Sift App

ideating a tech solution
to filter entertainment

 
 

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Project Type

quantitative user research
digital experience design

Skills

problem framing
team forming
secondary research
research surveys: recruiting,
exploratory, explanatory
research synthesis
brainstorming
prototype testing
client pitch

Role

project manager
survey question creation
synthesis co-lead
brainstorm lead
pitch story design lead

The Challenge

Streaming has changed the entertainment game. Now, we can watch what we want, when we want, on demand. But how do we decide what to watch? And where it’s available?

I had a hypothesis that there were several consumer needs not being met in this space. Specifically, having a title you want to watch but struggling to find which platform has it, uncertainty around how long a title might be available, or investing time to find entertainment only to start it and realize it’s not for you.

I partnered up with a team of students in my marketing cohort and used quantitative analysis research tools to determine: is there a need for an entertainment support product and if so, what would that offering look/feel like? The result?

A mobile app concept that’s a one-stop-shop for subscription management, title searching, and friend recommendations


We listed several color palette options in one of our surveys. This option won out as most popular.

 
 

The Process

My team and I had an idea for a product that might meet these blank spaces in the market. But how could we know whether people actually wanted it? And if they did want it, how could we determine which features to include? Our process started with this central question.

 
 

How do you use quantitative tools to inform the desirability of an idea + its potential features?

 
 



To determine desirability, we kicked off research with an exploratory survey. The purpose of this initial survey was to explore consumers’ current streaming habits, their main frustrations with current streaming products, and their interest in an additional service that assists with choosing and finding entertainment.

We discovered that over two thirds of our respondents watched TV daily and that there was significant interest in an additional offering. We were also able to pinpoint consumer’s main frustrations in priority order: not being able to decide what to watch, not being able to find a specific title, and not being able to find a title of interest in their main streaming platform.

A small snapshot of some of the questions included in our exploratory survey.


With these frustrations in mind, we ideated potential solutions in the form of app features. We then prototyped these ideas by creating a second, explanatory survey to determine which features would be best. After analyzing our results, we identified three customer segments and decided on three key features to move forward with.

Three customer segments emerged in research: millennials became our target market.


The first feature was subscription management. This feature combines all streaming platforms into one central location allowing users to cancel, sign up, or top-up their subscriptions and view search results accordingly: indicating which titles are free (included with their subscriptions) and which require a fee.

The second feature was date tags. This feature populates the expected expiration or entry date of titles on specific streaming platforms—allowing users to prioritize their entertainment choices.

The third feature was watchlists. This feature allows users to create, share, and upvote watchlists — playlists of their favorite hand-picked titles — with other users and friends + enjoy readily available expert-curated watchlists.

An analysis of the optimal consumer package highlighting our three key features.

 
 


The Result

After compiling all of our data and findings into a report and presentation, we pitched the idea to our classmates and professor—ultimately determining Sift a viable product and offering recommendations on next steps.

 
 

lessons

  • Research is powerful. Quant and qual each play an important role.

  • Got ideas? Go straight to users to understand desirability.

  • Survey design needs to be precise but can also yield robust info.

  • Bringing an idea to life is thrilling!