I decided to conduct User Research for the app Youtube because I observed some common problems reported by YouTube app users.

The YouTube app is a revolutionary platform that allows users to discover, watch, and interact with a vast library of videos across various genres. Developed by YouTube, it offers a user-friendly interface and powerful search and recommendation algorithms to personalize content suggestions. Users can subscribe to channels, engage with creators and fellow viewers through likes, comments, and sharing, and enjoy offline viewing. The app is compatible with multiple devices and receives regular updates to enhance the user experience. YouTube has become an influential platform, shaping trends and serving as a hub for entertainment, education, and self-expression worldwide.

In my research, I aimed to enhance the user experience of the YouTube app by investigating how users interacted with it and identifying areas where problems arose. Additionally, I sought to gain insights into user behavior by examining their actions and gathering their opinions. To achieve these goals, I employed two research methods: a usability test involving task-based scenarios for participants, and the creation of an interview guide.

The primary research questions that guided my study were as follows:

- What aspects of the YouTube app do users appreciate and enjoy? Conversely, what aspects do they find displeasing or problematic? Furthermore, what are the underlying reasons for their preferences and dislikes?

- What specific need does the YouTube app aim to fulfill for its users?

- What factors contribute to the existence of this need?

By addressing these questions, I aimed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the YouTube app's strengths, weaknesses, and the underlying motivations behind its usage. This knowledge would then inform potential improvements to enhance the overall user experience and align the app more effectively with user needs.

The target users:

for this qualitative research were three young adults (age range: 25 - 30), all of them using Youtube App for at least 3 years.

Task in the usability test:

Task 1: Find and play a music video by a specific artist.

Objective: Assess the ease of locating and playing a specific music video on the YouTube app.

Task 2: Subscribe to a channel that focuses on cooking tutorials.

Objective: Evaluate the process of subscribing to a channel and gauge the user's understanding of this feature.

Task 3: Enable closed captions for a video and adjust the caption settings.

Objective: Measure the user's ability to enable closed captions and customize the caption settings according to their preferences.

Task 4: Save a video to the "Watch Later" playlist.

Objective: Test the user's familiarity with the "Watch Later" feature and evaluate their proficiency in adding a video to the playlist.

These tasks cover different aspects of using the YouTube app, such as searching for specific content, interacting with channels, managing accessibility features, and utilizing playlist functionalities. They can help identify potential usability issues and gather insights into how users navigate and accomplish common tasks within the app.

Insights:

Task 1: Find and play a music video by a specific artist.

Users provide feedback on the effectiveness of the search functionality, including the relevance of search results and the ease of finding specific music videos.
Ads and interruptions, YouTube displays ads within its content, which can be frustrating for some users, particularly if the ads are long or repetitive. Additionally, occasional interruptions, such as mid-roll ads during videos, may disrupt the viewing experience.

Task 2: Subscribe to a channel that focuses on cooking tutorials.

Feedback regarding the visibility of subscription status, notifications for new videos, or options to manage subscriptions.

Task 3: Enable closed captions for a video and adjust the caption settings.

Accessibility and availability of closed captions, including the ease of enabling them for a video and the clarity of the captions themselves.
Comments on the options provided for customizing caption settings, such as font size, color, or background.

Task 4: Save a video to the "Watch Later" playlist.

Visibility and accessibility of the "Watch Later" feature, including its placement within the app and the ease of adding videos to the playlist.
Feedback on the overall management of playlists, including organizing, removing, or accessing saved videos.

Possibilities for improvement:

Based on the insights gathered from user feedback, here are possibilities for improving the YouTube app in relation to each task:

Task 1: Find and play a music video by a specific artist.

Enhance the search functionality to provide more relevant and accurate results, ensuring that users can easily find specific music videos.
Address concerns related to ads and interruptions, ensuring that the frequency, length, and repetitiveness of ads are optimized to minimize frustration and disruptions during the viewing experience.

Task 2: Subscribe to a channel that focuses on cooking tutorials.

Improve the visibility of subscription status and notifications for new videos, ensuring that users can easily manage their subscriptions and stay updated with new content.
Enhance notifications for new videos, providing timely and relevant updates to subscribers. Additionally, offer intuitive options for managing subscriptions, such as organizing or categorizing subscribed channels.

Task 3: Enable closed captions for a video and adjust the caption settings.

- Enhance the accessibility and availability of closed captions, making it effortless for users to enable captions and ensuring the clarity of the captions themselves.

- Provide more options for customizing caption settings, such as font size, color, or background, allowing users to personalize the caption display according to their preferences.

Task 4: Save a video to the "Watch Later" playlist.

- Improve the visibility and accessibility of the "Watch Later" feature, making it more prominent and easy to locate within the app.

- Enhance the ease of adding videos to the playlist and provide intuitive options for managing and organizing saved videos within the "Watch Later" playlist.

These improvements aim to address user concerns, streamline user workflows, and enhance the overall user experience in relation to the specific tasks mentioned. By addressing these areas of improvement, the YouTube app can enhance user satisfaction and create a more enjoyable and user-friendly experience for its users.

Conclusion

YouTube app fulfills users' needs for entertainment, information, education, expression, social connection, personalized content discovery, accessibility, convenience, emotional engagement, and escapism. It offers a diverse range of videos, fosters a sense of community, and provides personalized recommendations, catering to individual preferences and interests. These needs exist due to human desires for entertainment, information, expression, social connection, personalization, convenience, and emotional engagement. People seek enjoyment, knowledge, creativity, social interaction, tailored experiences, convenience, and emotional fulfillment, which the YouTube app addresses.

Caterin Muñoz Cancian

UX/UI Designer

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