Rheo Exploratory Diary Study of New Users
Manager: Michael Bartholomew
Mentors: Liz Jernegen, Kara Otto, & Alex Vieane
My Role: UX Research Intern at DirecTV All content for Rheo was conducted and produced by a team of one.
Duration: 12 Weeks May 2018-August 2018
Summary
This was an exploration into a product that was potentially being looked at for design ideas, use cases, adoption rates, compatibility with current users, and assessing the benefits/drawbacks of the type of viewing experience being produced in this format. The insights gained from this research project span beyond just the experience of Rheo but how users feel about short form viewing content provided by the service in general. I then mapped that over to the DirecTV persona types and what each persona is looking for in content and forms of viewing. Then we followed up with questions of adoption and continued usage of the product which were very positive: 100% said they would continue to Rheo at some rate, over 70% indicated that the incorporation of Rheo would add value to DirecTV.
Background
I was assigned to learn about the new product called Rheo and how it may fit into DTV’s lineup and how the users would adapt to it. This was exploring how they would like this type of product and how they would integrate Rheo into their regular viewing habits.
What is Rheo?
Rheo is …
A curated stream of short-form videos
Personalized to the viewers’ taste and viewing habits
An experience to eliminate searching for content
Delivers content by mood
Cuts through the content clutter and paradox of choice
Moods
Mix is the general mood that Rheo is always set to when starting
There are 6 other moods that Rheo has each has specific content for the mood
Boost
Boost creates an elevation or “favorite” to help Rheo determine future content to choose for future mood streams content.
Goals & Key Questions Combined:
Would DTV users consider Rheo as a complement or supplement to their regular services?
What aspects of the interface impact the watching behavior?
How would users evaluate the app in comparison to their experience with DTV Now?
Asses the benefits and drawbacks of Rheo usage.
Protocol for Research
How I conducted my research: I chose to do a diary study because I wanted to have an intimate one-on-one relationships with all of my participants that would span multiple days. I wanted the new users of Rheo to go through the adoption process of this new technology and service. I chose to administer the diary study through surveys because it would make it the most flexible, easy, and simple for all involved. I recruited my candidates to participate from across the country through the DirecTV’s user base. I was only testing using the full live product on user’s iPhone, AppleTV, and Internet browser.
Reasoning for number of participants and number of days: I recruited and created relationships with 20 participants. Out of those 20, a total of 19 followed through on all 6 days worth tasks.The first day of the study was on-boarding and the other five were task oriented.
The target sample is twenty users (including attrition). Sample size is based on a desire for increased confidence with discovering usability issues (Francik, 2015), given online, unmoderated participation which can make the user experience more complex.
The Diary Study particpant qualities ▼
The study was facilitated through unmoderated daily surveys. The participants I recruited and retained for the study had specific qualities as follows
- All participants were new users of Rheo
- DTV NOW Customers Currently
- AppleTV & iPhone Users
Diverse demographics and participants were from across the country Mixed usage of Over the Top Television and Set Top Box Television
Both male (9) and female (10) between 25 and over 75 years old
A total of 19 out of 20 participants followed through on all 6 days worth tasks
Insights and Analysis
For the analysis of insights I used Trello Boards; it was a digital tool that allowed me to not loose my sticky notes. This tool was something that I had used previously on another project for affinity diagramming insights on a digital space. As well as being able to color coding them, and having multiple team members engage with the boards at the same time.
Using the Trello Boards, I first organized the responses to the diary study entries by the key questions of the research study and the goals, then there were in multiple grouped themes that had emerged.
Themes from Insights Above
Emergent Themes from the Diary Study
Unique Content - Users are delighted and surprised by the nature of the content on Rheo. Users said there is not a large cross section of content between what is on Rheo vs. DTV NOW. Users enjoy the ability to catch up quickly on clips they may have missed.
Time/Quick Interest - Time Expended - Rheo creates the ability for users to feel less guilty while consuming of more content, due to length of the clips. Users find value in the speed in which clips are available.
Expectation/Communication - Delight and Diversity - Users enjoy and are surprised by the lack of interruptions from commercials. Users expected and wanted more diversity in the chill and inform moods content
Settings/Set Up - Remind & Find - Users felt the on-boarding gave them a good understanding how to use Rheo. The tools in settings are not easy to find. Users are unsure how to interact with the boost button.
How Might We (HMW) ?
I drew upon the insights above to outline some “How Might We…” statements. Then being able to define actionable insights, goals, implementation, recommendations, and future questions for research with Rheo both as diary study and in-lab settings.
Unique Content
… Integrate the DIRECTV NOW experience with the Rheo content serving process
… Personalize Rheo with the information DIRECTV NOW users have already supplied
Settings / Set Up
… Integrate a search into the product of Rheo
… Work to satisfy meaningful content desire
… Without losing the purpose of Rheo’s main goal low cognitive processing
Expectations/Communication
… Leverage the boost button to work harder and smarter for the user
… Expand the content diversity in the moods such as chill and inform moods
… Increase the visibility of the “boost” button to help users understand boost personalize content served
Time/Quick Interest
… Help users to manage their time while they are consuming content
Conclusion
Following up the study’s end we asked participants if they would continue to use Rheo as a viewing choice and the overwhelming answer was yes. Everyone who participated said they would continue to use it in some form. 74% of the participants said Rheo would add value to DTV Now if added as an integrated service, add-on, or feature. The diagrams below highlight views and comment user’s had on Rheo and continuing use.
Will you continue to use Rheo after the study?
“I think it (Rheo) is a great option for short clips”
“If DTV NOW analyzes what you watch and made channels… on Rheo integrating in DTV NOW analysis that would be great”
“It is nice to get a glimpse of so many things (clips) in a short period of time”
“…As an alternative to watching a specific show that runs for 30 minutes or longer”
Would Rheo add value to DTV NOW?
“Busy people can get “bite-size” pieces of entertainment from Rheo.”
“Sometimes you don’t have the time to watch a complete show. Rheo, shows the most important and relevant information…”
“(You) can get content that is normally not available in DTV package”
“… the unique content in “Laugh” and “Spark” are not likely to be found in DTV Now”
Reflection ▼
During this project over the summer I learned an enormous amount of research skills and was able to apply them here and to other projects. I learned how to write a research plan which was probably one of my biggest struggles of this project, because I am a researcher who likes to iterate as I go. The research plan felt like a very large accomplishment to me because I had struggled so much with creating the plan. I also recruited 20 participants myself and was the key point of contact and communication with them. I additionally was in charge of designing the tasks to take place during the study which really had thought behind them because we wanted to understand the user’s mental model and get a sense of what they desired in a service. I iterated on the tasks for the study finding a combination of purposeful and discovery was a best mix to keep users engaged. I designed the surveys for the participants diary study as well as investigated several forms of diary study besides the method I implemented. If I ever do a diary study again, I would plan to conduct follow up interviews, either in person or digitally, with each of the participants to ensure closure with the activity.
I am really thankful to my manager and my mentors for helping me throughout the summer reading over my tasks, the research plan, and all the emails; your help was greatly appreciated and I could not have done it all without you.