Grow the sport: using design thinking and usability testing to create a disc golf application

Abstract

There are currently 3.6 billion social media users worldwide (Clement, 2020). This means that almost half of the world’s population is using some form of social media to communicate. This makes social media one of the most prominent forms of communication tools today. “Effective communication makes it easier to manage teams, set goals, track progress, solve problems and encourage innovation” (O’Neil, 2018, para. 1). However, when it comes to sports communication, few applications exist that allow non-professional players to collaborate and communicate in social media settings. One sport that has shown tremendous growth in the last decade is disc golf (PDGA, 2018). Since its inception in 1976, there have been more than 115,000 active players in the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA, 2018), and likely many unregistered players. Through design thinking, empathy research, and usability testing, this project will create a mobile application as a mechanism for engaging users in an immersive experience meant to improve communication among clubs and during tournaments, as well as to encourage blooming friendships and allow individuals to track their on-field progress in areas such as form, drives, and putting. The results from this work will be used to develop a mobile application experience that will serve as a hub for the local disc golf community.