NETFLIX Watch Party
Background
Netflix is the largest streaming platform with 230.7 million subscribers and leads the market in minutes streamed at 22.4% (as of 2022).
When users aren’t watching Netflix by themselves, they are watching with other people.
In the last few years, we have spent more time at home and socialize virtually more often.
Design Process
The Double Diamond framework emphasizes divergent and convergent thinking. I explore a vast range of ideas and narrow them down to the most viable and user-centered solutions.
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It is imperative that I immerse myself into the users' experiences to gain a deep understanding of their needs, challenges, emotions, and journey.
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After gathering research and additional context, I organize my findings to deduce insights and patterns to clearly articulate the problem to solve.
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With a clear problem statement in mind, I generate a wide range of ideas and low/mid fidelity wireframes focusing on quantity over quality.
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After narrowing down to the most effective solutions, I build high fidelity mockups & prototypes to explore and test their feasibility, accessibility, and effectiveness.
1. Discover
Problem statement
Netflix doesn’t have a native feature to watch content with other subscribers online. Users are forced to use browser extensions and third-party apps.
Research Objectives
Learn why users host/attend online watch parties
Uncover which third-party tools users use for watch parties
Understand what users like about their tool
Understand user pain points
Research goal
Understand what users like and don’t like about existing watch party options.
Methodology
Interviews were conducted with 5 participants with Netflix subscriptions who host/attend online watch parties, focusing on how they feel about existing tools and what could be improved upon.
2. Define
Interview Findings
I kept track of quotes and observations from the interviews on sticky notes and rearranged them into an affinity map consisting of 5 categories:
Reason, Motivations, Pain Points, Method, Most Important, Feedback.
The top 3 pain points for existing methods are:
Manually syncing the video amongst viewers
Differing internet connections
Loud background noise
Participants said they want to...
Easily to sync the video if it gets off track
Be able to control the different audio levels
Have less steps in the user flow
I used the affinity map to craft 2 personas:
Olivia, who watches Netflix with only 1 other person, and
Jared, who watches with 3 or more friends at a time.
These personas were instrumental in brainstorming ideas transferring them to paper. Keeping their individual motivations and goals in mind, I started iterating and creating wireframes.
3. Develop
Brainstorming and Sketches
Wireframes
There were 3 states that were needed:
Default watch screen: This is the normal watch screen when a user is watching a show or movie. The watch party icon is located at the top right of the screen.
Watch party (expanded): When a user clicks on the watch party icon, the side panel opens where users can invite others to join. Audio levels can be adjusted as well as other settings and options.
Watch party (collapsed): Users can hide the watch party panel and watch their media in full screen. The panel can be opened with the arrow icon at the top right.
4. Deliver
Branding
Since this case study was focused on adding a feature to an existing product, I used Netflix’s branding for the colors, typography, and icons – the watch party icon was custom made.
The wireframes were at a stage where they can be upgraded to a higher fidelity before usability testing. I created screens for the main task flow of hosting a watch party.
Usability Testing
Usability testing was conducted with 5 new participants who have currently own or have previously owned a puppy. Interviews were conducted to see if users could intuitively create a calendar event on the prototype.
Research Goals:
Learn how users navigate through the ‘Host a party’ task flow
See if users can complete task without help
Identify any areas for improvement
Measures of Success:
80% of participants (or more) can complete the task without error
Time on task: 2 minutes (or less)
Task Flow:
Create a watch party and invite friends
Findings & Insights
All of the participants were familiar with watch parties and were able to complete the task without error, each under 1 minute.
40% of participants suggested it be more obvious when you have copied the watch party link, as they thought there wasn’t enough contrast between the white and light/dark grays.
I changed the ‘Link Copied’ button to have a transparent fill (white on black) to maximize the contrast and legibility.
