Video Asset
Tracking Tools
Redesigned the information architecture of HelloFresh’s video assets tracking tools, resulting in 50% less time spent creating requests, a 75% increase in production efficiency, and a 78% decrease in freelance video editor costs.
Key Skills
Information Architecture
UX Flowcharts
UX Copy
User Interviews
Usability Testing
Roles
Project Leader
Content Designer
Product Designer
UX Researcher
The Challenge
HelloFresh’s in-house video team produces thousands of assets every year, from large scale original campaigns, to reworking existing content with updated offer information. In 2022, an outside consultant developed a video tracking tool in Google Sheets, which allowed requesters to specify their needs for editors, producers, and designers. However, by 2023 the document had already become bloated, unclear, and difficult to use for team members across the production process.
Defining User Needs
To start I defined three user personas for the video deliverables document and their primary use cases.
Use Cases
STAKEHOLDERS
Marketing​​ Managers​
Requesting video assets to be produced
CREATIVES
Designers & Copywriters
​​Understanding what graphic assets need to be produced such as offer bugs and end card disclaimers
EDITORS
Video Editors & Producers
Identifying what video and audio assets need to be produced
Once I identified my personas, I conducted in-depth qualitative research with members from each, including moderated focus groups and observational user testing. Through this, I was able to identify the key issues that each group encounters when interfacing with the video deliverables tracker.
Pain Points
STAKEHOLDERS
1. Spend too much time filling out the document
2. Are not sure what information needs to be inputted into each column
CREATIVES
1. Navigate lots of information that is irrelevant to graphic production
2. Have a difficult time finding legal and offer language that needs to be included in graphic assets
EDITORS
1. Face a confusing non-linear user flow that wastes time and increases freelancer costs
2. Must try to interpret confusing and inconsistent terminology used by stakeholders
Based on my research, I used Microsoft Visio to diagram user flows for the video deliverables document so I could visualize opportunities for improvement.
Through this process I identified 3 areas to redesign the video deliverables document that could increase efficiency, improve accuracy, and decrease freelancer spending.​
1. Decrease the number of fields that need to be filled
2. Create special tabs that automate information distribution
3. Develop educational resources that create a standardized language and process
Design
In order to decrease number of fields that stakeholders needed to fill, I identified 12 categories that could be eliminated or combined. This reduced the number of columns per asset by 36%.
I also created two special tabs to segment information and reduced clutter. First, I created the 'End card and Bug Copy' tab that could serve as a central location for the Creative team to find the exact offer copy and legal disclaimers for graphic assets like end cards and bugs. Additionally, I created a tab exclusively for members of the Creative team so they could know what graphic assets needed to be created. The “Design Team Only: Assets” tab automatically generated entries for only the unique graphic assets. It also reduced the number of columns by eliminating information that wasn’t necessary for creatives to complete their tasks. ​
I also wrote UX copy for each column that provided stakeholders with a simple description of the information they needed to input in that section.
These initiatives allowed me to completely transform the information architecture of the document to create a more intuitive and efficient user flow that provided only the necessary information for each team to complete their task.
Testing and Iteration
Upon designing the new video deliverables document, I conducted two types of usability testing:
Narrated User Testing
I led six observation sessions with members of each persona group. During these sessions, users narrated their actions as they either filled out a request for video assets (Stakeholders) or interpreted a completed video deliverables request (Creatives and Editors). Afterwards, I sat down with each participant for a one-on-one feedback session where I reviewed their experience with the document. We were able to identity two major areas for improvement:
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The column descriptions were reworded for increased clarity.
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Check boxes were added for each asset in the 'Design Team Only: Assets' tab to allow creatives to easily track which assets had been completed.
Timed Users Testing
I met individually with three members of the Growth group and timed them as they filled out a request using both the original and redesigned video deliverables docs. Across the board, Growth completed the video request much faster using the redesigned tool, on average spending 52% less time filling out documents.
Final Results
Five months after the initial implementation of the redesigned video deliverables document, more moderated focus group interviews were conducted with members of each user group. Users in all three groups reported immense satisfaction with the tracking tool. Stakeholders reported that the new document had an “easier flow” from column to column and that the process felt “more automated,” helping them improve their “accuracy and efficiency.” Creatives and Editors said that the new document “eliminated friction” in the video production process, allowing them to “focus on completing the task, instead of spending time trying to understand what the task requires.” Additionally, one year after the release, quantitative analysis of time tracking and invoicing data found that creatives had spent 75% less time per video project than in the 12 months prior to the redesign, and freelance video editor costs decreased by 78%.
“The updated video deliverables doc has been a game-changer, fostering seamless collaboration with video creatives and boosting team synergy. It’s become an essential tool, cutting down revisions and supercharging the efficiency of video production workflows.”
-Matthew Guan,
Senior Integrated Marketing Associate
“Having the 'Design Team Only: Assets' tab allowed multiple data points to be synthesized into the most pertinent information for designers. With this tab, it allowed us designers to work more efficiently, getting the necessary information for us to execute our assets in the click of a button. I personally made less mistakes in creating design assets after having this ‘one stop shop’ area to rely on. Now, I can’t imagine working without this useful tool.”
-Shannon Luker,
Graphic Designer