User Research at Trovo

UX Research & Strategy in a Scrappy Big Tech Environment

How might we increase conversion rates of Trovo users?

WHAT'S TROVO?

Trovo, a twitch competitor company incubated by Tencent in 2020, aims to let more smaller content creators be discovered and challenge the mainstream structures in the content creation world.

SKILLS

Design Research, Communication, Qualitative Research, SWOT Analysis, Miro, Evolve Research, Excel, Discord, Zoom, Canva, Google form

MY ROLE

As the lead and solo user researcher, I spearheaded the development of a comprehensive interview guide, engaged 15 in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, and translated the insights into 4 user personas.

SCOPE

6 weeks

PARTNER

Tencent Holdings Ltd

GOALS & OBJECTIVES

HMW increase conversion rates of Trovo users?

Flowchart illustrating the relationship between goal, objectives, and interview questions.

APPROACH

Using Contextual Inquiry and Photo Journal to Immerse in Creators' Lives

With the general goal in mind, I designed and created an interview guide on my own. In order to make the findings interactive and virtual interview more rewarding, I used the contextual inquiry and photo journal methods.

Using contextual inquiry to get a direct observation of the streaming process through virtual interviews

Using photo journal to visualize streamers' day to day lives and facilitate the conversation on their interests on and off streaming

PARTICIPANT OVERVIEW

Diversity is key when selecting participants!

I interviewed 15 streamers from 8 countries, 5 tiers, and all levels of commitment.
The interview participants were able to represent all major regions of Trovo, different sizes of streamers, and different level of experience with streaming.
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INTERVIEW SYNTHESIS

There are 4 types of streamers with different needs and motivations

Since the platform is still in the beta phase and there are constant growth in users, the internal team has limited understanding of their users. As a result, I used my interview insights to develop personas and created lists of user motivation and pain points to present to the product and operations team to guide strategic planning and feature development.

Affinity Mapping using Evolve Research

I used evolve research as the tool to organize my interview notes and create affinity mapping.
Then, I organized patterns that surfaced into findings that are later developed into persona or painpoints.

Raw Interview Notes ( Affinity mapping)
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Organizing patterns during the interviews

Developed 4 User Categories based on Different Needs and Motivations

To authentically capture the rich diversity among streamers and comprehensively address their distinct needs, I introduced user categories. Defining the segments not only provided a nuanced understanding of varied user requirements but also served as strategic instruments, guiding the Trovo team to shape their approach with precision and purpose, ensuring a more impactful and resonant platform strategy.

Trovo User Categories

Personas for Each User Type

To further champion individual user needs and elevate the decision-making process within the internal team, I crafted fact-based personas, serving as powerful empathy-building tools that not only illuminate nuanced user experiences but also empower the team to make informed, user-centric business decisions.

4 User Personas

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Uncovering User Painpoints from Affinity Mapping

I presented a list of pain points to both the product and operations team. The painpoints and my early stage concept suggestions helped the Trovo team to better strategize for their future development as they grow their platform and prepare for the official launch of the platform.
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Painpoints cheatsheet and proposed solutions.

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Elaborating on each painpoint with evidence of user quotes.

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Trovers are here for the loving community, approachable staff, mental safety, and discoverability!‍

I created a list of user testimonials taken directly from the one on one interviews. The testimonials help answer the question of "why Trovo" for both the internal and external Trovo community. With a better understanding of the Trovo community, Trovo is able to improve user growth in the long term.
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Example testimonials for each category of motivation that I discovered
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OUTCOME

Trovo Research Unveils Global Insights, Drives Strategic Solutions for Diverse User Base

Since Trovo is a relatively new platform that has experienced rapid growth over the past year, the internal team still has a lot to do to understand its diverse users. My trover research project not only embraced the regional diversity of Trovers, but it also offered in depth insights shared by many Trovers across the world. On top of synthesizing the interviews and presenting the results to the team, I also offered actionable solutions to the painpoints and event proposals that are being implemented by the team for the second half of the year. ‍‍

REFLECTION

What would I have done differently?

Reach out to more people to get feedback on my work besides the people who I directly work with
Ask for feedback periodically, especially since this is my first internship experience and I have a lot to learn!
Proactively expand my professional network more to uncover opportunities for mutual collaboration.