FilmSlate II: MVP & Iteration
Indie Film Streaming Platform

Continued on the onboarding initiative to develop and iterate MVP with user-centricity in mind. This project encompassed MVP building, user interviews, user story map before launch.

Overview

This project continued to the 1st ideation project to focus on the development and iteration of an MVP for FilmSlate. The MVP aims to enhance user engagement and empowerment through two key features: automatic user taste profile generation and personalized film recommendations. The project aligns with FilmSlate’s strategic goals of increasing user conversion rates and session times by Q3. A mid-fidelity prototype was created, followed by usability testing and feedback-driven iterations. The ultimate goal is to ensure a seamless onboarding experience that highlights FilmSlate's value proposition, fosters user habits, and drives long-term subscription growth.

Strategic alignment

Following the confirmation of product features, the updated product roadmap outlines FilmSlate's sign-up and onboarding process (see below), with a focus on two key components:

(1) automatic generation of user taste profiles, and

(2) curated list of top-taste (recommended) films.

The emphasis here is on detailing the development initiatives of the MVP for the proposed feature to ensure alignment with organisational and feature goals. This business case will exclude details about the watch party feature for the sake of information cohesion.

Through user research, FilmSlate users’, especially Cinephiles’ demand for personalisation and taste expression is the reason two high-level thematic approaches: increasing user engagement and digital empowerment is chosen to achieve FilmSlate’s KPI (40% conversion rate by Q3), and is aligned with NSM (annual subscriber revenue). We believe through better engagement (with personalised recommendations and wider content availability) and empowerment (through user expression and control) during the onboarding and trial period, users will better recognise the product value and foster product habits that translate to easier subscription decisions.

Under the Now/Next/Later format, the roadmap is created to facilitate product development focus. The initial product quarterly goal is identified to improving trial user average app session time by 20%. The initiative of the Automatic Film Recommendation System aims to enhance user engagement and foster user habit by providing tailored core FilmSlate experiences. Success metrics will include overall session duration and the duration of sessions spent on recommended content compared to other content. Additionally, the initiative of Automatic User Taste Profile Generation seeks to enhance onboarding user empowerment through initial interest expression and instant taste recognition. Which, success will be measured by completion rates, time to key actions, self-reported satisfaction, and compatibility between watched films and user profiles. Ultimately, these initiatives should resolve the core user problems identified in the research and provide new users with positive reinforcement and a deeper understanding of FilmSlate's value proposition.

Next, the aim will be to boost the user Net promoter score (NPS) by 15% and increase the conversion rate to 40% by leveraging word-of-mouth and enhancing the overall user experience. The initiative of this stage would be to further iterate on the digital empowerment theme to create user-expression through experience-sharing to the wider public/users which increases trial user value recognition, fosters community-building and strengthens user loyalty through social interaction. The key to this initiative will fall on the ease of social sharing, community building, and content promotion. Key performance indicators will include interaction metrics such as click-through rates from shared watch lists and the overall watch time generated through shared lists compared to organic platform interactions.

Looking ahead, the focus will shift towards expanding the service's market reach globally. Strategic initiatives such as international expansion and the introduction of regionally exclusive content offerings aim to enhance overseas user engagement. By catering to diverse preferences and fostering a sense of inclusivity, these efforts seek to broaden the platform's appeal and relevance in new markets.

User Story Map

A user story map is further created central to addressing new cinephiles’ user problems and needs throughout the sign-up and onboarding journey. Prioritising various user stories for the MVP and subsequent releases aims to test and validate product assumptions while ensuring efficient value delivery. The user story map (see below) addresses user-centred feature proposals into high-level activities, steps, and detailed narratives explaining respective feature components.

High-level Activities:

User profile generation and personalised recommendations revolve around the journey cinephiles undertake when joining FilmSlate, driven by their demand for challenging narratives, personalised experiences, and the pursuit of cinematic excellence.

User taste profile generation: As a Cinephile new user on FilmSlate, I want a more personalised platform to navigate my streaming experience around my interest.
Personalised recommendation: As a Cinephile user on FilmSlate, I want a collection of films that fit my taste, so that I don’t have to spend more time searching it elsewhere.

Steps:

The below steps are identified through every touch point according to the current onboarding feature; whilst detailed user stories are generated from existing user and optimisation knowledge.

User profile generation:

Specify taste and interesting topics
Personal profile generation
Transition to the main page

Personalised recommendation:

Navigation to the recommended list
Search function
Saved film for later viewing

MVP Prioritisation:

Ultimately, the MVP is prioritised with core feature functions, user problem assumptions and development resources in mind, and is separated into smaller granules for development clarity. Specifically, a survey-type selection is included in the MVP, and would evaluate user expression collectability to form user profile during onboarding; whilst leaving complex selection options (with combined visual & cognitive information) for future iterations if accepted. Additionally, the inclusion of direct personalised content on the main page assesses user engagement and confirms if the proposed solution meets users' personalisation demands.

Here few peripheral user stories were also added to the MVP to provide additional layers of usability verification. Instant visualisation of the top-taste list tests user reactions to instant personal taste recognition. A visual guide aids navigation to personalised recommendations, promoting effective product value recognition. The addition of a search bar reveals user reliance on recommended rankings for film searches. Similarly, the "saved for later" button measures new user interaction with recommended films, crucial for further onboarding user engagement if FilmSlate's feature value aligns with preferences.

Prototype design

Based upon previous experiences and work results, a mid-fidelity prototype was created (Appendix 1)in an additive approach considering the development resource constraints of having one designer and developer. Further iterations are made based on user feedback before reaching the updated prototype (Graph 1)

Graph 1. Updated mid-fidelity prototype

The updated prototype starts with the proposed feature prompting users to express their top interests immediately after account creation. After topic selection, users can either delve into detailed interest selection or skip directly to a transition page. For users choosing the former, additional options related to their chosen topics are presented. All selections are limited to three topics to ensure clear expectations and swift decision-making, accompanied by clear wording and a progress bar to guide user behaviour.

Upon completion, the app greets users and displays top matching films along with selection reasons to provide instant gratification/recognition. Users can navigate through film introduction content and take related interactive actions at the same time. Finally, the main page showcases featured films and the visual highlight of the top-taste films section will be followed by saved films (if any) and further matched topics subsequently to provide additional value recognition opportunities. Overall, the MVP success will be defined by a clear user understanding of the onboarding feature value and successful completion despite any UX/UI inconvenience due to technical constraints.

Testing and validation

The updated MVP is later subjected to usability testing sessions. A usability test script is created (Appendix 2) with two main objectives to drive the hypothesised engagement and digital empowerment with the proposed feature:

(O1) Assessing survey selection’s usability as a non-core-service tasks before user exposure to core product value

(O2) Confirming transition page’s visual guidance effect that contributes to users’ mental connection between instant task value recognition and core FilmSlate’s value recognition.

Subsequently, three usability test tasks are assigned with their respective testable hypotheses and success criteria (see Appendix 2):

Task 1: Complete Topic selection page with assigned process & options (O1)

Testable Hypothesis: I believe that creating an interest selection process for Cinephile users will provide a space for interest expression, and a basic profile for later personalisation.

Task 2: Navigation around transition page to explore instant personalisation results (O2)

Testable Hypothesis: I believe a transition page right after the selection task with FilmSlate users will provide an instant gratification with user task expectation and achieve higher product value recognition and user satisfaction.

Task 3: Interaction with main page visual guidance and prioritisation (O2)

Testable Hypothesis: I believe rearrange the main page with visual guidance and personalised prioritisation for FilmSlate user will achieve higher engagement that results in higher trial user session on app.

Four usability test participants were recruited, each demonstrating distinct film consumption habits. The student relies on word of mouth and trends, consuming a higher volume of video content. The NHS worker watches films to unwind with their partner during free time or at night. The professional movie critic, deeply engaged in film selection, provided extensive feedback on the onboarding process. Lastly, the data scientist watches movies during meals, expressing interest in investing more

Usability testing results are gathered and organised into one table under the critical/serious/minor system shown in Appendix 3, together with final iteration decisions that are recorded in the “response” column after reviewing these feedbacks and their relevance to the proposed feature objective. I have updated the MVP prototype as shown in Graph 1.

From user feedback, we found 7 critical-, 9 serious-, and 3 minor issues reported. Amongst all, clear user response themes on each task can be seen:

Firstly, 6 out of 7 critical issues fall under the interest selection process. Users reported that the topic selection flow was not clear, therefore the selection process was seen to be time-consuming despite managing to finish the task. Further serious and minor feedback reported the deselection button being redundant, and unencouraging wording were all recorded for further review.

Next, there was only one critical feedback made about the transition page as the movie critic struggled to find buttons to close the recommended film introduction creating feature confusion. Still, most of the participants anticipated the results apart from the students who indicated they wanted to skip to the main page to get overall experience.

Lastly, a few comments reported during the sign-up completion and main page were regarded as serious, like the user expected account profile (instead of taste profile) generation before taste selections, and the expectation of daily update film section in the main page due to FilmSlate’s 1 film/day feature.

Overall, several feature design changes were made after feedback prioritisation:

In response to user feedback on the time-consuming and skip-worthy nature of the interest selection stage, several improvements were made. The wording was revised, and a progress bar was added to provide clearer task expectations and visual guidance. Additionally, buttons were reported as irrelevant and the "selection" page was removed, simplifying the flow for a smoother user experience.

Given that most users verbally clarify action instructions before completing tasks, indicating a lack of confidence despite understanding the requirements, and considering the significant time and technical resources needed to deploy complex selection options with combined information, I believe the current iteration should prioritise optimising instruction clarity and user-task flow before integrating more complex selection methods in future iterations.

In the transition page, only one adjustment was made based on one user reporting serious feedback on the wording, whereas the others remained unchanged, or potentially distracting from its purpose, and thus can be addressed in future iterations or through user experiments.

Despite the feedback given concerning the sign-up and main page, it was decided to leave this unchanged. I find that these feedback points could potentially conflict with basic user assumptions and product offerings. The absence of a “user profile” prerequisite prior to creating the “taste profile” could cause confusion; Similarly, prioritising the saved film section on the main page for faster-personalised user engagement could potentially undermine the recognition of unique product features of daily curated film updates. These decisions were made based on prioritising feature goals with the aim of enhancing engagement and empowerment. I plan to retain these feedback points in the user story map for future user research and feature iteration. Additionally, I've chosen to omit any feedback influenced solely by personal preferences to ensure clearer development update actions.

Conclusion

Overall, the proposed feature MVP development is carefully planned through strategic alignment with user needs and FilmSlate’s organisational goals. Through user-centric design, iterative prototyping, and user testing, the team refined the onboarding experience, aiming to enhance user engagement and empowerment while prioritising core user problem and efficiency in value delivery.

Appendix

1 Original Prototype (1st version mid-fidelty)

2 Usability Test Script

Red title: Testing content

Blue title: Interviewer prompt to audience

Introduction Prompt:

Welcome and Introduction and consent:

Thank you for participating in this usability test. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve our product. The purpose of this session is to observe and gather feedback on your experience with our software product's sign-up and onboarding process. During the process I will instruct you to complete few tasks interacting with virtual prototype, and I will be taking notes with some follow-up questions. In the meantime, no other type or form of personal data will be saved or stored. You will be able to opt out of the test at any point with no penalty or data being stored. So, if you agree we will proceed to our session.
Before we begin, please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Background Questions:

Participant Information:

Can you tell me about your experience with streaming services?
What are your expectations from a good onboarding process? Walk me through an example of a good experience.

Task Scenario:

Introduction to FilmSlate:
- Later we will go through our streaming service app, FilmSlate’s, sign-up and onboarding process. FilmSlate is an indie movie streaming platform that is aiming to provide curated experience with daily film update and up to 30-day shelf life. Its value proposition is “We are FilmSlate- Where every frame matters, and every film is handpicked for you. We believe that streaming service should be more than just endless scroll and generic recommendations. At FilmSlate, we carefully curated one film every day and have a library up to 30 films ranging from the best of indie cinema, hidden gems to forgotten classics. Here we inspire your power to discover in cinematic development, through art, though emotion, through the smallest detail for every community to keep you at the forefront of every film slate”.
Task Instructions:
- So later I will introduce several tasks for you to complete, if you can think out loud, expressing your thoughts, feelings, and concerns as you progress that would be very appreciated.
- First, imagine you're a new user signing-up to FilmSlate 7-day free trial before the £9.99 monthly free trial. Please walk us through your experience as you go along.
- After all task sessions are completed, I will follow-up with few questions accordingly.

Usability Testing objectives:

To find out if users are willing to go through non-core tasks of 2-3 steps selection process? (O1)
To find out if users will be drawn to instant visual guidance in transition page and get instant value recognition (task gratification) linked to core FilmSlate’s value. (O2)

Task 1: Complete Topic selection page with assigned process & options (O1)

Testable Hypothesis: I believe that creating an interest selection process for Cinephile users will provide a space for interest expression, and a basic profile for later personalisation.

Success criteria: users should successfully go through the selection pages without questioning the progress and/or skipping. Any questions and feedback will be recorded to measure if it’s UI improvement requirement or the disproval of hypothesis (fail if users express they do not want to select options).

Prompt: You have decided to sign-up to the FilmSlate free trial. To best recognise your taste, FilmSlate would ask you to select few interested topics for them to personalise the experience for you.

Please navigate around the selection page and let me know how you would go about indicating your interested topics. While you perform the task, please think out loud and share your thoughts, concerns, or any confusion you encounter.
How do you feel going through the tasks, would you be able to find what you need?
Would you often want to look back to your selection? And how was the experience?

Task 2: Navigation around transition page to explore instant personalisation results (O2)

Success criteria: users should indicate the guidance of attention and the purpose of the section showing recommended content and understand the navigation around to save and select. Any questions and feedback will be recorded to measure if it’s UI improvement requirement or the disproval of hypothesis (fail if users unable to make the link between recommended content with previous selection).

Prompt: You have gone through the topics and have submitted your interests and see the welcome page showing up. Please indicate how you would interact with the page before you move on to the main page.

The transition page will sum up your selection and provide our initial recommendation results and the films selected for you. Please navigate around the transition page and let me know what you see and feel. Again, think aloud as you perform this task. What do you expect to find in this section? Are there any difficulties?
If there’s a film you are interested in, would you help me save it to your watch later list?
How do you feel going through the page, would you be able to find what you need?

Task 3: Interaction with main page visual guidance and prioritisation (O2)

Testable Hypothesis: I believe the main page with visual guidance and personalised prioritisation for FilmSlate user will achieve higher engagement that results in higher trial user session on app.

Success criteria: users should indicate the guidance of attention by the design to the top-taste section and the descending matched topics. Any questions and feedback will be recorded to measure if it’s UI improvement requirement or the disproval of hypothesis (fail if users didn’t recognise the visual cue and do not understand the layout of the main page).

Prompt: Now you have gone through the welcome page to the main page.

Let’s talk about the welcome page, what is your first thought seeing that? What is your expectation? What did you find after click through to the main page? Pay attention to clarity, completeness, and usefulness. Any suggestions for improvement?
What is your first impression, and what did you see first?
What do you want to see but didn’t?

3 Usability Test Resutls

FilmSlate II: MVP & Iteration Indie Film Streaming Platform