ScoreKeeper – Match Scoring

Score any match easily on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch. For badminton doubles, see court positions and who serves next. Making games simple, smart, and stress-free.

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Project Story

💡 Inspiration

A few months ago, I started playing badminton and noticed a common problem: players frequently forgot the current score and where they should stand on the court. In badminton, the server's position changes based on whether the score is odd or even, which can be confusing during fast-paced games. This inspired me to create a scoring app to solve my own problem—and potentially help many others facing the same issue.

While there are several scoring apps on the market, none offered a comprehensive badminton court position display or proper Apple Watch support. Most were simple, basic tools that didn't fully address the needs of badminton players. I wanted to solve a real problem I was experiencing while also using this project as an opportunity to practice and improve my SwiftUI skills.

🎯 What it does

ScoreKeeper is a comprehensive scoring app designed for badminton and beyond. The app:

  • Tracks badminton scores accurately with visual court positioning based on odd/even scores
  • Supports multiple devices: iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch for convenient access anywhere
  • Provides general 1v1 scoring mode for any sport or competition that needs scorekeeping
  • Displays court positions visually to eliminate confusion during badminton matches
  • Offers multi-language support for international users
  • Features an intuitive interface designed with real players' needs in mind

🛠️ How we built it

This was a solo development project built with SwiftUI, which meant I had to wear many hats: product manager, UX researcher, UI/UX designer, developer, localization specialist, documentation writer, and customer support planner.

The development process included:

  1. User research: Conducting needs analysis by talking to fellow badminton players
  2. Competitive analysis: Studying existing scoring apps to identify gaps
  3. UI/UX Design: Leveraging AI tools to overcome design challenges
  4. Multi-platform development: Building native experiences for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch (my first Apple Watch app!)
  5. Analytics integration: Implementing Google Analytics to track user sources and behavior patterns
  6. Localization: Supporting multiple languages for global reach
  7. Documentation: Creating user guides and tutorials

AI tools were crucial to my design process. I used:

  • GPT
  • Gemini
  • Claude
  • Stitch (Google)

These AI assistants helped me rapidly transform ideas into UI mockups and prototypes, which I then refined into a cohesive design that matched my vision. This allowed me to focus on user experience rather than getting stuck on design tool technicalities.

Technical challenges: Having never developed for Apple Watch before, I had to learn the platform from scratch while simultaneously ensuring the app worked seamlessly across iPhone and iPad. Creating a unified experience across all three device types was both challenging and rewarding.

🚧 Challenges we ran into

  • Solo development: Managing every aspect of the project from conception to launch without a team
  • Learning Apple Watch development: Building my first watchOS app while maintaining feature parity
  • Multi-device optimization: Ensuring seamless experience across iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch with different screen sizes and interaction patterns
  • UI/UX design skills: Limited experience with traditional design tools required creative problem-solving through AI
  • Marketing strategy: Learning how to effectively reach and engage with the target audience as a developer
  • International expansion: Adapting the app for users across different countries and languages
  • Rapid scaling: Handling the technical and support demands when 10,000 users downloaded within two days
  • Data infrastructure: Setting up analytics to understand user behavior and optimize the experience

🏆 Accomplishments that we're proud of

Marketing success:

  • 60,000+ views on Threads during initial launch
  • 4.65 million+ views on Facebook in just two days
  • 10,000 downloads within 48 hours of the Facebook post
  • International reach across Hong Kong, Malaysia, USA, Canada and beyond through Reddit

Product impact:

  • Created an app that genuinely solves a real problem for badminton players
  • Built a versatile general scoring mode that works for any sport or competition
  • Received overwhelming positive feedback and appreciation from users
  • Successfully launched on three platforms (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch) simultaneously
  • Built a truly international product used across multiple countries

Personal growth:

  • Successfully managed a complete product lifecycle solo
  • Learned to leverage AI tools effectively for design
  • Mastered Apple Watch development from zero experience
  • Gained valuable experience in product marketing and community engagement
  • Discovered my incredible ability to pull all-nighters and work until dawn (not sure if I'm proud of this one! 😅)
  • Learned data analytics by implementing GA tracking and analyzing user behavior patterns

📚 What we learned

This project taught me invaluable lessons about product development and entrepreneurship:

  1. User-centered design matters: Solving real problems creates genuine value
  2. AI as a force multiplier: Modern AI tools can help solo developers accomplish what once required entire teams
  3. Platform diversity increases reach: Supporting multiple devices (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch) makes the product accessible to more users
  4. Marketing is essential: A great product needs visibility to succeed
  5. Community feedback is gold: User input drives meaningful improvements
  6. Data-driven decisions: Analytics reveal how users actually interact with your product vs. how you think they do
  7. Effort gets rewarded: Putting care and attention into quality products resonates with users
  8. Cross-cultural impact: Technology can transcend borders and help people worldwide
  9. Sleep is optional (just kidding—learned the hard way about work-life balance! 😴)

The most fulfilling lesson was discovering that when you create something with genuine care and solve real problems, the effort will be rewarded with meaningful impact and community support.

🚀 What's next for ScoreKeeper

The overwhelming positive response has inspired an exciting roadmap:

Short-term goals:

  • Additional sport-specific scoring modes: Already receiving requests for tennis, table tennis, volleyball, and other sports
  • Implement the most requested features from user feedback
  • Improve Apple Watch and iPad experiences based on user suggestions
  • Expand language support to reach more countries
  • Optimize performance for the growing user base

Medium-term plans:

  • Add match history and statistics tracking
  • Introduce social features for sharing scores and connecting with other players
  • Develop sport-specific scoring systems based on user demand
  • Enhance analytics dashboard for personal performance tracking

Long-term vision:

  • Explore tournament bracket management capabilities
  • Build a community of players across different sports who can share tips and connect
  • Consider partnerships with sports clubs and associations
  • Expand to more specialized sports scoring systems

Community engagement:

  • Continue gathering feedback from international users on Reddit and social media
  • Build communities for each sport supported by the app
  • Use data analytics to understand user needs and prioritize features

My ultimate goal is to make ScoreKeeper the go-to scoring solution for athletes worldwide, helping them focus on playing their sport without worrying about keeping track of scores—no matter what sport they play, where they are, or what language they speak.

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