'NetCliques'
Mobile Feature
How can we integrate a feature on the mobile app that will allow viewers to share their suggestions on social?
THE PROBLEM
Netflix needs a way to differentiate itself as a business and build community among its users. Netflix wants to integrate a new feature on its mobile app that will allow its to share what they’re watching with friends and family that share similar viewing interest and like to discuss TV and movies with each other.
Our team of 3 will be designing a digital prototype integrating a new TV/Movie sharing feature for Netflix's users.
My Role
User Research
Sketching
User Flows
Wireframing
User Interface
Prototyping
Tools
Sketch
Invision
Paper and pen
Duration
2 week sprint
OUR PROCESS
Netflix is the world's leading internet entertainment service with 158 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries, and feature films. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, via the internet.
RESEARCH
UNDERSTANDING THE USER
Through user interviews, we found a correlation with Netflix users that are also active on social media. Users often find new things to watch from word of mouth and what they see on social media.
Watch Us Affinity Map !
Some User Insights
- 'I am most active on Instagram'
- 'On Instagram, I immediately go to peoples stories'
- 'My friends and I share similar interest'
- 'I like receiving recommendations from my friends'
INSTAGRAM POLL
With 67 Participants
PERSONAS
The Casual User
Behavior
Indecisive; scrolls through the endless choices on Netflix and usually rewatches shows and movies they are familiar with
Goals
Queuing up shows/movies to watch coming from trusted recommendations to make it easy to pick what to watch next
The Power User
Behavior
The ultimate binge watcher and expert on all of the new and old shows/movies on Netflix
Goals
Creating curated playlist of TV and movie recommendations for friends and family
BALANCING BUSINESS GOALS WITH USER NEEDS
The Minimum Viable Product
The initial user research uncovered an area of opportunity to add a social component to Netflix, including the ability to add comments, and a hashtag integration using Twitter.
Business
User
However, for the MVP we decided to focus on a recommendation feed, and a new home screen, featuring the instagram integration.
Findings
- A correlation with Netflix users that are also active on social media
- Users often find new things to watch from word of mouth and what they see on social media.
IDEATION
Sketching
Based on our user research and obligation to keep within brand guidelines, we sketched ideas to test various recommendation screens that drew from the already existing mobile application interface.
We also pulled from our research to include known design patterns that would make the learnability seamless for the users.
WIREFRAMES
Identifying the Structure
Our initial wireframes focused on identifying Netflix's structure. We integrated a user profile and a recommendation feed that seamlessly abides by Netflix's brand guidelines
Home
Recommendations
Browsing
Sign In
Profile
ITERATIONS
Participatory Design Studio
While reviewing and testing our wireframes, we came to the consensus that we needed to simplify the recommendations feature. We brought in 3 users in a participatory design studio to contribute their ideas and with those results, conducted a second design studio to iterate our feature with new designs.
User Insights
- 'I would like to see a photo, video, or movie poster'
- 'What my friends thoughts are about the show/movie'
- 'Quick background information about the show/movie'
- 'Shortcuts to watch the recommended show/movie'
FUTURE STATE
APP MAP
Introducing the Netcliques feature. This addition to the Netflix app will generate stories from users who are posting what they are watching on instagram. In addition, users will be able to review what they watch and post it to the Netcliques feed. Lastly users will be able to curate their own watchlist to share with their friends and family.
The New Feature !
THE SOLUTION
Hi-Fi Prototype
By focusing on the MVP and developing a TV and movie recommendations feature, we believe that Netflix users will feel a greater sense of community and connection.
Watching a movie and adding it to 'Favorite Movies' watchlist
Watching a movie and recommending it to friends
Viewing a friend’s story and adding a movie from their watchlist to your list
After the user watches a movie, or TV show, they have the capability of adding it to their 'watchlist'.
The purpose of the watchlist is for the user to curate as many different list to share with others as recommendations, or to simply organize their own library of TV shows and movies to watch.
After the user watches a movie, or TV show, they have the capability of writing a review and recommending it to their Netflix community.
Once the user writes the review, they will share it to the Netcliques feed where other users will have the opportunity to see and choose to watch and act on the recommendation.
Similar to the functionality on Instagram, users are able to create stories of what they are currently watching and they are able to share watchlists with their Netflix community
When a user views a story, they are able to swipe up and view the contents of the shared watchlist. While viewing the watchlist, the user can add specific movies and tv show to their own list.
Viewing recommendations on the NetCliques feed and adding one to your watchlist
This new feature, 'The Netcliques Feed' is where users can view recommendations and interact the most with their Netflix community.
On this feed, users can see what other users are sharing about what they are currently watching on Netflix. The users are also able to swipe each card for more information and use a shortcut to start watching or add to their own list.
REFLECTION
Next Steps
During this project, I had the opportunity to collaborate with a team and develop a viable solution for the business problem presented. I learned the importance of project management, and the value of working with a multidisciplinary team. Because this was a 2 week sprint, our team did not get to develop everything that this new feature needed, for example the capability and process of adding your Netflix community. Below are the additional components that we would address:
For Future Version Releases
- Present the feature as a smoke screen to social media users to determine the demand
- Explore an integration with Twitter and the use of hashtags
Next Project— Expressions E-commerce Store