Diagnostics.
UI/UX NEW FEATURE
How can we deliver actionable insights rather than just raw metrics?
This case study explores the development of the diagnostics page, a crucial feature in the developing deals workflow. Throughout the project, we implemented style guides and design rules refined earlier in the year. We also crafted custom components and made adjustments to the design system to meet specific requirements.
ROLE
Senior UX Designer
LOCATION
NEW YORK
DATE
2024
BRIEF
A functional user interface that provides users with insights into potential opportunities for improving their deals' performance.
CLIENT
TripleLift is a leading native advertising and programmatic solutions company. Their platform uses computer vision to seamlessly integrate ads into digital content across websites, mobile apps, and connected TV.
WHAT IS A DEAL?
An agreement between an advertiser and a publisher to display sponsored content to a publisher's audience. These deals typically involve:
-
Negotiated terms for ad placement, pricing, and duration
-
Performance metrics and targeting options to ensure the ad reaches the intended audience
Problem.
There's no way to diagnose a deal's health except by using other companies' reporting tools or asking an engineer to investigate. Advertisers lack self-service options—they must contact a TripleLifter to identify issues.
Solution.
A comprehensive user interface designed to deliver high-level reporting with insightful analysis of campaign effectiveness and reach. This interface features metrics aligned with campaign objectives, a spend versus pacing analysis line chart, and a Sankey diagram to help users identify areas of spend obstruction. Additionally, it includes an audience analysis section that outlines key demographic characteristics, along with strategic recommendations for optimising targeting.
Process.
“Insights” Discovery
In our UX discovery phase, we aimed to understand what "reporting" means for both advertisers and publishers, as it emerged as a critical need in our chaotic creation workflow. Our team gathered for an intensive whiteboarding session, mapping out pain points and opportunities. We spoke with both internal and external users to identify key reporting metrics that matter most. This collaborative exploration helped us clarify user needs and set the foundation for creating meaningful, streamlined reporting tools.
What is Reporting?
Campaign Lifecycle
Plan - Monitor - Recap
Reporting can be used to upsell or cross-sell products
Reporting lifecycle
Analysis - Insight - Recommendations
Publishers unlock impressions when performance is good
Gives clients a sense of control
Advertisers need real-time data
Data Visualisation
We iterated extensively on data visualization layouts, exploring bar charts, Sankey diagrams, line charts, and tables, refining each design based on team feedback and user-centered principles. Collaboration across teams was key, as we gathered insights, tested different metrics, and assessed their effectiveness. This iterative approach ensured that each visualization not only met user needs but also effectively communicated key data points, enhancing overall clarity and usability.
Design System Components
We developed a comprehensive prototype by leveraging our newly established design system, which provided a consistent foundation for the project. This process involved not only utilizing existing design elements but also crafting and implementing custom components tailored to meet specific project needs. Each custom component was thoughtfully designed to address unique challenges and enhance functionality, ensuring seamless integration with the overall design system.
User Feedback to MVP
We conducted an extensive process of gathering and analyzing detailed user feedback through multiple channels, including user interviews, surveys, and usability testing. By diving deep into this data, we gained valuable insights into user pain points, preferences, and behaviors. Using these insights, we engineered a robust MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that addressed the most critical needs while maintaining flexibility for further iterations. This MVP allowed us to rapidly validate key assumptions and refine core features.
Example of Feedback
Default view should cater to reminding the user what they’re targeting, what their goals are, and how it’s going against those goals and deal targeting.
“Maybe some way to remind the user of the targeting on the deal”
“Something not landing wrt “untargeted” segments. Might want to bifurcate the report for targeted vs untargeted in different tables, maybe side-by-side.“
Remove “Targeted” vs not targeted for fields we can’t edit from the Deals Detail Page?
“Are these targeted!? (concerned) Need to make it clear these are untargeted, kinda felt like they were.”
Emphasize untargeted as potential or upside opportunity:
“Consider targeting this for extra scale”
“Explore High Performance Segments I’m not targeting”
“Anything to highlight as recommendation “top performing segments outside your deal” - make it more clear what to do with the information. “Put a bow on” the clarity of the recommendation.”
“Showing incremental reach per segment would be great - showing the difference. Maybe some sort of forecasting vibe of what could happen to scale.“
Alongside The MVPs development, we have formulated a strategic plan for future scalability, ensuring that the product can evolve efficiently as user needs and business requirements grew. This plan encompasses technical architecture, feature expansion, and the ability to scale with increasing user demand, setting a solid foundation for long-term growth and success.
Learnings
How can we deliver actionable insights rather than just raw metrics?
The term "insight" is commonly used in AdTech, often with varying meanings depending on the context. While advertisers already rely on industry-standard reporting tools for diagnosing campaign issues, simply offering metrics through our UI isn't enough to draw users in. To truly stand out, our UX project needs to go beyond surface-level data by delivering actionable insights that drive decision-making. This means creating a user experience that not only presents information but also contextualizes it, helping advertisers and publishers understand the "why" behind the numbers. By focusing on this deeper level of value, we can position our platform as an indispensable tool in optimizing campaigns and driving results.