The Esports Admin Tool was the first internal Blizzard tool to track and record esports data. From tournament results to match details, the centralized hub provides information to external websites via an API. I contributed to the MVP version 1 release of the tool, then switched focus to support other products.
Role: Designer
Conduct interview with esport admins to understand workflow
Design prototypes and UI
Test usability the tool during live tournaments
User Testing During the wireframe and prototype phase of the project, we did usability testing to see if an esports admin can successfully enter data using the tool, and have it display on the site. While there are free tools for creating brackets such as Chollange, Blizzard esports employs unique “phoenix” and “bubble-up” formats in addition to the traditional double, single eliminations. Ensuring the user can successfully enter the data in the right spot was important to the team.
Findings and Changes
We learned that admins from different countries would be entering tournament info for various regional events. This challenged design to truly think globally, as we added multiple language and timezone inputs.
I observed an admin using the tool during a live event, where the same admin was responsible for running other parts of the show. He frantically ran around putting out production fires, and would come back to the laptop unable to remember the tool's password. This prompted the team to prioritize SSO to streamline login, and design explored mobile layouts for tournament results.
Unique Hearthstone tournament formats on one screen
Accounting for localized languages and different timezones
UI for updating bracket play tournament results
An example of a tournament page with data from admin tool
