Project details

Overview

The User Lifecycle team's objective was to enhance the acquisition and retention of iPlayer users by improving their engagement with the platform. We concentrated on two main projects:

1. Pre-availability of Content: iPlayer lacked the ability to promote upcoming content (both live and on-demand), which meant missed opportunities to re-engage users with key moments, such as major events like Glastonbury or the new Doctor Who season.
2. Watchlist: The naming and location of the Watchlist were inconsistent across platforms, leading to low usage.

Our approach included developing a strategy for pre-availability within the constraints of editorial, product, and engineering requirements, and creating a consistent Watchlist experience across different platforms.

My role

Lead UX Designer. I led a team of two designers, managing both projects simultaneously. My role involved extensive stakeholder management, working closely with product managers and engineering leads to define solutions.

I also focused on team development, improving processes, and aligning our work with the engineering process through JIRA.

Challenge

Pre-availability:

• Lack of capability: iPlayer did not have the functionality to promote upcoming content, resulting in missed opportunities to re-engage users.
• Component limitations: Existing components and templates did not support trailer playback, and we had limited time and engineering resources.
• Solution constraints: Needed to develop a long-term strategy while reusing existing components.

Watchlist:

• Inconsistent terminology: Different names (e.g., My Programmes, Watch Later, Watchlist) and locations across platforms led to low usage.
• Requirement gathering: Needed to align on consistent naming and placement.

Solution

Pre-availability:

• MVP strategy: Developed a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to promote upcoming content, including a dedicated row on the home screen for new and upcoming content.
• User navigation: Enabled users to navigate to upcoming programs, access more information, and watch related content.
• Future strategy: Created a long-term strategy including reminders and notifications for content users showed interest in.

Watchlist:

• Consistent naming: Settled on the name “Watchlist” based on user research.
• Improved navigation: Added Watchlist consistently to the navigation across all platforms and updated user journeys for quick access.

Process overview

Discovery

Pre-availability:

• Competitor analysis: Reviewed strategies used by competitors and assessed our capabilities.
• Requirements gathering: Collected input from the Live team and other stakeholders to understand the requirements.

Watchlist:

• Competitor analysis: Analysed terminology and user journeys from competitors.
• User research: Conducted tests using Userzoom to evaluate potential names and locations.

Design

Pre-availability:

• Timeline creation: Developed a timeline for different types of upcoming content, considering specific dates for events versus more flexible release dates for on-demand shows.
• Consistent experience: Ensured the strategy accommodated various requirements while providing a cohesive user experience.

Watchlist:

• Workshops: Conducted design thinking workshops to define journeys, behaviours, and the design approach for the Watchlist with multiple stakeholders.

Testing

Pre-availability:

• Usability testing: Conducted basic usability tests to evaluate user behaviour and expectations around upcoming content. Focused on messaging and content types (live vs. on-demand).

Watchlist:

• Prototypes: Tested prototypes for the Watchlist, evaluating copy, navigation, and usability. Integrated research findings with those from pre-availability to assess saved program behaviours.

Results

Pre-availability:

• MVP launch: Released in December 2023.
• Christmas content: 72% of 2023 Christmas content was supported by pre-availability features.
  User Engagement: 678k users watched the Doctor Who Christmas trailer in 11 days, with 913k views. For comparison, BBC Trailers reached 773k users with 2m plays in the whole of 2023.
• SEO impact: Increased SEO clicks by 59% and impressions by 77% during the pre-available period.

Watchlist:

• Initial release: Implemented in November 2023 with ongoing iterations.
• Short-term retention: 89% of users who used the Watchlist returned the next week, compared to 72.6% of all accounts.
• Long-term retention: 59.9% of Watchlist users returned every week for at least the next 8 weeks, compared to 32.0% overall.

Get in touch

Send me an email: hi@dianamundo.com or get in touch via LinkedIn