Role
As the Visual Design Lead and assistant project manager, I guided our team toward solutions that looked and felt consistent with the Netflix design system as well as kept us on task through design studios, division of responsibilities, and time-boxing. I also assisted in survey creation and distribution, user interviewing, sketching and wire-framing, and prototype testing.
Duration
2-week design sprint
Overview
Netflix is a movie and tv streaming platform with millions of users that is accessible on TVs, desktops, and smartphones. As a class project, we conducted a UX design sprint around a possible step for Netflix, adding a social complement for streaming with friends.
Our goal was simple — find out if users were interested in socializing over Netflix, why they would want this feature and if/how they were already doing it. The result of this research led to the design of two features: Watch Party and Live Stream.
Team
General Assembly UX Immersive Class. Emilie Chen, Yaquetta Mcdowell, Mason Materna, Jared Horman and Katie Kim
Tools
Figma, Asana
Methods
User research, Surveys, UI/UX, Wireframing, Prototyping, User Testing, Responsive versions
RESEARCH
Research Methods
In order to orient ourselves to understanding the current landscape of social streaming, we chose four research methods: surveys, user interviews, competitive and comparative analysis, and a heuristic evaluation. Each one was selected to help provide insight and clarity into the needs and expectations of potential users and answer specific questions about their behaviours:
Competitive Analysis - Where are users currently going for social streaming, and what is that experience like?
Surveys - Who uses streaming services and what do they like about them?
User Interviews - Why do users want to stream with friends?
Heuristic Evaluation - How does Netflix currently work for its users?
RESEARCH
Competitive and Comparative Analysis
We started our research with a competitive analysis with the goal to better understand what social streaming experiences currently look and feel like with the hopes of better informing our survey and user interview questions. We made a comparison chart of closed watch party features within Amazon Prime and Disney+ and also of third-party ways to share a stream of anything through Discord, Twitch, and Teleparty.
While many of the competitors have similar features, Disney+ had a notably easy Watch Party experience. This feature has a holding room that allowed for a host to share an invitation, view guests in the holding room, and each watch party attendee shares play/pause control.
Twitch and Discord shared a majority of features for hosting large-scale streaming events with messaging and video chat components. The look and feel of these features varied, and so we added a questions to our user interview to learn more about what features users enjoy.
RESEARCH
Survey Results
We wanted to dive deeper into what users might think and feel about watching with friends and family, so we assembled a short 10 question survey. To distribute our survey, we shared the survey with friends and family members, and also posted the survey in several community slack survey channels and on our own personal social media channels. There was no control over who took the survey, but we did find out some helpful details from the 43 responses we received of a variety of ages and genders.
We learned that our users do use Netflix, even if they have other streaming services. We also learned that our users mostly prefer watching with friends and family.
Our survey also captured contact information for users interested in participating in user interviews.
RESEARCH
User Interviews
As a group, we divided the contact information we received from our surveys of those interested in further inquiry, and each interviewed one or two people. Informed by our competitive analysis and survey results, we created an interview discussion guide for each interviewer to use for continuity. We also each intuitively asked follow-up questions to uncover needs we may not have anticipated.
We conducted seven interviews with our users to discover needs, frustrations, and pain points on everything from using third-party platforms to stream Netflix with others to whether people like talking during movies or having a lengthy debrief afterward.
EMPATHIZE
User Research Insights
Using quotes from interview notes and transcripts, our group started to find common themes in our user’s experiences by arranging their thoughts out around common ideas. We learned that our users prefer to watch movies at home like to connect with friends through watching movies and really enjoy binge watching. Users prefer to be able to see and hear their friends react and talk to them all in the same browser they’re streaming in. Users are also interested in having discussions after a movie is over.
Key User Insights
EMPATHIZE
Persona
In order to have a more consolidated understanding of our users, we developed Matty. He is a collection of thoughts, needs, and feelings from our user interviews—and is how we focused our solution to be user-minded.
Matty is a young man who loves Netflix, and is newly out on his own and trying to find ways to stay connected to friends and family back home—and make new friends in a new place.
How can we help Matty?
DEFINE
Problem
Matty is a new college student who used to connect over Netflix with his sister, but now that he’s on his own, he’s been struggling to build a new community and needs to find a way to build relationships through shared interests..
Solution
We seek to foster connectivity amongst viewers by allowing users to:
attend closed (private) watch parties
participate in public, open Live Stream events like premieres
IDEATE
Sketches
To start ideating one of our two solution features, we got together as a team to sketch. We time-boxed each other through a series of sketch sprints with feedback, and after 30 minutes came to this collective wire flow.
We ideated using the existing Netflix show card to include a new Watch Party icon to link users to the watch party holding page. On this page, users can invite other Netflix users either by independently sending an invite link or adding something from the online friends’ tab.
In the watch party screen, users have the option to turn on their microphone and camera, use the in-app chat feature—or turn all of those off and just watch.
After the watch party ends an after-party screen pops up allowing for continued conversation and discussion.
DESIGN
Mockups and User testing
After sketching we moved to mock-up our ideas. Using a Figma Community UI kit, we were able to mock up our ideas at a high fidelity level quickly. This allowed us to start our first round of user testing and get feedback on colors in harmony with the rest of the Netflix design system as well as placement and functionality.
We divided our user testing into two tasks, one for a watch party and one for attending a live stream event.
Watch Party Features and Testing Results
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Watch Party Icon
We added a watch party icon to the preview show card built into the Netflix UI.
5/5 users liked this feature.
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Holding Room and Invite Page
We added a watch party waiting screen where users can invite friends before starting the show.
This was not user-friendly. 4 of 5 users questioned why there were so many clicks to inviting a friend.
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Watch Party Features
In addition to the existing Netflix user interface for watching shows, we added options for all watch party attendees to
turn on their camera and microphone to see and hear their friends
Use the in-app chat feature to send reactions and messages
5/5 users liked this additional feature
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After Party Chat
We introduced a new feature for after the movie or tv show is done, after party. Keeping with the same features in the watch party, after party features 1 ) camera /microphone and 2) messaging chat features.
3/5 users tested were excited about this feature
Live Stream Features and Testing Results
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Live Navigation
We added a Live button in to the main navigation. We styled similar to other media live buttons to make it standout to users as something happening now.
5 of 5 users did not recognize the LIVE button was a navigation item and didn’t click it immediately
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Live Page and Friends List
We created a live page with two features: a separate page of live streams happening now and an added ability to see friends online.
5/5 users thought this Live page was confusing. It looked too much like the Netflix page.
5/5 users liked being able to see friends online and wanted to see it more integrated within the Netflix interface
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Live Preview Page
We designed an expanded card to show more about the livestram before users entered the room.
3/5 users thought this page was not very useful. Users preferred to go directly to the live stream from the home page.
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Live Features
1) Providing a different experience, the Live party only allows for a host to use their camera and microphone
2) attendees of a live stream have the option to chat with the community or send emote reactions
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Live After Party
Similar to the Live stream, the Live After party 1) only allows for a host to use their camera and microphone
2) attendees of a live stream have the option to chat with the community or send emote reactions after the live stream has ended
Test
Prototype
After our first round of user testing and results, we made some adjustments to the prototype.
We styled the live button as a consistent part of the navigation
We eliminated the Live holding page
We added the friends tab to global navigation
We refined the watch party and Livestream messaging experience to be more tv ratio accurate
We removed steps to adding friends to the watch party
ITERATE
Next Steps
Iterate
Based on another round of user testing, there are several more things we need to explore before our prototype is ready to be developed:
Create a way to help users find the watch party feature
Explore screen-space saving options for the in-app messaging feature
Refine the friends list graphic to feel more aligned with the Netflix design system
Reflection
I’m big into community building. I’m passionate about how technology can connect us with those we love—or form new connections. Exploring this solution for Netflix was right up my alley because I got to dream up another way that we could share experiences with friends and family.