Mobile Platform Connecting Enthusiasts of Team Sports
Mobile solution aligning people who engage in sports activities and want to play team games on a permanent or occasional basis
Industry
Media/Social
Team
7 members
Launched
2021
Country
Australia
About a Project
Our customer, an Australian company, set out to bring together everyone who wants to play team or one-off games but cannot find leagues or like-minded people in the location. Our customer wanted to develop two mobile apps for such activities and a joint solution to develop one brand and needed a reliable tech partner who could take over all stages of the project.
Goals set to Cleveroad
Build a mobile application allowing sports enthusiasts to join one-off games and participate in nearby sports easily
Create a solution that allows people who love sports activities to engage in group events on the ongoing basis
Build an interconnected system putting together sports lovers in one digital community of interest
Solutions we've delivered
Development of the native mobile app in Android and iOS, localized for Australia. Functionality implementation enabling users to find close team games, participate in them, and pay for the service
Creation of the native mobile platform optimized for iOS and Android. Realization of the features allowing players to search for nearby sports leagues, register for a season, and book places to play
Preparation for cross-platform app development aiming to deliver a sustainable and accessible digital environment
Results for the Customer
Well-designed mobile app supporting the business model of gaining revenue (one-off games fees) that allowed a customer to offer ongoing service to users and reach a new audience
Mobile-based platform aligned with client's business model enables multi-tier revenue streams based on subscriptions and commissions, increases user retention rate, and enlarges the clients’ base
A holistic system designed by Cleveroad will allow our client to strengthen and develop a brand, join people in one digital environment, enhancing their user experience, and align the value streams
Business Challenges
Our customer is a company that works in the Australian sports industry and strives to make it easy for individuals to play social sports. The client wanted to deliver two mobile applications at once. The first app would allow teams to join leagues and stay connected all season long. Second solution would enable booking games for a one-off fee with no ongoing commitment. Over time, the client came up with the idea to join these two projects and build a sport service ecosystem. So, the company needed an experienced technical partner who could:
Build two mobile apps that should be an environment for easy participation in teams and searching for leagues to play sports with, creating exciting user experiences, and generating added business value. It was also necessary to enhance the company capitalization, given the business model of raising revenue (Subscriptions and One-Time Sale).
Connect the mobile platform to an external backend and integrate with the chatting software (Intercom), enabling real-time interaction between administration and participants. It was also required to streamline communication with external web developers to smooth the development process in the multi-person environment.
Design an advanced mobile-based platform under the support and maintenance services. Enhance client loyalty by introducing an even better user experience in an interconnected environment. Set the tone for brand development by increasing user retention rate and company value, and strengthening business goodwill.
Project in Details
- Our team created a mobile application fully relevant to the customer’s requirements. The platform is available on iOS and Android devices. The powerful search engine is the core of the solution: it enables players to look for sports leagues considering many parameters, streamline decision-making, and provide an individual list of results based on the info entered. Integration of the geolocation feature allowed users to view the location of the leagues and connect with players in preferred areas.
- We’ve simultaneously developed a separate mobile app allowing for managing only “one-time” games. According to the customer’s idea, the User Interface (UI) was based entirely on the first solution’s logic and only differed in design and structure. Our team has also applied open-source iOS/Android libraries. It allowed us to accelerate the development process and optimize the customer’s costs.
- Guided by the client’s brand vision, our specialists designed a concept for the future merger of two projects. The new solution aims to improve user experience by giving sports fans a broad picture of games and teams. By pooling two applications, the company can optimize and maximize its income generation by joining two revenue streams into a one profiting unit.
Product Essentials
Creating a user account is the initial step in searching and selecting offers. Users detail the profiling and set up passwords. A user only needs an accessible email account to sign in.
Guest mode is also available in a mobile application. Unregistered users (Guests) can navigate the 'Home' Screen without being authorized. However, they have restricted access to several screens and features. To make the payment, the Guest needs to log in to the account first.
Setting up profiles allows users to apply for games or join leagues. Players can also manage Settings and Preferences from My Profile, receive Push notifications, view Payment methods, Promo codes, etc.
Profile localization is a simple mechanism that changes the display of the games and leagues depending on the user's location setting. It allows players to see game whereabouts and select the preferred court. If there are no games nearby, users are suggested with the list of closest ones.
The game detail module contains the chosen object's information, including sport type, day of the week and time, price per game, venue, description, division, and info about players (avatar, first mane, and a number of free spaces).
Available offers are also displayed on the map, allowing users to understand their location in the app. Thus, players can choose the game by visually estimating the distance. There is also a list of similar games available. If there are no games in the selected area, the users are suggested a list of the closest ones to their current location.
The league detail module provides information about the league: name, day of the week, season duration, price per game, and game price. The sports description and total price with the 'Register' option are also shown.
The location services feature allows players to view the location of the nearest leagues and choose the most preferred area. The users can also see a list of similar leagues, look through them or search for one they need. Filter options were added to make the search for sports activities as flexible as possible. It enables users to look for a league tailored to their needs.
Notification service is in charge of sending push notifications to all your players and team members with a click. The app provides the most comprehensive live notifications pre-game, in-game, and post-game. Players get notified about upcoming games, their details, change or cancellation to a game, and more.
In-app chat is the feature that enables the communication between users in the same game. Players can chat live with each other and share their experiences and ideas. Users can also message the company's support team to address administrative issues. Live chat and messaging functionality was added using Intercom Chat API, which is responsible for messages delivered in real-time.
Easy-to-manage schedule for all team games allows users to view the list of upcoming games (including date, league/game name, day of the week, and time), season details, and history of the last games. The integrated calendar tool allows for canceling or confirming participation in the game/league by selecting available/not available days.
To process payments securely and efficiently, Braintree was integrated. This solution allowed users to use Stripe, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. It’s also possible to enter promo codes to reduce the total service price.
Development in Detail
- We provided the client with our expert team. It consisted of a business analyst, project manager, iOS and Android developers, UI/UX designer, QA, and DevOps engineers. BA composed a requirements specification (based on the client’s vision) and submitted it for review. Our team presented a tailored project specification and proceeded to the development. We’ve been developing two projects simultaneously.
- Our team created a native mobile application relevant to the customer's business model. As requested, we implemented core functionality allowing users to find information about upcoming leagues using an “advanced” search with filters, see the league’s location, view upcoming games, and get subscribed for the league season. We also added in-app notifications and alerts to inform users about the approaching league, scheduling changes, and upcoming renewal dates.
- We’ve built a mobile-based platform for participation in one-time games. The native solution fully reflects the client's requirements. It covers the following functionality (but it’s not limited to it): searching for games across a multitude of sports, viewing game details, ability to apply for a game as an individual or book in with a friend in the same team, paying for the participation in the game, and more. Map service shows geolocation of games nearby using Google Maps API.
- As a part of our long-term cooperation, we continued to work on the project. Our team proposed a vision of aligning two apps into one solution (along with the business strategy) and a cross-platform approach to mobile app development to reduce the cost of time and optimize the budget. To design a digital community that brings together teams and local players to join the league/games, we’ve conducted an all-leveled business analysis: from the client’s vision to non-functional requirements. For it, we’ve assembled an internal focus group of niche experts engaged in the project development.
Technology stack
The technology stack was chosen, considering the customer’s needs and the platform’s required functionality
Mobile Architecture
iOS
Android
Integrations
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Enhanced user numbers due to the projects unification
Our customer received a well-designed mobile app that made it possible to involve sports fans in one digital community. Users can join the team or book into a game based on their preferences and needs. It resulted in an increased number of interested consumers and total revenue due to the synergy effect.
Consistency across all technical solutions
We provided a stable connection of a mobile app with the existing Admin panel. It ensured the smooth functioning of the app and its success in the market. Our PMs streamlined communications with external experts so that all teams worked together as one. It allowed speed launching and enhanced the value due to the coordinated efforts.
The customer’s business profits growth
Our customer received a state-of-the-art mobile platform with clear correlations between modules and enhanced UX. The better user experience and functionality aligning allowed the company to increase the target audience and user retention rate, which helped to raise income within the Subscription business model.
Our client say
CEO & Co-Founder of Just Play
"They were responsive, flexible, and proactive when it came to solving problems. We were impressed with Cleveroad’s technical competence and skills in being able to solve problems and execute what we wanted to do at a high level."
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