Netflix: New Feature
How might we save time by making decisions based on our mood?
About the project.
Netflix has roughly 195 million subscribers worldwide. About 23% of users watch Netflix daily while 70% binge-watch. More importantly, the average Netflix user spends 17.8 minutes browsing for something to watch. How nice would it be if people could just take a small quiz to help them make a decision? I had the pleasure of working with a fellow UX/UI colleague to add a feature to Netflix in which a user would take a fun, easy, and short quiz to save time browsing.
Interviews
I interviewed a varierty of Netflix users who had a lot to say about their experience. All the users I interviewed said they spent a good deal of time browsing and scrolling before choosing something. Many even said that they sometimes just get frustrated and end up watching the same show all the time. One interviewee said, “I feel lost on what to watch sometimes.” Another said, “I usually give up after 5 minutes of scrolling.” Finally, a third user said “I feel overwhelmed with Netflix and the suggestions are never good.” After understanding their pain points, I asked whether or not a short and fun quiz to help narrow options would make them feel better about using the service. Unsurprisingly, 90% said yes, many said they actually enjoy taking quizzes. The part I needed to figure out was how I was going to present the quiz in a way that didn’t seem obnoxious.
User Flow
After interviewing my research led me to believe that this new feature should be presented in a bold yet discrete manner for the user to take the quiz and save time on scrolling. In order to grasp how the feature should encourage the user, I need to create a happy path. I asked five users to do a quick task analysis on the Netflix app. The users quickly showed me how they normally navigated the app and where they would expect to find the quiz and also how they would like it to be presented to them. After creating the happy path is was time to move on to my lo-fi!
Lo-Fidelity
With my happy path handy I started working on my lo-fidelity prototype. I tasked each user to take the quiz and then choose a movie from the options given. I realized there were a few things confusing users that I needed to reiterate before getting to the mid-fidelity prototype.
• The users did not want the quiz pop-up to be too obvious because they would find it tedious.
• In order for the users to take the quiz it had to be visually pleasing and funny.
• At the end of the app they did not want too many options as it would defeat the purpose of not have to scroll.
With the feedback given I was ready to get into the mid-fidelity.
Mid-Fidelity
Since testing and iterating are important I tested the mid-fidelity with five more users. I found a prototype bug and alignments to adjust. As well as moving around the layout of the quiz section.
The most significant change was the quiz presentation originally it was a pop-up on the bottom right corner but after testing with users it changed into a banner instead that contains the signature Netflix red would not pop up constantly.
Using Netflix’s online style guide and available illustrations, I recreated the screens involved in my happy path and created new screens for the quiz banner the actual quiz questions, and the results screen. I wanted the new feature that felt organic to the brand and wasn’t a nuisance to the user. I was ecstatic to have had the opportunity to create a fun feature that brought light humor to the Netflix app and entices users to perhaps find a new favorite show/movie. It was rewarding to know that user research can have an incredible real impact on how the user connects with the brand. For the final prototype please refer to the video at the top of the page!