mobile app case study - "What2waTCH"
January 2022
As my first project of the Netflix Pathways Bootcamp, I was tasked with creating an entertainment planning app. I began brainstorming by creating a proto-persona to represent potential users. Then, I interviewed people who are current consumers of streaming services in order to find the need that could be filled with the creation of my app. I synthesized the interview data in a user needs mind map and affinity diagram to define preexisting pain points and existing wants and needs of streaming service users.
Through my interview data, I learned that many users value the opinions of friends and family when selecting a show to watch because they feel that they cannot trust critic reviews or streaming service recommendations which may suggest promoted and advertised content. I decided I wanted to create an app that solves the problem of users receiving inadequate recommendations on streaming services by allowing people to see reviews and recommendations instantly from people they know and the online community of app users. I wanted to combine the best aspects of streaming services and social media platforms to create a seamless and trustworthy entertainment planning experience.
​
With an app idea in mind, I created a user scenario and storyboard to visualize and further understand how my app can fill a user's need. I then created a user flow to illustrate the app's onboarding process and the primary feature of being able to see content recommendations with friend reviews. I began to sketch out ideas for the app's visual layout and used my paper sketches to create a simple, clickable prototype. Through user testing and feedback, I iterated my paper prototype into a low-fidelity digital prototype.
​
Using my low-fidelity prototype, I created a testing plan and conducted four usability tests. With my results, I used a priority matrix to decide which key learnings from my usability tests I should apply to improve the app prototype. I found that the highest priority item to change was to better differentiate the "Sign Up" and "Sign In" menus. In my next iterations, I not only worked on feedback from my user tests, but I also implemented iOS patterns.
​
Overall, this case study helped me realize that each individual user is different. Through interviews and user testing, I learned that some people have different preferences whether it be in regards to services or an app’s layout, and there is no single correct answer when designing an app or service.
In the future, I would like to conduct more research to see a less biased view and get better insights on how to improve my app. I would also like to take my low-fidelity prototypes and iterate them into high-fidelity prototypes in order to see the overall design process from beginning to end.
Despite its challenges, the design process proved to be a dynamic process where I was constantly learning new things at every step of the way.
​
