Case Study 04

Informing New Feature Limitations

Overview

A social media company needed to consider imposing limitations on a previously-unlimited feature that archives user-generated media.

The product team needed to work quickly to determine an optimal approach that would preserve user value and minimize negative brand perception while complying with new business realities.

The

Problem

A social media company urgently needed to consider imposing new limitations on a feature that held user-generated media. However, the team didn’t know how significant this change would be for users or how users would interpret this change.

  • Firstly, the team needed to understand the value of this feature. There was very little internal research that addressed the feature’s value, how users interacted with the feature, what it helped them accomplish, etc. This also meant a lack of existing evidence supporting a potential strategic direction for the future of the feature  

  • We also needed to evaluate potential solutions that would help the team meet new business requirements

Research

Methods

This research utilized a qualitative approach that informed both foundational learnings and design feedback.

Pre-work: screen recorded feature walk-through

  • 12 teen and young adult participants screen recorded and narrated a walk-through of the feature in their own social media account (recorded using dscout) in order to gain insight into how they access the feature, how they navigate through the feature, what they look for, and what they intend to accomplish while using the feature

In-depth interviews and concept evaluation

  • Participants joined a researcher for one-hour in-depth interviews (conducted on dscout) that explored how they use this particular feature on the social media app, how they use similar features on other platforms, what they use this feature for, the current-state feature’s value proposition, and what they would miss if they didn’t have the feature anymore

  • Participants were also shown several concepts that included limitations on this feature in order to understand how they interpreted potential changes, how they would navigate through new screens/flows, how they interpreted UX writing and tool tips, and how the proposed concepts might change their experience with this particular feature

Research

Outcomes

This research highlighted a mix of broad, strategic insights and tactical, concept- and design-related insights that informed iterative product development.

Recommendations included:

  • Preserve key elements of the feature’s value proposition in order to minimize impacts to the user experience

  • Consider that new limitations on this feature will be understood relative to other similar features on competitor apps, not in a vacuum; comparison could impact brand perception

  • Communication about these changes will be key, and framing the new limitation in a people-centric way could help mitigate negative user experiences

  • Specific design feedback that could quickly be incorporated into revised prototypes — including user flows, visual design, and language