Sky Bet non-gambling app tackles technology addiction
YGAM developed the Scrabit app in partnership with Sky Betting & Gaming as part of Responsible Gambling Week
Sky Betting & Gaming (SBG) has launched a new non-gambling app called Scrabit, designed to help young people manage their mobile phone usage.
The new app was developed by SBG employees in their volunteer hours as part of Responsible Gambling Week, and was created in partnership with the Young Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM).
Scrabit aims to help young people “take back control of their device usage” by tracking their habits, identifying problem areas, and then tracking progress to overcome those problems.
SBG enterprise business architect Andy Walton told EGR Technology the operator had the technical skills to assist YGAM with its ambition to build the app and therefore formed a volunteer group of iOS developers, designs and UX and product developers.
EGR Technology sat down with Andy Walton for a better insight into the product.
How did the app come about?
Early in 2018 Lee Willows, Anne and Keith Evans from YGAM gave a presentation to the SBG teams about the background to the charity, and their future goals and ambitions. The message was deeply moving and impactful, and triggered a desire for collaboration between YGAM and SBG. One of the areas that YGAM were keen to progress was an educational app, with the dual aim of providing engaging tools and reaching a wider audience beyond their existing channels.
SBG had the internal technical skills to assist YGAM, and so we formed a group of volunteers with skills across iOS development, design, UX & product. These joined YGAM staff proving requirements, scope and milestones, to create a virtual team.
Can you describe the development process for the app?
We kicked off with a hack day consisting of the SBG volunteers and the YGAM staff. The aim of the day was to form the team and then to build development momentum. We started with a presentation of the ambitions, and a walkthrough of the proposed scope. The remainder of the day was then used to prototype some of the UX, the framework and the designs.
Following that start we then used people’s voluntary time to progress development. Within SBG we give people 10% of their time for learning & development activities, and some use this time to expand their skills on mobile design and development by working on the app. Regular calls and demos with YGAM ensured we maintained focus on the most important features and scope.
Obviously this approach is slower than with a dedicated full time team, and as our deadline approached we prioritised some of our SBG roadmap to help complete the app. The successful delivery of the v1 app is due to the skills and efforts of the SBG volunteers, the expertise and guidance of the YGAM team, and the open collaboration on both sides.
What are you hoping to achieve with the app?
Most importantly we hope that the app delivers on its aim of helping young people become more self-aware of their screen habits, and that it gives some assistance in reducing any negative impacts on their lives. A secondary goal is that we help YGAM develop their app strategy and ambitions, and so the user feedback from v1 should be valuable for informing future direction.