The PGA Tour leverages new technology to engage and connect with their fans with one of the first voice applications in professional sports
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To keep up with the rapid pace of digital technology as well as the changing modes of engagement of their fan-base, the PGA Tour wanted to take advantage of emerging voice platforms. They partnered with TribalScale to develop both voice applications. Together we needed to:
- Determine limitations in developing a voice skill for live sports
Integrate live data feeds designed for mobile and web with a screen less experience using the cloud - Design systems flexible enough to cover over 10 different types of gameplay
- Build two tournament-based voice applications that can handle live events on a weekly basis
Voice applications for live events on a weekly basis
Flexible design system
Integrated live data feeds
The PGA tour chose to partner with TribalScale for our reputation of being a lead practitioner in designing and building voice user interfaces (VUIs).
Through close collaboration with their team, and with Amazon, our team designed a VUI document without the benefit of standardized VUI formats available today. We engaged in extensive testing with users to ensure all interactions fit and flowed conversationally and with that knowledge developed the applications to include a leaderboard, tournament standings, and live player updates, for both Amazon and Google voice platforms. The cloud-based voice applications were entirely designed and built by TribalScale and both were quickly certified by Amazon and Google. The engagement involved:
D I S C O V E R Y
We conducted initial research, ran workshops, and held interviews with users and key internal stakeholders to identify pain points and must-haves for the conversational flow
D E S I G N
With the principles of conversational design in mind, our team created the VUI based on known and built-in utterances, and user research into the behaviours of golf fans. All possible inputs and outputs were sketched and tested by reading and working through the wireframes and scripts.
D E V E L O P M E N T
Through Agile and extreme programming methodologies, we released builds of the two voice applications on a weekly basis. Further, we leveraged many features of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and continue to host the code on AWS.
Q UA L I T Y A S S U R A N C E
Through Agile and extreme programming methodologies, we released builds of the two voice applications on a weekly basis. Further, we leveraged many features of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and continue to host the code on AWS.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Dialogflow
- Adobe Analytics
The PGA Tour’s mission is to entertain and inspire fans, and by creating these two innovative and engaging voice applications, among the first of their kind, we helped them deliver on that mission. Since the initial engagement in 2016, our team has continued to partner with the PGA Tour on further versions and improvements to both Google and Amazon voice applications. We’ve also added new features including a podcast and livestream capabilities.
Further, through our voice application development, TribalScale has been named an expert and preferred builder by both Amazon and Google. We are also now a Premier Consulting Partner in the Google Cloud Partner network as well as a Select Consulting Partner with AWS Services.
- Added podcast and livestream capabilities
- Continuous quality assurance tests to ensure no errors in flow and utterances
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Scott Gutterman
VP of Digital Operations @ PGA
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