Video Player – Supporting consumers in extracting desired information from video content

📊  Real-time data
✏️  User testing
📱  Mobile app

MY ROLE

As a Product Designer at Naver, the leading search engine platform in Korea with 80% population useage, I tacked the goal of retaining search users during the shift from text to video content. To translate the business needs into user needs, I leveraged different user research methods and identified pain point s in Naver search users' video consumption experience. This allowed me to drive product direction and define new features, resulting in a remarkable 4-fold increase in video consumption.

TEAM

1 Product Designer, 4 iOS Engineers, 3 AOS Engineers

PROJECT

Laucned a new video player in the iOS / Andriod App

TIMELINE

Jan 2019 – Apr 2020

Key point to watch

In this case study, you will see my holistic 0-to-1 design process and my deep contemplation on interaction.

Problem Statement

How might we help users to find information in video content easily?

Success Metrics – User Engagement (View Counts)
Naver is #1 search engine platform in Korea, used by 80% of the population to find information. One of the reasons we were able to maintain the number one position in search market share was due to Naver's original content. However, most of our content consisted of text-based blog posts, and as the content consumption trend shifted from text to video in 2019, users were unable to find satisfying video search results in our platform. Consequently, they began leaving Naver to seek out platforms like YouTube and others.

Approach

Leveraged market / user research to identify unique strategies for differentiating ourselves as a latecomer in the video market.

As a latecomer in the video market, I started with market research and defined our position, focusing on what our company could excel in. Additionally, acknowledging this as an entirely new experience, I actively leveraged user testing to continuously validate user needs and gauge their reactions to usability., ensuring the product aligned with their expectations.

Achievement

Increased video views by 400%, and obtained 2 patents.

It achieved statistically significant improvement in our success metrics (view counts) by creating a new video consumption experience. This allowed users to find what they want to see easily and quickly, which increased satisfaction in search experience.

Background

There was a paradigm shift in content consumption from text to video content, but our search results lacked video content.

Our search users began seeking other platforms like YouTube because they couldn't find video content due to our text-focused search results. As a result, they were dissatisfied with our search experience and started abandoning our platform, which negatively impacted our business metrics.

Initial Goal

Enhance visibility of video content in search results, so we can increase satisfaction and boost user engagement.

Market Research

As a latecomer, needed a strong reason for users to choose us over others → Conducted market research to identify unique value props.

If we only focus on enhanving its visibility, there would be no compelling reason to visit our platform, instead of YouTube and other competitors. So, to discover unique value propositions that only our platform can provide, I conducted market research and discovered an opportunity of providing informative videos.

Problem Reframing

Based on this finding, I changed our design goal: focusing on helping users to find information in videos easily.

User Research

Conducted survey with 350 users to understand user pain points in finding information in videos.

Fun fact – Even though our company was the biggest tech company in Korea, we didn't have any UX researchers. Thus, I collaborated with the other designer to plan and conduct a survey, We surveyed 350 users. Our goal was to understand their perception and experience of video consumption.

INSIGHTS
QUOTES
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Finding information in videos is time-consuming task.
I always have to watch the entire video since I don't know where the information will appear.
EFFICIENT
A text content is easy to skim through vertical scroll, which is helpful to decide whether read or not.
I usually quickly scroll and check only images to decide whether continue to read or not.
SKIM-ABLE
There is a friction to check information in videos, going back and forth between videos and browser.
Some YouTubers provide information in the videos, so I need to open a new tab to search information.
SEAMLESS

Feature Concept

Feature 1. Index

EFFICIENT
SKIM-ABLE

Based on insights discovered through user research, I ideated an index feature that allows users to navigate directly to desired parts without watching the entire video. The index enables users to skim through the video to see its content.

WIRE FRAME / SPECIFICATION

To enable easy navigation between indexes while watching the video, I focused on gestures. While users could access the index list through buttons, I leveraged gestures to enable easy navigation even without any visible UI elements, as full-screen video experience was crucial.

Feature 2. Info Sticker

SEAMLESS

Through user research, I discovered that users often had to switch back and forth between the video player and browser to search for detailed information within videos. To address this, I implemented an info sticker feature that brings relevant information directly into the video player, eliminating the need for users to search in the browser.

WIRE FRAME / SPECIFICATION

To achieve a seamless experience, I minimized app transitions and implemented an in-app browser and bottom sheet to minimize the disruption of the video.

User Testing

Conducted contextual inquiry with 15 users and closed beta with 100+ internal emplyees to ensure its usability.

Before releasing the product, we wanted to validate our direction through user testing. Another designer and I aimed to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. This would help us understand the patterns in prototype usage, ways users interacted with it, and assist in tracking bugs.

Iteration

Feature 1. Index

USER TESTING INSIGHTS
BEFORE
AFTER
Users carefully select content from the search results through skimming content card, then quickly skim through it to decide whether to continue watching.
Users could access the index only while watching the video.

‍
I added the index to the search results and the initial video screen to help users skim through it to decide whether to continue watching.

Feature 2. Info Sticker

USER TESTING INSIGHTS
BEFORE
AFTER
Users still have to wait until the sticker appeared to access the information.
Users could access the information when they discovered the sticker.
‍
I added a button and bottom sheet, providing all the information included in the video at once.

Final Design

Sharing user feedback with the team can be helpful in building a positive team dynamic.

Takeaway

Sharing user feedback with the team can be helpful in building a positive team dynamic.

Personally I learned that implementing user research is super important not only for product quality but also for team dynamic. This project was spent more than 1 year, which made all team members exhausted and boring. However, whenever I conducted the research,   I delivered the report to all the team members, and this made them felt proud due to positive voice and escaped from ambiguity since they realized what to improve exactly based on user voice.

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