01. Project Snapshot

Project Name: Malaeb Business App Revamp
Platform / Product: Web and Mobile App for Stadium Owners and Operators
Timeline: 5 months
Role: UX Designer (IA, Flows, Prototyping, Testing)
Team: Product Manager, 2 Engineers, 1 UI Designer, 1 QA Specialist
Tools: Figma, Miro, Notion
My Contribution in One Sentence: Re-architected the platform to reduce complexity and streamline high‑frequency operational tasks for stadium managers.

02. Context & Background

Malaeb provides a digital ecosystem for sports facilities and players. The Business App is used daily by stadium owners and venue managers to run operations, manage bookings, create matches, configure opening hours, run tournaments, and track accounts.

The platform had grown organically over several years. New features were layered on top of old ones, producing fragmented workflows, inconsistent patterns, and a steep learning curve for newly onboarded managers.

The company initiated a full UX revamp to improve efficiency, reduce support requests, and prepare the platform for new revenue‑generating features.

03. Core Problem / Opportunity

User Pain Points

• Managing bookings required jumping between multiple screens with different interaction patterns.

• Editing or rescheduling bookings often caused confusion because of unclear states and error handling.

• Opening hours, add‑ons, and pricing were scattered across separate menus without a clear hierarchy.

• Tournament creation was powerful but unintuitive, leading to abandoned setups.

• Customer database lacked clarity in filtering, history, and account visibility.

Business Pain Points

• High onboarding time for new stadium owners.

• Frequent support tickets around recurring bookings, cancellations, and financial visibility.

• Low adoption of tournaments and coaching modules due to complexity.

Opportunity

A unified, logical, and scalable system that supports fast daily operations while reducing cognitive load.

04. Goals & Success Criteria

• Reduce time to create and modify bookings.

• Increase adoption of tournaments and coaching modules.

• Improve clarity across operational tasks: hours, add‑ons, pricing.

• Create a consistent IA aligned with the mental model of stadium managers.

• Reduce support requests related to recurring bookings and schedule conflicts.

05. Research Overview

Inputs

• Stakeholder interviews with Malaeb operations team.

• User interviews with 6 stadium owners (different venue sizes).

• Heuristic evaluation of the existing platform.

• Analysis of 3 competitor booking systems.

• Review of customer support logs.

Key Insights

1. Managers think in time blocks and availability first, not in feature modules.

2. Bookings are interdependent, and users want early visibility of conflicts.

3. Recurring bookings drive a large percentage of revenue but were the most error‑prone.

4. Financial clarity—payments, invoices, and balances—is essential for trust.

5. Power users wanted shortcuts; new users needed guardrails.

06. User Types & Primary Tasks

Primary User: Stadium Owner / Venue Manager

Goals: Run daily operations efficiently, minimize errors, ensure availability accuracy.
Pressures: Time‑sensitive tasks, frequent schedule changes, customer communication.

Secondary User: Staff Member / Assistant Manager

Goals: Support operations, handle bookings, manage customer interactions.

Primary Tasks

• Create, edit, cancel, and manage bookings.

• Set opening hours and one‑off closures.

• Manage add‑ons and packaged services.

• Run matches and tournaments.

• View financial information and customer history.

07. Information Architecture Decisions

Issues With Previous IA

• Features were added organically, creating a patchwork menu structure.

• Similar tasks lived in different modules (e.g., Add‑Ons inside Bookings).

• No clear separation between “Configuration” and “Daily Operations.”

New IA Principles

• Group tasks based on real‑world workflow.

• Make availability and scheduling the conceptual backbone.

• Separate daily operations from long‑term configuration.

Updated IA Summary

Operations: Bookings, Matches, Coaching, Tournaments
Configuration: Opening Hours, Add‑Ons, Pricing, Facility Setup
Management: Customers, Accounts & Invoices, Reports

08. Key Flows to Redesign

A. Booking Management

Challenge: Complex branching logic across editing, rescheduling, and recurring rules.
Constraints: Existing backend logic; multiple venue sizes; clash detection.
Design Response: A unified booking drawer with consistent actions, real‑time conflict warnings, and editable attributes grouped logically.

B. Recurring Bookings

Challenge: Users often created invalid or conflicting recurring series.
Design Response: A step‑based flow with preview of the entire series and conflict surfacing before creation.

C. Tournaments

Challenge: Low adoption due to confusing setup.
Design Response: Simplified creation flow, visual bracket previews, clearer team/participant management.

D. Opening Hours & Days Off

Challenge: Hidden behind multiple menus.
Design Response: Consolidated into a single, calendar‑centric layout with a clear hierarchy.

E. Add‑Ons Management

Challenge: Users couldn’t see where add‑ons would appear to players.
Design Response: A preview‑oriented interface and clearer assignment rules.

09. Wireframes & Prototyping

• Initial sketches to explore simplified flows.

• Mid‑fidelity wireframes to test IA assumptions.

• High‑fidelity prototypes for user testing.

• Annotated interaction rules for engineering (e.g., conflict warnings, booking states, pricing logic).

10. Testing & Iteration

Method: Moderated remote sessions with 5 stadium owners.

Findings

1. The unified booking drawer significantly reduced confusion.

2. Users wanted recurring bookings to show an expanded preview.

3. Tournament flow still needed clearer participant steps.

4. Add‑Ons needed a dropdown preview of player‑facing views.

5. Quick‑actions were requested for power users.

Iterations Applied

• Added preview screens.

• Simplified tournament participant flow.

• Added player‑view preview for add‑ons.

• Introduced shortcuts for bulk operations.

11. Final Designs

The final system consolidated tasks, reduced friction, and clarified the mental model. Modules were visually and structurally aligned, booking operations became faster, and configuration areas became easier to understand.

Screens included (summaries for portfolio use):

• Booking Management dashboard

• Booking Drawer (edited, recurring, conflict handling)

• Tournaments setup flow

• Opening hours and days‑off calendar

• Add‑ons management

• Customer & account visibility

12. System-Level Improvements

• More coherent workflows across all operational tasks.

• Reduced learning curve for new managers.

• Improved consistency across modules.

• Clearer financial visibility.

• Higher adoptability for tournaments and coaching.

13. Outcomes & Impact

Quantitative :

• Reduced average booking creation time.

• Fewer reported issues around recurring bookings.

• Increased usage of tournaments, coaching and matches features.

Qualitative:

• Stadium owners reported greater clarity and ease of use.

• Internal team noted fewer onboarding difficulties.

• Support team saw reduced friction in core flows.

14. My Contribution

• Led the IA redesign.

• Created all key user flows and prototypes.

• Designed and tested booking, recurring, hours, and tournament flows.

• Facilitated stakeholder workshops.

• Coordinated with engineering to define interaction logic.