Instagram Group Feature
Giving users a way to categorize the accounts that they follow and view preferred content.
Role
In a team of 3, I worked on research, UX design and prototyping.
Date
August 2021 as a part of General Assembly’s UX Design Program
Company Overview
Instagram. A photo and video sharing social network app.
Problem
Instagram users need a way to organize their feed so that they can choose content that suits their current preference.
Goal
Give users control over their feed and be able to provide more accurate content suggestions.
Is a categorization feature needed?
We sent out a survey asking 32 users to rank 7 features in terms of usefulness. Users agreed that the ability to “give feedback to whether the suggested content is accurate” and the capability to “categorize accounts” would improve the experience.
Understanding our users
Utilizing user interviews, user surveys, feature Inventory, and competitive user flow analysis, we wanted to learn how users are using the app and what can make their experience more enjoyable.
User Interviews
We spoke to 10 Instagram users about their experience. I wanted to know the appetite for this feature and think about how it would also benefit the stakeholder.
Key Insights
What other apps do our users use?
During user interviews, we gathered a list of other apps that our users use to support their goals and needs. This helped us understand our competitors and see where opportunities are.
Key takeaways
Who are our users?
I identified 1 primary persona and 2 secondary personas with various levels of familiarity with Instagram’s organizational features.
Selena, the primary persona. She has trouble finding specific accounts because she follows a large number of accounts for different interests.
Possible Solution
Adding a group feature allows users to categorize accounts that they follow so they can find interesting content quickly and easily. The feature also lets users easily search for specific accounts that they have grouped.
How did we design the MVP?
As a team, we started by doing a design studio and walked through each flow that we created. We constantly paid attention to how visible the action buttons are to ensure they are not too obscure.
Nesting The Feature Into The Existing Interface
Instagram already has a large feature set. To avoid overcomplicating the current interface, we wanted to find the best places to nest the feature. We kept in mind that we’ll need to surface the feature in multiple places within the site map to solve different problems.
Design Challenge
Since we wanted to add the least amount of “weight” to the current interface, the challenge was how we can utilize existing components and still have the feature be visible. One example was:
User Story - I want to add a tattoo account to a group so I can eventually filter the feed by tattoo only content.
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A. New Icon for group feature
Pros: Visible and action-ready. A new icon can quickly convey the new feature to the users.
Cons: Visual clutter for an already full interface with many different icons.
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B. Using Existing Bookmark Icon
Pros: Not adding any additional visual icons to the interface.
Cons: Hard to differentiate grouping and account and saving a post. Slightly more hidden as a feature.
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C. Drop down on account's page
Pros: Functionally grouped with other similar actions.
Cons: Takes users away from the main feed screen and requires a few steps more to complete the action.
Winner: B. Using the existing bookmark Icon. This is a compromise of not adding too much visual clutter and still nesting the feature in an action icon.
The Final Product
In the prototype, I focused on 5 main flows for the primary persona that will alleviate some of the frustrations in exploring, searching and receiving suggested content.
Filter The Feed By Group
Give users the freedom to only see preferred content.
Allows for more accurate suggested content.
Business accounts can get insights into how their followers are grouping their accounts.
Adding An Account To An Existing Group
Users can quickly categorize an account.
In this case, the user is adding an account to a group that was created before.
Adding An Account To A New Group
Create new groups for accounts that the user follows
Groups can be customized by the user.
Users can create as many groups as they want.
Search For an Account Saved In a Group
Prevents interesting accounts from getting lost because the user cannot remember the account’s specific name.
The search bar will search within the groups first.
Manage Groups
Allow users to create, delete, rename groups.
Users can delete or add accounts within the groups.
This is another place where the app can suggest accounts that fit the group description.
What did users think about the new feature?
We did 2 rounds of usability testing. The 1st round was done remotely with 22 Instagram users and the 2nd round was done with 5 more users in real life. We tested in high-fidelity because we nested the new feature in the current Instagram app and we wanted to know how well a seasoned user would be able to find it.
User feedback
The users were given a quick onboarding session to introduce this new feature and were then given 4 tasks to complete. The feedback was generally encouraging! Our users said that the feature was useful and easy to use.
Opportunities
When we analyzed the individual response that we got, we realized that people who had issues with the onboarding flow were the ones that couldn’t complete the first task.
The first onboarding flow was designed as an animation where the users are observers. However, the animation was too quick which resulted in people clicking around the onboarding views to try to interact with it. This led us to make the onboarding interactive, giving pause after each step so our users can take in the information.
Another piece of feedback that we received was that there was a lack of contextual navigation when people are going in between the different groups that they created.
For example, the top navigation is almost the same whether you are in a group or not. We updated this to show the group name that the user is currently on. The back button will now take you to your previous screen, so if you fall into a rabbit hole, you can find your way back to your original thought.
Success Metrics
Since this is a passion project, this feature won’t be deployed to the public. But if it is utilized, these are some of the metrics that can measure success.
Number of times users used the group icon to filter feed.
Number of times users created a group.
Number of times user engaged with targeted content within a group.
Number of suggested accounts added within a group.
The Prototype
Explore the latest prototype and group some accounts!
What did I learn?
Team members are valuable. It was a joy to bounce ideas off of another brain and getting another pair of eyes on something that you’ve been staring at for way too long.
Having more steps isn’t bad if the flow is smooth and clear. In an effort to slim down, the information can sometimes get lost. The key is to convey complex information linearly and logically.
Usability test, usability test, usability test! The best way to battle bias and assumptions is to put the design in front of people and observe.
What can I consider?
I would love to get data when this feature goes “live” and see how many groups users are creating and how one account can be categorized.
It would also be interesting to see how business account holders are using the information gathered to finesse their content.