HBO NOW: HBO NOW is a service that allows users to enjoy instant and unlimited access to HBO shows, movies, comedies, sports, and documentaries.
CHALLENGE & DURATION: Integrate a feature in the app for user to schedule viewing parties, in two weeks.
GOAL: To capture, iterate, and confirm the feature's requirements in an effort to create a user experience that is easy, intuitive, and enjoyable for users.
ROLE: UX Designer & Project Manager -- This was a collaborative effort along with two other UX Designers.
DELIVERABLES: UX process, user research, personas, design solution in high fidelity, re-designs of current interface for enhanced UX.
PROCESS
RESEARCH
Under which premise would HBO NOW users entertain the idea of a viewing party, and if so, what would be of value?
In an effort to gage users feelings towards the idea of a viewing party, we built an empathy map to get the wheels turning. Several interviews were conducted with current users, gathering information from a total of 15 participants. We synthesized the information to decipher key findings.
Empathy Map. Diverged/Converged to discover key research themes.
KEY FINDINGS
PERSONAS
Two personas were created for this project to represent prospective users of the design solution. For this particular case, users are quite similar as those using the features are friends, therefore sharing common interests.
““I love watching a show with my friends, it’s just hard to get everyone together in person.” — Travis”
““Living so far away, especially in a different time zone, I find it difficult to keep in touch with my buddies and often miss hanging out with them.” — Asher”
OPPORTUNITY
Looking at current HBO NOW users, it was very clear that friends enjoy discussing the show capturing their minds at the present time, and sharing their feelings and opinions.
We saw the opportunity to integrate a feature that would allow HBO NOW users to host a virtual viewing party & enjoy a show with their friends.
SOLUTION
We designed a virtual viewing party that allows users to mutually share and experience video streams in real-time, remotely. We made sure to preserve of the essence of the current brands interface, as well.
Streams are synchronized, so users are seeing the same thing, at the same time, while being able to express themselves through real-time commentary and emojis..
HIGH-FIDELITY DESIGNS
OTHER DESIGN DECISIONS
Following some usability testing with the current apps interface, we re-worked some designs to better reflect the users needs.
