Caesars Player Account Management (PAM) Platform
Project Overview
A Player Account Management (PAM) platform is a specialized software system tailored for managing player accounts in gaming or gambling industries. Caesars' PAM platform is an all-encompassing system designed to oversee player information, transactions, preferences, and other pertinent data.
Previously, Caesars Sportsbook App relied on a third-party SAAS platform, NeoGames, for Player Account Management. However, this dependency hindered Caesars' ability to compete effectively against industry giants like DraftKings and FanDuel, who offered superior products in the Sportsbook and iCasino space. NeoGames, with its limitations, prevented Caesars from enhancing its Sportsbook and iCasino apps to deliver a superior user experience.
To bridge the gap and outperform its competitors, Caesars recognized the need for a Player Account Management platform under its control. Such a platform would empower Caesars to develop and customize functionalities tailored to its operations, thereby ensuring an excellent user experience for Caesars' customers.
The development of Caesars' Player Account Management (PAM) platform was a substantial endeavor, spanning approximately two years from inception to release. It involved the collaboration of multiple agile teams, which, at its peak, consisted of over 80 individuals.
My Role / Team
The scale of the platform required a substantial team effort. At one point, we had approximately eight agile teams operating under the larger team umbrella, which, at its peak, consisted of over 80 individuals. Each team comprised front-end developers, back-end developers, a product manager, and a business analyst. Depending on the feature being designed and built, UX designers supported different teams at different times.
I initially served as the sole Senior UX Designer on a team, overseeing all research and design functions. Following an initial round of discovery research and conceptual designs, another Senior UX Designer joined the team. We then divided our work by features to tackle the design of the PAM platform. Our activities encompassed a discovery phase, during which we conducted Competitive Analysis (analyzing NeoGames SAAS platform and its capabilities)
and held one-on-one remotely moderated interviews with operators of the tool. These operators belonged to various operational groups, each with distinct needs and pain points. Subsequently, we conducted on-site usability testing at our Las Vegas office, where the main Caesars sportsbook Customer Support center is located. We tested our preliminary prototypes with numerous Customer Support Agents and other operational user groups.
The platform's design progressed incrementally, with close collaboration among the product team, stakeholders from diverse groups, and both back-end and front-end developers. To facilitate our collaboration in our remote environment, we utilized a range of tools including Figma, FigJam, Confluence, Jira, Slack, and Zoom.
The Work
Research / Discovery
Extensive discovery activities were crucial at the beginning of the project and remained integral throughout the design and development phases. Initially, I immersed myself in understanding the capabilities of the NeoGames platform and collaborated closely with the Product Team to identify essential features to develop, as well as those that would be complemented by other products within the Caesars portfolio.
Subsequently, I identified various user groups utilizing the PAM platform, discerning their needs and pain points through two rounds of remote, moderated one-on-one interviews.
These sessions involved groups of two to three operators per operational team. Notably, the Customer Support group emerged as the largest, comprising hundreds of agents and other operators, including Digital VIP hosts. Other operational groups, such as Finance and Compliance, ranged from twelve members upwards.
Upon completing an initial design draft of the new Caesars PAM, we conducted in-person User Testing at the Las Vegas headquarters. This testing involved multiple Customer Support Agents, Digital VIP Hosts, Customer Support Administrators, and Escalation team members.
Even during the early stages of User Testing, it became evident that the product under development would surpass the NeoGames platform currently in use by our operators. We
received overwhelmingly positive feedback from users during testing of the early prototype, with inquiries regarding the anticipated release date of the product.
Design
After first rounds of discovery I’ve put together initial design concept for the new Caesars PAM platform. The initial design identified the main areas of the Account page, the “Quick View” which gave users the most important information about the account like it’s status to see if the
account was Active or Suspended, the Balance and other data points important for our internal operators.
Once our team and stakeholders of each operational group agreed on initial design format, I’ve started design work on more specific feature of the new Caesars PAM platform. A second UX Designer was added to our team approximately 6 months after I started on this project and
we split up the feature work for the rest of the design and development process, while closely collaborating with each other, developers on various agile teams, product managers, and stakeholders. The result was a superior product to the existing platform.
Results
Separate States Instances for Operators
The transition from the NeoGames platform to Caesars PAM has resolved numerous challenges for both Caesars operators using the PAM platform and players of Caesars Sportsbook and iCasino.
Previously, one significant hurdle for internal Caesars operators was NeoGames' operation on a per-state basis. For instance, a Customer Support Agent could find themselves assisting two to four customers simultaneously via chat and phone, each located in different states. Consequently, the operator had to manage four separate instances of NeoGames concurrently. Unfortunately, each instance automatically logged the operator out after 10 minutes of inactivity. Thus, if a Customer Support Agent spent more than 10 minutes aiding
two out of four customers, the other instances of NeoGames would log them out, necessitating a login before continuing to assist other customers.
Customer Support comprises the largest operational group utilizing the NeoGames platform, with hundreds of operators stationed across the US and other countries. This meant that hundreds of operators were grappling with these challenges. The new Caesars PAM platform has addressed this issue by consolidating different state operations into a single instance. This enhancement enables operators to monitor player activity across various states within one interface, without the inconvenience of being logged out while assisting multiple players in different states.
Solved Usage Frustration for Users Across State Lines
For players of Caesars Sportsbook who held accounts in different states, the primary challenge was managing separate app instances and wallets. This issue was particularly burdensome for players who frequently traveled between states, as evident in the tri-state area, where many players moved between New York and New Jersey throughout the day. Previously, if a player deposited $100 into their New York account, those funds could not be
utilized in New Jersey when Caesars Apps operated on the NeoGames platform. To play in New Jersey, customers had to deposit funds into their New Jersey account separately from their New York account. The new Caesars PAM platform has addressed this limitation by integrating each state into a unified platform, enabling players to access their wallet seamlessly regardless of the state in which they wish to play.
Steve
Plays in 2 states daily
New York / New Jersey
“I don’t care where I placed a bet. I just want to see all my information in one place.”
Andrew
Plays in 2 states daily
New York / New Jersey
“Not important to see information broken per state. It is much better to see information for all states together.”
Increased CSA Efficiency & Onboarding
The implementation of the new Caesars PAM, replacing the previous NeoGames SAAS platform, heralded numerous positive changes, chief among them being a vastly improved user experience. Previously, the Customer Support group conducted lengthy multi-day
onboarding classes to familiarize new Support Agents with the intricacies of the NeoGames platform due to its steep learning curve. However, with the introduction of Caesars PAM, onboarding time was significantly reduced by approximately two-thirds.
The Director of Customer Operations, Adam Donnelly, expressed his satisfaction with the new platform, stating:
“I don’t even need any tutorials. The product is so intuitive, I can find exactly what I need without any effort.”
Adam’s sentiments were echoed by other operational groups within the organization. The new platform was universally welcomed for its user-friendly interface, clear presentation of account
information—something lacking in NeoGames—and its ability to streamline interdepartmental communication at Caesars Digital.