TechTic: a hybrid decision support system for football tactics using rule-based selection and generative AI

The absence of available and easy-to-use tools can make the process of organizing teams and creating an effective tactical strategy challenging to amateur football managers. The current tactical solutions are professional in nature and hence complex, costly and not fit to be used by the grassroots. To fill this gap, TechTic was created as a hybrid decision support system using mobile-based architecture to allow rule-based logic and generative artificial intelligence to deliver tactical advice to suit the needs of non-professional users. A TechTic AI engine proposes the correct formations depending on the attributes of the players like position and key roles. This is further complemented by an inbuilt AI API which provides tactical advice based on context when the user feeds in details about the opposition team. Among the most important characteristics are the drag-and-drop formation editor, automatic placement of key players and suggestions based on natural language input created by the artificial intelligence. This system was created with Android Studio and Firebase to manage data in real time and the development process is based on the Waterfall methodology. Requirement Traceability Testing, System Usability Scale (SUS) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) were used to test the performance and usability of the system. The outcomes indicated that there was a high usability, accessibility, and user satisfaction. TechTic can help close the tactical knowledge gap that exists between professional and amateur football, providing community coaches and grass roots managers with an intelligent, but easy to use, tactical planning tool. TechTic is a new milestone in accessibility to top-notch sports technology, with the option to be scaled to other sports teams in the future.