Viewmate streams
B2B SCHEDULING & CONTENT SYNDICATION SYSTEM
Single Source of Truth for Live-stream Programming
Year
2017-2018
Tools
Balsamiq, Adobe CC, Sketch, Figma, Axure, Tobii Pro
Deliverables
Information architecture
User flows
Wireframes & interactive prototypes
High-fidelity interface design
Design system
Product Team
My Team
1 Product manager
2 Developers
2 Designers (lead/junior)
My Role
Lead product designer
Lead researcher
UX systems architect
Research
11 Individual interviews
9 Eye-tracking studies
5 Usability tests
Summary
Viewmate Streams, as a B2B SaaS platform, gave streaming media organizations a single place to create, manage, publish, and syndicate their live-programming schedules.
I led the product and systems design of the platform, translating a manual MongoDB-based internal process into a self-service workflow whose data powered the Viewmate consumer app, public schedules, and partner experiences.
Problem
Viewmate’s programming data was maintained manually by internal staff, creating an operational bottleneck that would worsen as more streaming organizations and channels joined the platform.
At the same time, viewers lacked a dependable way to discover upcoming streams and remember when and where to watch them.
The product needed to transfer schedule ownership to streaming organizations without sacrificing consistency across the consumer app, public schedules, and partner integrations.
Research & Process
I mapped the existing MongoDB attributes and publication workflow, then translated them into an information architecture organized around organizations, channels, shows, individual airings, and recurring schedules.
I used interviews and Axure prototypes to evaluate card density, scrolling, repeated data entry, schedule reuse, and bulk-editing behaviors. I also conducted eye-tracking studies to assess whether the SaaS landing page clearly communicated the product’s value and directed users toward the appropriate calls to action.
Research translated into four system requirements:
One authoritative schedule
- Establish a single source of truth that could be maintained within the SaaS platform and consumed dynamically by external experiences.
Reusable programming data
- Preserve channel details, drafts, airing history, and reusable attributes to reduce repeated entry, inconsistency, and error.
Recurring and custom scheduling
- Support firm recurring cadences as a first-class workflow while clearly distinguishing automatically generated airings from custom events.
Multi-channel account management
- Allow one organization to manage multiple streamers and channels without switching accounts or duplicating operational work.
SYSTEM DESIGN
Scheduling workspace: Designed a responsive, card-based workspace for viewing, filtering, and maintaining upcoming programming across shows and channels.
Reusable creation workflow: Introduced intelligent defaults, copied attributes, drafts, search, and repeat controls to accelerate the creation of new airings while reducing errors.
Organization and channel hierarchy: Structured accounts so one streaming organization could manage multiple streamers and channels within a shared operational environment.
Content-governance guidance: Created an image-selection guide that allowed partners to manage their own visual content while maintaining consistency and quality across downstream experiences.
- Publication and syndication pipeline: Connected schedule changes to an embeddable JSON feed consumed by the Viewmate iOS app and external partner sites.
Results
Usability Test:
- Users who were very satisfied with ease of adding a new stream - 86%
-
Average time to add new stream, 1st time user- 3:12 minutes
Initial 3-month Pilot:
- SMO partners onboarded- 16 channels within 2 weeks
- Unique streams scheduled- 103 in 3 months
- Total airings scheduled- ~1650 in 3 months
- Churn- 9.3%