General Assembly’s Front Row Live Stream Redesignby Chris Stair

(For UXDi)

Case Study #1

Monday, November 11, 13

General Assembly’s Live Stream Redesign

As of October 2013 General Assembly outsourced the live streaming element for their online content. They were considering bringing the service in-house and were interested in how they could improve the experience. In their words, “It should be able to provide online users with a way to interact, collaborate, connect, ask real-time questions, broadcast needs, share resources and otherwise communicate with each other in a meaningful, intuitive and extremely functional way.”

The challenge: Identifying important trends in research and translating them into a design that meets both client needs and user needs.

The Solution: A redesign of the confirmation email to accommodate first time users, a new sign in process, a new waiting screen, a new interface and a new exit screen. All stages of design paid special attention to networking and question handling.

Monday, November 11, 13

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The project lasted three weeks. During that period I met with my stakeholders from General Assembly, interviewed users and GA Staff, participated in live streams, analyzed the research and then proceeded to design solutions to augment the live stream user experience. The project culminated in a presentation for General Assembly’s Digital Products Team. While working I realized that the most important element of the live stream users’ experience could be solved outside of the stream itself. The stages I went through during this process were:

• Research

• Persona Creation

• Sketching & Creative Ideation

• Wireframing

• First Iteration

• Prototyping

Monday, November 11, 13

KEY SCREENS AND FEATURES

16:9

Description

Starting a business seems like a daunting task. In this class, Erik will explain three strategies he

has used to start successful businesses. Whether you’d like to understand how to increase your

visibility on the web, choose an insurance plan, and focus on your value proposition, this is the

class for you.

TAKEAWAYS

▪ Know how to form your company

▪ Understand strategies for increasing visibility on the web

▪ Get live

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Questions

Growth Hacking StrategiesPart 2 of 3

Erik Kimel is an entrepreneur and founded his first company,

Peer2Peer Tutors, as a senior in high school in 2004. He grew

Peer2Peer from one tutor and one client to over 5,000 tutors and

5,000 clients across the east coast region of the United States. In

2012, Peer2Peer Tutors was acquired by an international network

of college admissions experts, which was covered by the Wall

Street Journal. Kimel has been featured on the Top 25 under 25 list

in Business Week

Related Videos

Chat - Sally

Users

Send

Arturo

Generally that refers to acquiring new users or increasing revenue over a given period of time

Tommy

RandyWhat are some models for growth?

1:32

1:33

1:40

Dana - ModeratorGreat Question @Randy!

1:40

@AmiHey Sally, thanks for posting that link earlier. Do you know any other useful websites?

1:42

Uploaded Growth Statistics.xl

Users

Frank Cori Ami

KurtRobert Arturo

Tommy SallyRandy

Network at GA

UploadMessage

MeMe Frank

#GAlivestream

Order ConfirmationCongratulations, you have successfully registered for the upcoming live stream. It will be airing on November 5th at 5:00 pm.

Please keep an eye on your email, you’ll be receiving a link 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

Network at GA

Class Description

Cheers,The GA Team

Ask the Moderator

Descriptions Questions

Question VoteWhat are the best ways to grow on a low budget?

What are some growth models?

What are some techniques for research?

How do you go about getting your first 5,000 clients?

What job title would help me grow my business?

What in your mind, are some of the greatest trends in business today?

Answered 1:35What is growth hacking?

Are there any good books on growth hacking? Answered 1:40

1:43pm

1:40pm

1:35pm

1:30pm

1:20pm

1:15pm

20

15

17

12

12

10

1 New: What are companies with high growth?

Email Redesign

Main Interface

Question Forum

Monday, November 11, 13

DESIGN RESEARCH

Method: I interviewed 7 people from all around the United States, as well as 1 in Russia and 1 in Vietnam. The participants were asked 1 of 3 scripts depending on their exposure to online learning: unfamiliar, beginner, heavy user.

Findings: I found that getting questions answered was the most important aspect for new users, because receiving a real time response was the only element that competing services cannot currently offer them. The second most important part of the live stream experience was networking.

Opportunities Identified: I found that General Assembly can better answer questions and facilitate networking through:

1). Email Redesign2). Sign In Redesign3). Interface Redesign

Monday, November 11, 13

PERSONAS

ENTERPRISING INDIVIDUAL Amber Gonzalez - 30, Philadelphia“My goal was to learn more.  In my specific case, I’m on a mission to cram my brain with as much information as possible.  I want to make sure I’m current with trends.” BackgroundAmber majored in journalism at Skidmore in upstate New York.  She graduated seven years ago and worked at a magazine for five.  In the past two years, she became interested in starting a website that would match coffee enthusiasts with new brands of coffee. She started taking online courses for HTML and InDesign from lynda.com. In addition, she was looking for general business skills.She found GA while searching online for brand strategy workshops. She ended up signing up for the live stream, because it was free. Living in Philadelphia, it is not as convenient for her to take GA classes on-site.

Key CharacteristicsShe uses the site in order to have a general knowledge of entrepreneurship, with multiple focus of interests. She would browse through a list of interesting livestream classes and would like to interact with both instructors and students. As she wants to know more about how other people do small business, she would like to know about other students’ profile. Goals and Motivations- She came to GA to learn about general business strategies and skills.- She wants to know enough to stay current, not necessarily an expert on one single area- She is looking to network and meet like-minded individuals in chats. Frustrations and Pain points- She dislikes when people comment too much in the chat- She could not know much about other interesting students just through chat.- She thinks the classes aren’t put into the proper hierarchy in terms of expertise.- She wishes she could read reviews about classes ahead of time. - She could not find some of the helpful links or sources in the chat after livestream

IMPROVING PROFESSIONAL William Moore - 36, New York Background William is a 36-year old mid-level director at a retail oriented corporation living in Upper East Side, NY.He is busy all the time with his high-powered job, but he feels the need to learn more skills such as design, so he does not have to wait for other departments to finish up the projects his team is working on.He heard about GA from some networking events, browsed GA’s website and found out about the online program. He tried on-demand videos but came up with a few questions, and hoped to get them answered through live-stream Quote“It’s not about being an expert, it’s about filling that gap.” Goals and Motivations- to learn a specific skill: digital marketing. or any skill that would quickly fill in the gap in his workstream- already has a few questions in mind and hope to interact with the instructor- wants a quick and easy way to get the information he wants from an experienced instructor Key Characteristics- he is an experienced and serious professional who likes to stay focused- he is not into networking or anything social with other online students- he has a concrete problem and wants an answer from expert

Pains and Frustration- he is very busy, unable to watch more videos or go back and check out all the links- sometimes his question do not get answered- he is unable to predict the quality and level of the livestream classes- feels annoyed by students having silly side conversations

TECH TOURIST Dmitry Rosen, Russian, 20 BackgroundBased in St. Petersburg Dmitry works freelance for several agencies that do business providing cheap coding for US-based companies.  He heard about GA when he searched online courses for branding. He looked at the website and liked the design.  After clicking through the various offerings he figured out that the live stream option is free. He will not pay for a service unless there is a demonstrably high value. Dmitry wants to stay current because he feels that the education in Russia, especially in tech, is lacking. It is generally 2-3 years behind technology in the United States. So he wants to take advantage of cutting edge lectures so that he can continue working with his clients in the United States. Goals and Motivations- To stay current, at the forefront of technology- To learn best practices in a variety of contexts- To improve his career path Key Characteristics- Brand oriented rather than rating or review oriented. He does not trust reviews. Brand orientation involves prestige of GA, prestige of speaker, and perceived value of the topic.- He is not interested in the chat feature.- He does not have a strict focus because he is trying to ‘stay current’.  He’s more likely to watch topics that play to his strengths but he will not ignore anything for fear of being left behind.- He does not trust the chat feature because he doesn’t know if the users have their own agendas. He spends most of his time focusing on what the teacher is saying.- Very literal. Pains and Frustration- Timezone is a blocker, but he can make it if he stays up late.- He often watches videos on his mobile and gets frustrated when the video is not mobile compatible.- Thinks there is a lack of structure in the Front Row, would like more structure with more takeaways and technical skills.- Subscription cost is high in his currency- Wants a larger community to exist outside- Does not feel he is a part of the GA community but wants to be

Monday, November 11, 13

Improving ProfessionalEnterprising IndividualTech Tourist

SingleQuestion

NarrowTopic

GeneralIndustry

Spec

ifici

ty

Visits

1 2 3 4

Scope of Questions Broadens Based on Number of Visits

Personas

Monday, November 11, 13

CONCEPTUAL IDEATION

Monday, November 11, 13

Improving ProfessionalEnterprising IndividualTech Tourist

Spec

ifici

ty

Visits

1 2 3 4

Target Demographic for Email Redesign

Target Demographic for Question Forum

SingleQuestion

NarrowTopic

GeneralIndustry

Personas

DESIGN HYPOTHESIS

Monday, November 11, 13

DESIGN ITERATION 1

ITERATION 1

Method: After interviewing participants, determining client needs and doing a competitive analysis I designed an interface that would take advantage of current user behaviors which included checking the course description, reviewing slides, taking notes and examining links. The question answering process was very important to users so I designed a ‘question forum’ to facilitate the communication between General Assembly and users. In addition I redesigned the confirmation email and the sign in screen to further accommodate user needs.

1. Class Description2. Slide Presentation3. Notepad4. Link Collection5. Question Forum6. Chat Function7. Current Question8. Full Screen

Slides Notes LinksDescription

Chat

Person Person Person

Top 7 Questions

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

send

How much do fonts cost?

7 8

6

5

4321

Order Confirmation

Class Title/Link to Description

Information about Email Reminders

Network at GA

Order Summary

Questions? (Wording TBD)

About GA

EMAIL REDESIGN 1

fIn

or sign in with

SubmitEnter username

Upload or Choose a Photo (Optional)

SIGN IN REDESIGN 1

Monday, November 11, 13

Email RedesignMethod: After interviewing participants and determining client needs. I recognized there was a common theme among all new users. They had specific questions they wanted answered, in fact it was those questions that brought them to the live stream. The questions ranged in specificity, but it was universally important to the users that their questions get answered.

Opportunities Identified: Answering the right questions was the largest concern for the user base. However they lacked a good opportunity to ask questions before the stream. There were also a number of reasons that kept users from asking their questions during the stream. Giving users a way to ask the questions immediately after signing up for the live stream would solve problems for both the business and the users.

Order Confirmation

Congratulations, you have successfully registered for the upcoming live stream. It will be airing on November 5th at 5:00 pm.

Please keep an eye on your email, you’ll be receiving a link 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

If you have any questions you would like addressed in the live stream please contact the moderator by clicking below.

Network at GA

Class Description

Cheers,

The GA Team

Ask the Moderator

FINAL EMAIL CONFIRMATION

Monday, November 11, 13

DESIGN ITERATIONS | PROTOTYPE

Method: I created a high fidelity prototype using OmniGraffle and Keynote to detail the entire experience from the pre-stream email confirmation to the exit screen for when the live stream is over.

CORE PRODUCT EXPERIENCEReceiving an order confirmationSubmitting a question before the stream startsUtilizing interface during stream to network and learn more

Sign-in processChatting during the Live StreamLearning more about fellow classmatesUpvoting a questionLearning more about the topic via related materialsFull Screen

16:9

Questions

Growth Hacking StrategiesPart 2 of 3

Erik Kimel is an entrepreneur and founded his first company,

Peer2Peer Tutors, as a senior in high school in 2004. He grew

Peer2Peer from one tutor and one client to over 5,000 tutors and

5,000 clients across the east coast region of the United States. In

2012, Peer2Peer Tutors was acquired by an international network

of college admissions experts, which was covered by the Wall

Street Journal. Kimel has been featured on the Top 25 under 25 list

in Business Week

Chat - Sally

Users

Send

Arturo

Generally that refers to acquiring new users or increasing revenue over a given period of time

Tommy

RandyWhat are some models for growth?

1:32

1:33

1:40

Dana - ModeratorGreat Question @Randy!

1:40

@AmiHey Sally, thanks for posting that link earlier. Do you know any other useful websites?

1:42

Uploaded Growth Statistics.xl

Users

Frank Cori Ami

KurtRobert Arturo

Tommy SallyRandy

Network at GA

UploadMessage

MeMe Frank

#GAlivestreamDescriptions Questions

Question VoteWhat are the best ways to grow on a low budget?

What are some growth models?

What are some techniques for research?

How do you go about getting your first 5,000 clients?

What job title would help me grow my business?

What in your mind, are some of the greatest trends in business today?

Answered 1:35What is growth hacking?

Are there any good books on growth hacking? Answered 1:40

1:43pm

1:40pm

1:35pm

1:30pm

1:20pm

1:15pm

20

15

17

12

12

10

1 New: What are companies with high growth?

Related Content

16:9

Description

Starting a business seems like a daunting task. In this class, Erik will explain three strategies he

has used to start successful businesses. Whether you’d like to understand how to increase your

visibility on the web, choose an insurance plan, and focus on your value proposition, this is the

class for you.

TAKEAWAYS

▪ Know how to form your company

▪ Understand strategies for increasing visibility on the web

▪ Get live

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Questions

Growth Hacking StrategiesPart 2 of 3

Erik Kimel is an entrepreneur and founded his first company,

Peer2Peer Tutors, as a senior in high school in 2004. He grew

Peer2Peer from one tutor and one client to over 5,000 tutors and

5,000 clients across the east coast region of the United States. In

2012, Peer2Peer Tutors was acquired by an international network

of college admissions experts, which was covered by the Wall

Street Journal. Kimel has been featured on the Top 25 under 25 list

in Business Week

ChatUsers

Related Videos

Sign In

fIn

Next

or sign in via

Enter Username

16:9

Description

Starting a business seems like a daunting task. In this class, Erik will explain three strategies he

has used to start successful businesses. Whether you’d like to understand how to increase your

visibility on the web, choose an insurance plan, and focus on your value proposition, this is the

class for you.

TAKEAWAYS

▪ Know how to form your company

▪ Understand strategies for increasing visibility on the web

▪ Get live

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Questions

Growth Hacking StrategiesPart 2 of 3

Erik Kimel is an entrepreneur and founded his first company,

Peer2Peer Tutors, as a senior in high school in 2004. He grew

Peer2Peer from one tutor and one client to over 5,000 tutors and

5,000 clients across the east coast region of the United States. In

2012, Peer2Peer Tutors was acquired by an international network

of college admissions experts, which was covered by the Wall

Street Journal. Kimel has been featured on the Top 25 under 25 list

in Business Week

ChatUsers

Related Videos

Profile

Done

Upload Photo

Company Name

Job Title

Website

What topics are you interested in?

Business Foundations

City

Optional

Data Analysis

Digital Marketing

Mobile Development

Product Design

User Experience Design

Web Development

FINAL PROTOTYPE

FINAL SIGN IN

Monday, November 11, 13

Thank you!

ccstair@gmail.comChris Stair

Monday, November 11, 13