Chess.com App Case Study
THE PROBLEM:
People who never learned to play chess have problems discovering what they need to do to learn how with the app
THE SOLUTION:
Improve the UI to make it easier for a new player to find the resources they need to start learning chess
MY ROLE:
UX designer (Individual Project)
TOOLS:
Miro, Figma, iOS Voice Memo, Pages
User Research
Proto persona & Hypotheses
A user who doesn’t know how to play chess, who would like to use chess.com to learn, could find it difficult to discover a clear path in the chess.com app.
Interview Plan
In this research project, I planned 5 interviews but 2 only new users responded. I feel that the information gained was consistent to other impressions.
The reasons interviewees gave for not wanting to learn how to play chess in the past were because:
- Difficult to learn
- Seemed Boring
- Uninteresting
- Too complicated
User Insights
Affinity Diagram
Empathy Map
User Personas
Definition & Ideation
User Insight
User needs a clearer step-by-step path to learning to play chess in the app.
Problem Statement
Path to learning how to play chess with the chess.com mobile app can be convoluted for the user.
Brainstorm and Ideation:
I like...
To learn to play chess online as a new strategy game for my phone
I wish...
I had learned to play chess when I was young
What if…
I can find a chess app to learn to play
Value Proposition
Chess.com mobile app can help people who never learned, or got good at chess, to play chess on their devices.
Feature matrix
User Scenario
Storyboard
Joe, 34, is a Software engineer who likes to play online strategy games on his phone.
He is a bored with the games he’s been playing and has been searching for a new mobile game to play. He starts watching Queen’s gambit on Netflix, and has the idea to learn to play chess. He searches for chess games to play and downloads chess.com from the app store
Journey map
Opportunities
- Make the learning chess process easier to discover
- Step-by-step, learning levels/achievements
- Move from subscription to pay-as-you-go
Prototyping
Competitor Analysis
Several games are available in the app store, all feature some level of learning to play chess for free.
User Flow
Sketches
Digital Wireframe
Key Learnings from the User Tests
- It was not clear what to do once on the Lesson (learn) window
- Not sure what was supposed to happen when clicking Start
Iterations made based on user testing
Key learnings and takeaways
While it’s basically not the hardest thing to find the lessons on chess.com app. It’s a little convoluted, and there are many ways to get distracted and become lost, and there is also a push to subscribe.
Learning chess is an important feature of the app (more players means more subscriptions), the lessons need to be easier to find, the user needs to be able to leave and pick up were they left off without having to dig for where they had been.
Recommendation: Use the prototypes as a guide toward creating an easy-to-discover interface for the first time chess player.
Read the Google slide deck
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