U3 White Paper · September 28, 2026
Building Esports Operations with Purpose
A Systems Approach to Structure, Accountability, and Continuous Improvement
By YaYa Jenkins, M.S. · Unleashed Esports (U3)
Abstract
Operations before technology.
Esports organizations often begin with competition while the operational structure arrives later. Drawing on the development of Unleashed Esports (U3), this white paper examines how recruiting, scheduling, coaching, communication, player development, accountability, and technology interact as parts of one operating system. It introduces the BUILD Framework—Bottleneck, Understand, Improve, Link, and Develop—as a practical method for diagnosing operational friction and choosing the simplest meaningful improvement without assuming custom software is the answer.
Key Takeaways
What the paper argues.
- 01Design operations before selecting technology.
- 02Treat a bottleneck as evidence of a systems problem, not automatically a software problem.
- 03Keep related operational records distinct when they answer different questions.
- 04Use technology to reduce friction and improve visibility without expecting it to manufacture motivation or leadership.
- 05Choose custom development only when the operational value justifies the cost and maintenance.
Featured Framework
BUILD
BUILD is the practical framework introduced in the paper for working through operational friction without jumping straight to a technology solution.
- B
- Bottleneck
- U
- Understand
- I
- Improve
- L
- Link
- D
- Develop
About the Author
YaYa Jenkins, M.S.
YaYa Jenkins, M.S. is the founder and owner of Unleashed Esports (U3), a competitive esports organization legally established in May 2024. Jenkins brings experience from multiple sides of esports, including two to three years as a competitive mobile gamer, followed by another three years co-owning and helping operate an esports draft league before founding U3.
In addition to esports operations, Jenkins brings more than 10 years of experience in web strategy, application development, digital experience, and enterprise web systems, supported by an M.S. in Network Technology with a concentration in Web Technologies. That combination of competitive gaming, league operations, organizational leadership, and technical systems development informs the practical approach presented in this white paper.
Citation
Cite this paper.
