Increasing the number of logged in users (A design sprint case study)
“Before we can convince someone to give us their money for our content we should at least be able to convince them to give us their email address”
TMG (now Mediahuis) is a newspaper & magazine publishing, distribution, printing, TV, radio and online media company.
While working at TMG, together with a few other designers and programmers, we created an innovation team to experiment with different ways of working. It started out as just something fun to do but as a result I was approached by the development team who were interested in trialling out a Design sprint.
De Telegraaf is the largest newspaper in the Netherlands and is one of the brands owned by TMG. The development team was responsible for developing and maintaining the website and apps for this brand. They had been tasked with contributing an idea which could improve performance of the website. More specifically they were asked to contribute an idea which would increase the number of logged in users. Creating concepts and designing solutions (from the users perspective) was something that the development team were usually not responsible for.
That’s where the Design sprint comes in. For people with limited experience of design, a design sprint can be a helpful way to contribute because it provides a structured process for working through a problem or idea. During the sprint, everyone on the team is encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas, and to participate in exercises designed to generate and refine concepts.
So here’s how it went
Day 1:
In many ways the long term goal was kind of already in place. The team had been tasked with increasing the number of registered users. With that in mind much of this part of the process was about what this means in real terms. So when suggesting long term goals some metrics were added to give clarity. The end result was:
“Increase the number of logged in user by 15% per day”
Day 2:
The lightning demos and concept sketching from day 1 allowed the participants to explore many different ideas. Most of them concentrated on unique ideas which can be combined with the content from the newspaper to encourage people to log in.
The concept that was chosen and refined further into a storyboard was inspired by HQ trivia. The live daily quiz game where people could sign up and take part at the same time everyday in order to win prizes. The idea that was chosen to build and test was a daily quiz based on the news of the previous day. People would need to create an account and log in to participate in the quiz. The points you scored would be based on giving the correct answers and the speed at which you completed the quiz. It was a cool idea which borrowed from a popular trend at the time.
Day 3:
With a team full of developers we always thought this day would run smoothly. We were right!
Day 4:
The offices were located conveniently next to a large train station in Amsterdam. This is where we would do our user testing. The main goals of the testing was to get feedback on the game and to find out if people would be willing to log in to play the game.
Conclusions:
Overall the design sprint was successful even though the concept never made it past this stage. The user testing revealed that the users enjoyed the game and the concept of the daily chance to win a prize.
Most users who enjoyed the game said they were willing to register and login to play the game too. However, a user saying they will do something in user testing and a user actually doing something on a live product can be very different things.
While the concept of the game was simple enough there was an editorial overhead to it. Someone would actually have to create the quiz each day. There was some uncertainty around the ability or willingness to do this.
That's the thing about design sprints. They are not just a way to come up with great ideas. They are a great way to very quickly find out if you should stop with an idea.
So why do I say it was a success? For many developers the design sprint opened their eyes to the design process for the first time. It also opened their eyes to the idea that they can contribute to a solution. People worked together in a way that had not been done before and formed a new perspective and respect for each other.
Design sprints encourage collaboration and provide a safe environment for people to voice their opinions and be heard. This intangible benefit can contribute to people working together positively in the future.
While working at TMG, together with a few other designers and programmers, we created an innovation team to experiment with different ways of working. It started out as just something fun to do but as a result I was approached by the development team who were interested in trialling out a Design sprint.
De Telegraaf is the largest newspaper in the Netherlands and is one of the brands owned by TMG. The development team was responsible for developing and maintaining the website and apps for this brand. They had been tasked with contributing an idea which could improve performance of the website. More specifically they were asked to contribute an idea which would increase the number of logged in users. Creating concepts and designing solutions (from the users perspective) was something that the development team were usually not responsible for.
That’s where the Design sprint comes in. For people with limited experience of design, a design sprint can be a helpful way to contribute because it provides a structured process for working through a problem or idea. During the sprint, everyone on the team is encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas, and to participate in exercises designed to generate and refine concepts.
So here’s how it went
Day 1:
- Long term goal
- Lightning demos
- Concept sketching
In many ways the long term goal was kind of already in place. The team had been tasked with increasing the number of registered users. With that in mind much of this part of the process was about what this means in real terms. So when suggesting long term goals some metrics were added to give clarity. The end result was:
“Increase the number of logged in user by 15% per day”
Day 2:
- Choose a concept
- Storyboard the concept
The lightning demos and concept sketching from day 1 allowed the participants to explore many different ideas. Most of them concentrated on unique ideas which can be combined with the content from the newspaper to encourage people to log in.
The concept that was chosen and refined further into a storyboard was inspired by HQ trivia. The live daily quiz game where people could sign up and take part at the same time everyday in order to win prizes. The idea that was chosen to build and test was a daily quiz based on the news of the previous day. People would need to create an account and log in to participate in the quiz. The points you scored would be based on giving the correct answers and the speed at which you completed the quiz. It was a cool idea which borrowed from a popular trend at the time.
Day 3:
- Prototype
- Plan user testing
With a team full of developers we always thought this day would run smoothly. We were right!
Day 4:
- User testing
- Present results
The offices were located conveniently next to a large train station in Amsterdam. This is where we would do our user testing. The main goals of the testing was to get feedback on the game and to find out if people would be willing to log in to play the game.
Conclusions:
Overall the design sprint was successful even though the concept never made it past this stage. The user testing revealed that the users enjoyed the game and the concept of the daily chance to win a prize.
Most users who enjoyed the game said they were willing to register and login to play the game too. However, a user saying they will do something in user testing and a user actually doing something on a live product can be very different things.
While the concept of the game was simple enough there was an editorial overhead to it. Someone would actually have to create the quiz each day. There was some uncertainty around the ability or willingness to do this.
That's the thing about design sprints. They are not just a way to come up with great ideas. They are a great way to very quickly find out if you should stop with an idea.
So why do I say it was a success? For many developers the design sprint opened their eyes to the design process for the first time. It also opened their eyes to the idea that they can contribute to a solution. People worked together in a way that had not been done before and formed a new perspective and respect for each other.
Design sprints encourage collaboration and provide a safe environment for people to voice their opinions and be heard. This intangible benefit can contribute to people working together positively in the future.
