Context

Most people who go on Netflix watch movies alone because they don’t have someone to watch with. They might have a favorite series they are watching, but don’t have anyone to talk to about it. For example, watching a popular original series on Netflix could provoke strong reactions and feelings that users want to share, but they are not watching it with anyone. Because of this, fans switch to other platforms like Twitter or Reddit to share their reactions. Netflix does not have a built-in social feature where users can interact with others and build a community.

Research Process

Goal:

I want to know how watching popular Netflix shows alone impacts users’ experiences so that I can identify the best way to add my feature in the platform in a way where it builds community and engagement and increases retention.

Objectives

Understand how users act alone while watching a popular series on Netflix and need to react, discuss, and comment to someone
Understand where users go when they feel the need to seek a community to talk about shows while and after watching it
Understand if users want to find a community to discuss the show they are watching and finishing

Competitor Analysis

Key User Insights:

These sites have a wide range of content and can promote an engaging environment with discussions and interactions between creators and audience, fostering a sense of community

A weakness for these sites is content moderation because some users leave harmful comments

User Interviews

Research methodology:

5 remote interviews
Age: 23-30
Participants have experience in watching Netflix alone
Participants have experience with watching and commenting on live streams

Key User Insights:

Users value connecting with friends and family while watching shows

Some users enjoy engaging with the community while watching shows and are interested in strangers’ opinions to feel validated by their own

Users’ overall concern about social platforms and features is inappropriate comments and spoilers

Users find built-in comments convenient since they won't have to switch to other platforms to see others' opinions about Netflix shows

Some users complained that comments on live streams run too fast due to high volume, so they don’t bother reading or commenting

Define

Persona

After gathering insights from the competitor analysis and user interviews, I created two personas for people who engage in the community and people who connect with their friends while watching Netflix originals.

Problem 1:

I'd like to explore ways to help people who watch Netflix alone engage with the shows they watch without being exposed to spoilers, because they want to express their reactions to the shows and feel validated.

How might we make viewers feel safe from spoilers while engaging with a community that watches the same show as them?

Problem 2:

I’d like to explore ways to help people who enjoy watching live streams and Netflix shows engage with their inner circle of friends without being exposed to irrelevant comments, because they want to talk about what they’ve watched without needing their friends to be physically with them.

How might we add a feature where users could safely connect with their friends while watching their favorite shows without seeing public comments?

Solution:

I implemented timestamp commenting in Netflix originals for the mobile app. Users can comment and read comments from the public or their mutual friends by following their profile. Users can follow their friends through their existing Netflix gamer tag by searching them up or sharing a link through their phone. Following friends also allows users to see a movie playlist based on their friends’ movie preferences.

Ideation

User Flow

Mapping out the user flow helped me visualize how users would enter the app and explore different paths based on their actions.

Design Process

After finishing the low-fidelity wireframe and testing it with users, I decided to add a new section for comments instead of implementing it into “Moments”, an existing feature from the Netflix app. With mentor and user feedback, I also took out “Friend Mode” from the app settings and allowed users to filter their comment section while watching their show or movie.

Usability Test

Goals:

Users understand how to share their profile with friends, search and follow their friends’ profiles, and access and switch comment sections.

Task:

Share profile through text
Search up and follow a friend’s profile
Comment and switch comment section while watching a show and a live event
Comment after watching a show

Key insights and proposed solutions:

Insight: Users stated that they favored a visible button compared to a comment button inside “Moments”
- Proposed solution: I added a separate button to see the comment section
Insight: 4/6 users slightly hesitated about where they would click to search up their friends’ usernames
- Proposed solution: For better discoverability, I included a “find friends” icon on “My Netflix” to separate the search for content and the search for usernames
Insight: One user voiced that the comment button on the ending credits could have visibility issues if the ending credit screen was white
- Proposed solution: I improved visibility on the comment button on the ending screen
Insight: 4/5 users found it confusing while switching comment sections from the “live chat replay” to the comment section
- Proposed solution: I combined the comment section for live chats and comments because there wouldn’t be a difference if it’s timestamped comments
Insight: 5/5 users preferred implementing friend mode into comment sections instead of going to settings to enable because some had trouble navigating the settings to enable friend mode
- Proposed solution: I will add a separate comment section where users can only see their friends’ comments.

Iterations

Final Product

Task: Share profile and follow friend

Task: Choose a show/live show

Task: Comment while and after watching a show

Task: Comment while watching a live show

Comment section in portrait view

Conclusion

Some people like to engage with the community while watching popular shows, while others want to see what their friends think about it. Being able to follow profiles allows users to see their friends' thoughts and movie preferences, which builds connection, no matter how far they are.

Challenges:

One challenge was designing the high-fidelity wireframe because I had to figure out the best way to “add friends” on the Netflix app without losing focus on the user goal

What I learned:

This project helped me improve my interviewing skills and conduct moderated usability tests
I need to focus on user goals while designing and understand that not every suggestion needs to be designed

What I could have done differently:

Focus on the user goal and remember what kind of application I’m adding a feature to
Instruct users to wait for directions before usability tests start

Netflix

Context