In 2019, I led the redesign of Zattoo Recordings, a distinction feature that allows Premium users to save TV shows to watch at anytime. The project resulted in +6%* increase in watching duration and set the bar for the Product Design process at Zattoo.

* for confidentiality reasons I omitted the actual values for metrics through this case study.

In 2019, I led the redesign of Zattoo Recordings, a distinction feature that allows users to save TV shows to watch at anytime. The project resulted in +6% increase in watching duration and set the bar for the Product Design process at Zattoo.

To reach these goals, I collaborated with two Designers in the concepting phase and worked alongside two Product Managers and several Software Engineers for the development phase.

The New Zattoo Recordings launched between February and April 2019.

In 2019, I led the redesign of Zattoo Recordings, a distinction feature that allows users to save TV shows to watch at anytime. The project resulted in +6% increase in watching duration and set the bar for the Product Design process at Zattoo.

To reach these goals, I collaborated with two Designers in the concepting phase and worked alongside two Product Managers and several Software Engineers for the development phase.

The New Zattoo Recordings launched between February and April 2019.

2018-2019
Zattoo

7 Platforms
iOS, tvOS
Android, Android TV
Fire TV
Web
Set - top Box

Senior UX Designer
Interaction Design,
User Research,
Workshops facilitation.

2018-2019
Zattoo

12 Platforms
iOS, tvOS
Android, Android TV
Fire TV
Web
Set - top Box

My Role
Senior Product Designer, usability testing and workshops facilitator, prototyper, stakeholders wizard, wireframer, designer of production assets.

Wait - TV Recordings .. like old school VCR but on your phone?

Yep! And Smart TV, Tablet, Computer and many more.

Zattoo is a TV platform for IP-based transmission of television channels and video on demand content to a variety of devices. Recording is a core distinction feature of the Zattoo Premium product. It allows user to record live TV shows, similarly to TiVo, or old school videocassette recording.

Legacy recordings page for Smart TVs.

Legacy recordings page for Smartphones.

The Problem

Designed in 2012, by 2019, the feature had lost its magic. Recordings went from being a killer feature to an example of inconsistent product development.

2015

The date the feature was last updated. Competitors pulled ahead and Zattoo’s recordings fell behind standards.

🤬

Up to 500 recordings but one page

"We have been waiting for the series recording function for years!!”

7 = 7

There were 7 different implementations on 7 different platforms.

A puzzle with scattered pieces

Knowledge about the usage of recordings was scattered across departments. My first responsibility was to gather it and make sure the team reviewed it before getting started.

Business Intelligence Data
/ Marketing team

11% of users have 50 - 500 recordings 81% have 1 - 9
7% have 100 - 500

Sylwia
/ Head of Customer Support

Monthly requests from users about the possibility to delete multiple recordings at once.

Sylwia
/ Head of Customer Support

Monthly requests from users about the possibility to delete multiple recordings at once.

Martin
/ User Researcher

During Usability Testing, participants found it easy to record a show, but did not understand the iconography and status change.

Recordings Dashboards Data
/ Product Manager

Movies are the most recorded type of show, but Series are the most watched content.

Recordings Dashboards Data
/ Product Manager

Movies are the most recorded type of show, but Series are the most watched content.

Focusing on the right thing: retention

Recordings is a complex feature. To be able to make a real impact on the product, we had to break it down and identify the most important pain-points. The decision was to focus on what happens after the user records a show: the management and find-ability aspect.

Additionally, I worked with the Product Managers and Business Intelligence department to set-up a dashboard to track the relevant KPIs.

Hypothesis

Users "forget" about their recorded content because we offer a limited way of browsing and finding it .

Hypothesis

Users can't watch serial content seamlessly because we don’t group episodes & seasons of a show together.

Hypothesis

It's difficult to delete unwanted recordings, so users don't stack as many recordings as they could and power users are frustated.

KPI

+ Increase the amount of time spent watching recordings per eligible user.

KPI

+ Skyrock the time spent watching series content.

KPIs

- Reduce complaints to Customer Support
+ Increase the amount of recordings per eligible user.

Designing

Facilitating a Design Sprint to align user needs and business goals

The redesign of recordings was an opportunity to introduce GV Design Sprint workshops at Zattoo. It was my responsibility to organise and lead the Design Sprint with the relevant business stakeholders.

Fig. Phases of the Design Sprint workshop.

Prototype, test, iterate

Once the concept for mobile and web was ready, we built a prototype with InVision and tested it during the Design Sprint. For TV, I paired up with a Software Engineer to build an interactive prototype. The goals were:

Testing the usability of the new design
Validating the concept with current and potential Zattoo users

In all tests, the findings concerned wording and minor usability issues. The concept was iterated based on the results.

VIdeo. The journey to Series on the InVision prototype for Tablet.

The solution

Optimized for a consistent user experience across platforms, designed in collaboration with stakeholders and tested with real users, the new Recording combines a polished look-and-feel with a clear interface.

A home for TV Series

Recorded TV Series have now a dedicated category and each Series has their own page.

On Series Pages, the users can browse episodes by season, delete multiple episodes at once and reorganize episodes.

A home for TV Series

Recorded TV Series have now a dedicated category and each Series has their own page. On Series Pages, the users can browse episodes by season, delete multiple episodes at once and reorganize episodes.

A home for TV Series

Recorded TV Series have now a dedicated category and each Series has their own page. On Series Pages, the users can browse episodes by season, delete multiple episodes at once and reorganize episodes.

A home for TV Series

Recorded TV Series have now a dedicated category and each Series has their own page. On Series Pages, the users can browse episodes by season, delete multiple episodes at once and reorganize episodes.

Consistency

Before the redesign, there were seven different implementation of recordings on seven different platforms.

The user experience is now consistant across all platforms, both in terms of look & feel and UX.

Consistency

Before the redesign, there were seven different implementation of recordings on seven different platforms. The user experience is now consistant across all platforms, both in terms of look & feel and UX.

Consistency

Before the redesign, there were seven different implementation of recordings on seven different platforms. The user experience is now consistant across all platforms, both in terms of look & feel and UX.

Consistency

Before the redesign, there were seven different implementation of recordings on seven different platforms. The user experience is now consistant across all platforms, both in terms of look & feel and UX.

Select all, delete all

Zattoo users can record up to 500 items and cleaning up the storage became a hassle for many. Not anymore.

Users can now select multiple recordings and delete them at once.

Select all, delete all

Zattoo users can record up to 500 items and cleaning up the storage became a hassle for many. Not anymore. Users can now select multiple recordings and delete them at once.

Select all, delete all

Zattoo users can record up to 500 items and cleaning up the storage became a hassle for many. Not anymore. Users can now select multiple recordings and delete them at once.

Select all, delete all

Zattoo users can record up to 500 items and cleaning up the storage became a hassle for many. Not anymore. Users can now select multiple recordings and delete them at once.

The user is in control

We designed a new default clustering and sorting system. We believe it will accommodate most use cases.

Additionally, we implemented filters and sorting that can be manually set-up.

The user is in control

We designed a new default clustering and sorting system. We believe it will accommodate most use cases. Additionally, we implemented filters and sorting that can be manually set-up.

The user is in control

We designed a new default clustering and sorting system. We believe it will accommodate most use cases. Additionally, we implemented filters and sorting that can be manually set-up.

The user is in control

We designed a new default clustering and sorting system. We believe it will accommodate most use cases. Additionally, we implemented filters and sorting that can be manually set-up.

Delivering

The redesign of recordings was the first real cross-platform project at Zattoo. Initially, I had to pair up with multiple Product Managers and development teams to deliver the feature.

Soon, a dedicated cross-platform squad was put together. I joined it and tightly worked with my teammates to bring the feature to life.

My responsibilities included designing wireframes, writing specifications, providing UI assets and doing QA from a UX and Design perspective.

Fig. Wireframes and annotations delivered to the development team.

Fig. Components and final assets in Sketch.

Results

Redesigning the recordings feature was a stepping stone for Zattoo. Processes were successfully improved. Relevant KPIs have been constantly increasing. However, after releasing on the first platform, it became clear that we would have benefited from more iteration cycles.

+ 6%

avg duration of watched recordings per eligible user.

🤩

“The new recording function has become really tip top. So much praise from my side."
Premium user @ Customer Support

🤩
“The new recording function has become really tip top. So much praise from my side."
Premium user Sylwia @ Customer Support

👋
Let's keep the conversation going

Enrico Furfaro | 2020
Crafted in Berlin during winter nights fueled by warm tea and candlelight