​After a bit of research, I learned that the NFL has decided to do away with old paper technology and partner with Microsoft to create a digitized experience for sideline team play review. It’s easy to see why this would be beneficial in bad weather conditions.

Old paper printers on the sidelines are crazy.

But what does the interface look like? Actually it’s relatively simple, and that makes sense. Microsoft knew they were designing for near military grade conditions, both in terms of the physical enclosure case, but also the demanding conditions of operating an app interface in extreme situations like rain and snow.

These are also not your normal sized humans as the average NFL player is 6’2” tall weighing 250lbs. This means bulky fingers compounded by the fact that lots of players wear gloves (hence the permanently attached stylus). All of these factors definitely lead to a serious product design challenge, but it seems like they’ve succeeded for the most part, although some people are stuck in the past. I’m betting they haven’t designed the app to be used by players wearing a hand cast that looks like a medieval club. Get on it Microsoft!