During the Fall 2019 semester, as part of "User research methods" course, I was tasked to explore the topic of "live entertainment" using the tools and methods taught in class.

Project Duration: 8 weeks (26th August, 2019 - 18th October, 2019)

I started with research in the domain of live sports and how people watch sport events in stadiums. Literature reviews and market reports suggested that many stadiums are investing in making their infrastructure smart by installing high speed Wi-Fi connectivity to engage the fans as well as provide auxiliary services.

To understand whether the users experience it the same way it is envisioned by the stadiums, I chose my focus area as follows:

What is the effect of smart stadiums on fan experience during a sport event?

Stakeholder map was a good place to start to get a view of the different people involved in this scenario.

A good way to understand people is to observe them. Hence, I attended a soccer game at Ambrose Urbanic Field, Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Panthers Stadium) and the baseball game at PNC Park, Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Pirates Stadium) to observe the spectator behavior during a sports event.

For further user research, I planned to interview people to get deeper understanding of their stadium experience. The illustration below shows the highlights from the interviews and the categorization of the interviewees based on their behaviors.

1. People considered going to the stadium to hang out with their friends and have a good time.

• “I go to the stadium to hang out with my friends”

2. People want to make memories when they visit stadiums by taking pictures and posting it in social media

• “I click pictures and post it in social media when I attend high profile, key games”

3. People do not trust the Wi-Fi quality provided at the stadium

• “I do not connect in public Wi-Fi for security reasons”
• “I have used it once and it was very slow”

4. People prefer single application for getting the game info across all sports

• “I do not have individual team apps and I only use the ESPN app”

5. People do not want weird sounds/tones and light effects to keep the game engaged

• “Sometimes the strobe light effects disorient me”

6. People are not engaged with the games because of the uncertainty of bathroom availability

• “I do not know when to get out of my seat to go to the restroom as I do not want to go there during the game breaks when there is huge crowd”

7. Women do not enjoy the game like men as they have to wait longer in lines for restrooms

• “Lines for women restrooms are always longer than men for obvious reasons”

8. People wish for a more personal experience after the game with a closer interaction with players.

• “After a famous win in a college football game, the crowd stormed the field and celebrated with the players. I wish we can do it in all other games as well”