PROBLEM

One of the overarching problems that I helped to solve at EA is:

How might we engage and entertain millions of people across the globe with top-shelf, immersive interactive software and designs?

PROCESS

Discover & Define

For each project that I collaborated on, I researched initial situations and challenges, evaluated best-in-class and competitor games, and identified audiences, pain points, and user journeys. This part of the process helped define a) whether or not we were solving the right problem and b) the scope of our initial vision and how that fit within the company's broader design, business, and marketing goals.

Some of the projects I've worked on had different starting points of discovery and definition. For example, I ran an independent online community sentiment synthesis, distilled robust UXR team research into digestible mode-specific archetypes, interpreted creative and feature briefs, and conducted stakeholder interviews.

Develop & Deliver

Based on the research conducted and stakeholder alignment, I sketched and designed wireframes that were consistent with the design system, addressed pain points of users, and took into account business goals and engagement metrics. I created prototypes and conducted usability testing with them, then iterated on screen designs based on feedback.

I also collaborated with visual designers, producers, and software engineers to fine-tune designs further along in the development stage by providing UX, UI, and copywriting edits and consulting on features (some of which I owned and didn't own directly).

CHALLENGES

1) Delivering within tight deadlines

With the NHL franchise structured on a yearly production cycle and with one of the smallest teams at EA, the challenge of delivering within tight deadlines was real. To capitalize on time, I reached out to other franchises to see how they solved (and what they learned from) similar problems, consulted with engineers early to understand technical constraints, and pulled in other design team members for quick, iterative feedback.

2) Working with distributed team members

One of my personal missions on teams is to build trust and connection. To do that, I proactively scheduled 1 on 1s not only with each person that I work with on the design team, but also with folks from the engineering, game design, production, user research, and quality design teams (among others). Involving folks early and often, getting them talking to one another (sometimes for the first time), and taking a genuine interest in who I'm working with is both a game changer when friction points arrive and also serves to inject joyful interactions throughout the work week.

3) Shifting to a more design-led process

Some of the projects that I've worked on involve strategizing and design explorations way ahead of the traditionally one year production cycle. This is a bit of a shift from previous years and, as with any change, the art of change management, user advocacy, and design evangelism comes into play. On a daily basis, I work on keeping folks involved, informed, aligned, and excited about possible ways we can inspire people to play.

IMPACT

Games have the ability to reflect and unite all kinds of people from many different (sometimes opposing) backgrounds; they create a sense of imagination, inspiration, community, and belonging for many folks.

In short, games have the power to change the world. And my intention for the design work that I did at EA is to help make that change for the better.