Optimizing athlete-sponsor matching through AI: A user-centered design approach to digital marketplaces

Thumbnail Image

URL

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

School of Science | Master's thesis

Authors

Date

2025-09-29

Department

Major/Subject

Human-Computer Interaction and Design

Mcode

Degree programme

Master's Programme in ICT Innovation

Language

en

Pages

85

Series

Abstract

The current process for matching athletes and sponsors is manual and inefficient. It creates challenges for athletes, agents, and sponsors. This thesis explores how an AI-powered platform designed following user-centred design (UCD) principles can streamline this process. The research followed a three-stage process, beginning with interviews with industry professionals to discover pain points and user needs. These initial findings were gathered, and based on them, three low-fidelity prototypes were created. They, in turn, after testing, culminated into a single high-fidelity prototype. This design was also validated through user testing. The testing results indicate a clear user preference for data-rich interfaces with transparent metrics. This study discovered that an AI matchmaking tool is most valuable when it augments the workflow of professionals by providing them with deep analysis and an easy means for comparison of matches. The research conducted in this thesis was constrained by the low number of users and the fact that it employed non-functional prototypes. Future research can incorporate a wider pool of participants or use a live service and revalidate user acceptance.

Description

Supervisor

Nieminen, Mika P.

Thesis advisor

Stefanov, Natanail

Keywords

sponsorship matchmaking, artificial intelligence, user-centered design, user experience, sports technology, prototyping

Other note

Citation

Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202510208318

Collections

[dipl] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI