USER INSIGHTS

At this beginning of the discovery and research, it was important to understand user insights. A survey was sent out to target users to see what their experience has been when using Twitch as a viewer. Some key trends were identified through affinity mapping:

• "I use a 3rd party app while watching streams. (usually Discord)"
• "I feel that sometimes the chat is chaotic or not accepting."
• "I have made friends on Twitch and wanted to meet more people."

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

With the initial research, it was essential to do a competitive and comparative analysis of the top platforms available in the marketplace as well indirect competitors.

Knowing that Twitch had an expressed lack in user engagement from users, there was a focus on the platform users reported using to fill this gap- Discord. Knowing what Discord was offering to users was key to understanding what Twitch could be adding or doing better.

USER PERSONA

From the user data,  a persona was created to represent the target user. A persona is an archetypical user who represents the needs of the group as a whole. Throughout the design process, the persona aligned the team on Izzy's core needs and helped us empathize with them on a deeper level. From this persona, it was concluded that the new feature should give Izzy a safe space to watch steams with her friends- private rooms.

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

To define the problems users face, we decided we needed to come up with some "How Might We" questions. "How might we" questions are designed to keep the focus on the right problems to solve as well as come up with creative solutions.

• How might we create a sense of community on Twitch's platform?
• How might we create safe, private spaces for users to watch streams with their friends?
• How might we make connecting with other users easier?

Once the "How might we" questions were established, a singular problem statement was created and applied to our persona:

"Izzy needs a private space to interact with her friend community on Twitch so she can be more engaged- no longer feeling the need to use outside platforms to enjoy her experience."

SKETCHES

To speed along the ideation process, our team decided to have a design studio session- a time in which we all simply sketched out ways to bring the flow to life. From that design studio, it was decided which aspects of each design best addressed our problem statement and then converged on our ideas to finalize a sketch for each frame. With this feature, the focus was placed on privacy, audio capabilities as well as room customization. These sketches were then digitized into Figma.

USER TESTING ROUND 1

Once the sketches were digitized, they were prototyped for user testing. User testing is a time when the product gets in front of real target users as they complete a specified task. As they interact with the app, observations of their behaviors, reactions, and feelings toward the prototype were noted. The number of errors was also recorded. For this usability test, users were tasked to create a private chat room, invite some friends and rename it.

FINDINGS

From the user testing, these key findings were discovered:

• Users felt that the process was confusing.
• Users could not tell what room they were in.
• Users had difficulty finding the settings button.
• Users wanted to leave the settings menu faster.

Iterations

From the data, it was decided that these design changes needed to be made:

• Settings button removed from kebab menu and replaced with an edit button that was placed close to private room tab.
• Using a change in color and an underline to represent what room tab you were in.
• When done sending invites/renaming, users to be taken back to private room- not settings page.
• To reduce overwhelm, limit private rooms to one max and remove excess settings options.
• Frames colorized and brought up to hi-fi quality based on Twitch's current design system

USER TESTING ROUND 2

In the second round of user testing, users were given the same task, to create a private chat room, invite some friends and rename it. Again, observations on user behaviors, reactions, and feelings were noted. The number of errors was also compared from this prototype compared to the last.

FINDINGS

From the user testing, these key findings were discovered:

• All users had no issue completing the tasks.
• Compared to the first prototype, user made less errors and accomplished all tasks within goal time.
• Some users had issues selecting an option due to the hit-box area being too small.
• Overall positive reception with suggestions for more features (kick delete, leave...)

Iterations

From the data, it was decided that these design changes needed to be made:

• Make the text and thus hit-boxes larger and easier for users to find.
• Find a way to add in the suggested features.

Next Steps

Based on user feedback and thinking of ways to improve, these are some next steps:

• Adding in the features suggested from users (Delete, Kick, Leave).
• Doing a second round of user testing to find other ways to improve.
• UI polishing and refinement.