unified SAP Center Experience
Reversing Digital Decline: Driving User Growth by Consolidating Fragmented App Personas into a Unified SAP Center Experience
Reversing Digital Decline: Driving User Growth by Consolidating Fragmented App Personas into a Unified SAP Center Experience
When I joined the San Jose Sharks in January 2022, the existing mobile app was fragmented, featuring four distinct personas (San Jose Sharks, San Jose Barracuda, Sharks Ice, and SAP Center) with only one receiving adequate attention. This resulted in duplicated efforts, stale content, and a general lack of useful information, rendering the app largely ineffective for our users, especially with limited staffing post-pandemic.
The Challenge: Overwhelmed Personas and Stagnant Content
The Challenge: Overwhelmed Personas and Stagnant Content
The Challenge: Overwhelmed Personas and Stagnant Content
The core problem was an overabundance of personas that created a frustrating, and confusing experience. Information for SAP Center was duplicated within the San Jose Sharks persona, and vice versa. This redundancy, coupled with the priority given to the Sharks persona, left the other sections neglected. Users found little value in the app beyond a single team, leading to low engagement and a perception that the app was unnecessary. The SAP Center Persona saw a decrease in views and total users by 24% and 29% respectively from 2022 to 2023. I needed to simplify the structure and ensure all relevant information was easily accessible in a centralized location and kept up-to-date.
The Process: Research-Driven Consolidation and Seamless Integration
The Process: Research-Driven Consolidation and Seamless Integration
The Process: Research, Design, and Strategic Content
Placement
1. Competitor Analysis & User-Centric Questions: Being new to the sports and entertainment industry, I kicked off the research by asking: "What are other leading sports teams doing for venue information within their apps?" and "What are the most common fan questions?" I immersed myself in over 15 NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB, and MLS team apps. The experiences of the Golden State Warriors/Chase Center and the Milwaukee Bucks/Fiserv Forum stood out for their seamless navigation and intuitive flow when answering common user queries like "What is the venue's bag policy?" or "Where do I park?" I spoke with the key stakeholders on this project which included our Director, Guest Experience who confirmed that the bag policy was the number one question, and where to park was definitely in the top five. This extensive competitor analysis and internal insight provided crucial inspiration for the new design.
2. Defining User Journeys & Streamlined Wireframes: After multiple rounds of user journey mapping, I ultimately converged on three key user journeys: potential ticket buyer, pre-event goer, and in-venue user. Initially, I explored customizing experiences based on login status or ticket ownership, but quickly realized this approach was overly complex and veered too close to a member portal. I pivoted back to simplicity, focusing on addressing the most frequently asked fan questions at each stage of their journey. My goal became to create an experience so intuitive and smooth that users could find what they were looking for quickly resulting in an improved user experience and a more positive attitude towards our mobile app.
3. Strategic Integration & Content Placement: The solution involved consolidating SAP Center and San Jose Sharks content. I proposed leveraging the existing "Tickets" tab in the bottom navigation, which was redundant given our "Schedule" tab also offered ticket purchasing. This freed up valuable real estate to host the new, unified SAP Center experience, bringing critical venue information to a prominent, easily accessible location.
4. Aligning Mobile with Web Experience: This app redesign directly followed the overhaul of sapcenter.com, allowing us to build on the lessons learned from the website's new sitemap and user data. Recognizing that mobile and web interactions differ, the app's layout mirrored the website's logical flow to ensure users could find what they needed quickly, regardless of platform. This consistent experience was also extended to the Tech CU Arena experience, with minor modifications, to ensure that whether attending a Barracuda or Sharks game, users would find information in the same intuitive locations.
At the end of 2023, I turned off the SAP Center Persona and turned on the SAP Center experience that lived within the Sharks Persona. Within the first year of this change, the experience had a 16% increase in total views and a 164% increase in total users while the app had about a 9% increase in total users. The results were loud and our Director, Guest Experiences was happy with the overall success of this project. He received reports from his team that complaints about incorrect and conflicting information were trending down year over year. In the second year, the experience had a 10% increase in total views and a 17% increase in total users while the app had a 21% increase in total users.
What I Learned: The Power of Research
What I Learned: The Power of Research
What I Learned: The Power of Research
This project underscored the immense value of external research. By thoroughly analyzing how other organizations successfully integrated team and venue information within their apps, I was able to utilize best practices and draw inspiration to craft a superior user experience for our own fans. I also focused on the key players within our organization, some of whom have been with the organization for over 10 years. Getting first hand knowledge of what fans always have questions on, where fans fall short on following our policies, and understanding everything in between allowed me to create a final product that was both highly functional and deeply intuitive. Not only did I improve the user experience, but by simplifying it, I was able to help drive revenue indirectly with clear access to purchase pre-paid parking, education on our food and beverage stands, and more.
