My Stuff
Owned the end-to-end UX design and implementation of all My Stuff features released to 95 million subscribers in the 2023 Max app launch. Responsible for initial concepts to product launch across tv, mobile and web in under 9 months.
The Project
My Stuff accounts for 50% of media starts on HBO Max. Combining two streaming platforms while integrating two different feature sets led to unique challenges and opportunities during design and implementation. Communication and storytelling were key while cross-collaboration with stakeholders on the Discovery and HBO team was integral to success.
The Goal
Successfully integrate the Discovery and HBO max platform and create a space for users to manage and easily reach the content they want to watch.
How might we,
translate current features from both platforms into an elevated yet familiar space?
How might we,
use this opportunity to improve upon the current My Stuff environment?
How might we,
design a flexible system that future proofs our features for next stage releases?
Tree Testing
We ran several tests to analyze the IA of both platforms and discover opportunities for improvement in platform navigation.
Prototyping
After analyzing the tree test results I put together a series of wire frames into a prototype in order to concept test different approaches and dig deeper into our users goals and engagement with My Stuff.
Generative Research & User Interviews
We performed in-depth interviews with 8 participants including concept testing the wireframes.
Research Goals
- How can we improve upon the current My Stuff environment?
- How can we easily transition users of both Discovery+ and HBO Max into the new platform?
- Where do these features fit into the current information architecture and context of BEAM?
- How can we use interactions with My Stuff to better improve the user’s recommendation system?
Takeaway | The more frequently participants use My Stuff, the more value they see it being in its own section outside of profiles due to its easy accessibility and compartmentalization.
Recommendation | Hypothesis confirmed, move forward with My Stuff as a separate section from profiles.
Takeaway | Profiles was not an intuitive place for settings or storage of preferences or usage data beyond profile specific actions.
Recommendation | Incorporating features such as preferences, watch history and usage data align more under the My Stuff tab.
Takeaway | Users expect to access Continue Watching from the home screen first, rather than go to a separate My Stuff section.
Recommendation | Build out My Stuff with the knowledge that users will expect to access Continue Watching, My List etc. from the home screen for the vast majority of use cases.
Takeaway | Users continue to request the ability to remove content from Continue Watching even if they have not completed watching.
Recommendation | Allow users to edit their Continue Watching and My List pages across all platforms.
Design Principles
Specs and Delivery
I specked out the My Stuff space including motion and accessibility specs across all features. I achieved sign off on new experience enhancing features and brought engineering through delivery.
Welcome to Max
The following features were launched in the 2023 release of the Max App. Successfully released to 93 million subscribers. Enhancements resulted in a 20% increase in content added to My List. Continue Watching continues to be the number 1 feature on the platform contributing to 50% of user playback. User feedback continues to praise the addition of features like remove from Continue Watching.
Features and Improvements
Remove from Continue Watching - Add / Remove from My List
Most highly requested feature by users. I incorporated remove from Continue Watching across all devices and platforms. Now users may also add or remove from My List on any device and on anywhere content appears. Designed long press for TV, drawer for mobile and for web.
Empty State and Personalization
Engagement on personalized trays is 30% higher than on standard trays. The addition of a clear and informative empty state with a path forward to users increased awareness and usage of My Stuff features.
Episodic vs. Series Art
Several combinations of tile image and metadata needed to be tested for the Continue Watching space. Out of 10 different variations I decided the best two options to be formally run in an A/B test. The resulting test lead to an increase in clicks on episodic art and series title metadata a dramatic improvement over the previous state.
Future Improvements
Further improvements are waiting in the pipeline including a view all feature for My List and Continue Watching, designs for sports and live content in Continue Watching and My List.