Digitalizing Football Referee Note-Taking

Sammanfattning: Football is the world’s biggest sport, and every match requires a referee who is responsible for interpreting and enforcing the Laws of the Game. In Sweden, an area for improvement for referees is the user experience of the administration tool used to collect data about matches. By enhancing existing tools and systems, there is potential for greater efficiency and ease of use in administrative tasks performed by the referee. By following the Double Diamond Model of Design, this study investigated a suitable way to design an interface for referees covering the activities they perform in conjunction with a match, including the administrative part of match reporting. In the first phase, Discover, information about the referee’s activities, pain points, and wants was collected through interviews and an observation. The data was then organised and analysed in the Define phase, through affinity diagramming and by creating a current state map. In the Develop phase, different interface solutions to the identified activities and issues were explored through a Crazy 8 session. Lastly, the final Deliver phase consisted of three iterations of creating prototypes, which were evaluated through usability testing, a design critique, and a final user test.  The major pain point that was identified during the study’s first two phases was filling out the referee match report in the administrative system after each match based on the notes taken during it. Additional activities and aspects were also discovered that had an impact on the design concept for a smartphone. The design proposal consisted of three parts: (1) a referee feed, including information that might be relevant to the referee when preparing for a match; (2) a reporting tool for reporting events, in which it would be possible to report them live during the match instead of after it; and (3) the option to give feedback on the players, coaches, and supporters. While the reporting of penalty misses was discovered to need further consideration, testing mainly resulted in positive feedback about the concept and design, specifically because it removed a major pain point in their work after the match, thus indicating that it serves its purpose and could be used in a first launch of the product. One interesting finding was the perception of the mobile device and how it affects the overall solution. Although the screen size of a smartphone offers more potential design solutions and functionalities, referees feel it might be unprofessional to carry a phone onto the pitch.