You time starts now.
Applications for streaming services are used by people all around the world, but sometimes, they need a little organizational help. Adding a feature to the TaskmasterSuperMax+ application will make it more user friendly and accessible to fans around the world.
Project Timeline:
2 weeks
Role:
UXUI Design
Add-A-Feature
Tools:
Figma, Figjam, Canva, Notion, Google Workspace
Background
Taskmaster is a BBC comedy show where five comedians are set tasks challenging their creativity and wit. The tasks are supervised by Alex Horn and judged by the Taskmaster, Greg Davies.
Streaming services started, albeit without a subscription cost, in 2005 with the founding of YouTube and it has only grown since then. The global video streaming market size was valued at $674.25 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow up to or past $811.37 billion in 2025 and to over $2.6 trillion by 2032. The shifts in the market may impact what shows are created and how much subscriptions cost, but the users will still, more than likely, continue to subscribe. It is a relatively stable industry with an immense amount of competition that is ever growing. Overall, there seems to be mainly growth in the future of streaming services.
The Problem
TaskmasterSuperMax+ is a streaming service application users are able to subscribe to in order to watch the BBC comedy panel competition show. While they currently include international versions of the series as well as nineteen seasons and counting of the original, the current organizational system is lackluster with little to no thought going into the user experience. With this in mind, there is a clear opportunity to design an option to sort by collection to make the application easier to use for the subscribers.
The Objective
How can we create a better organizational system that will allow users to easily find the show they are looking for in less time.
01. Research
Primary Research Goal and Methods
I wanted to see what viewers value about their streaming services, specifically the applications and how they use them. As I am designing with an application that works both on a mobile device and a television in mind, I wanted to validate the concerns I had with how the current application for TaskmasterSuperMax+ was set up. The data was compiled through an unmoderated online survey through Google Forms as well as three audit interviews conducted via video call.
User Surveys
The user surveys were predominately used to learn about people's streaming habits. Out of the 15 responses, 14 preferred using an application over a website and 80% use a Smart TV or similar device to watch their shows and movies. This validated the fact that people are more likely to use an application, so adding the feature to the app version of TaskmasterSuperMax+ was more beneficial than adding it to the website version.
I was surprised to learn that just over half of the people do not use the collections option when streaming, but 80% use the favorites feature to save shows to watch later. Out of the 15 responses, 12 users said the ease of use affects their enjoyment of the platform. I believe the collection feature being added will become a way for users to more easily navigate the application, which is a high priority for this project.
The majority of users watch in the evenings after work with 93% of them binge watching shows when they do sit down to watch. Streaming large batches of content can be difficult to keep track of when a streaming service is not well organized which could lead to frustration when trying to relax. Over half of the surveyed users reported they stream content daily while the remaining 40% of users said they watch at least weekly.
Using the background information from these unmoderated surveys, I was able to move onto specifics about the current application and find out exactly what users thought about the navigation systems in place.
For a more in depth look at what the survey answers entailed, a link to the results has been provided: Streaming Habits (Responses).
User Interviews
Background
The purpose of these interviews was to learn about user's thoughts on the current layout of the TaskmasterSuperMax+ application. By interviewing people familiar with the application as it is now, I was able to observe how they used the application as well as hear their thoughts on what they would change. I asked them to tell me their overall thoughts on the app as well as any moments they were confused by the layout. The three interviews were insightful and validated the idea I had for the project.
Observations
All three users had issues with the current layout of the application. It was especially difficult for them to find the episode they were looking for (Episode 1, Season 1, Taskmaster UK) as the series were not in any kind of chronological order. Ultimately, they all had to scroll through to find the episode they were looking for.
One participant attempted to use the search function by typing in "Season 1," however this resulted in anything with the number one in the title, including episode or season, which did not help find what he was looking for. The tags on each episode seem to be inconsistent and peripheral.
Secondary Research
Research was also completed in order to find out how competitors structured their streaming services applications. It was found many of the competitors have similar business plans to one another, having monthly subscriber based platforms that cater to different types of content. There are some like TaskmasterSuperMax+, however, that focus on one type of content and do not branch out much, though they still have some kind of collections feature in place to help the application stay organized. With that in mind, the path for developing the feature for TaskmasterSuperMax+ could begin.
Strengths:
Much like with TaskmasterSuperMax+, the independent streaming services such as Dropout, Beacon by Critical Role, and 2nd Try all have loyal fanbases who will support them. These streaming services focus on the needs and wants of the users when determining what content they produce.
Dropout is primarily a comedy and improv platform with a large recurring cast of comedians, so their content is more freeform in nature. TaskmasterSuperMax+ also focuses on comedy and improv, but has a more rigid gameshow type structure.
Beacon by Critical Role works with sponsors for many of their live play Dungeons and Dragons campaigns which can bring in additional revenue from their promo codes. While TaskmasterSuperMax+ does not work directly with sponsors in their streaming service, they do gain capital from advertisements when they air on BBC.
2nd Try has a large cast from a variety of backgrounds, so any shows they choose to create will appeal to a wide range of viewers. TaskmasterSuperMax+ utilizes a similarly large cast and has, at times, brought contestants back from previous series to help with shows.
Netflix is a well-established company that capitalizes on the fact they are one of the oldest streaming services to retain their customers. Their wide userbase allows them freedom to make any content without keeping to a regimented structure like Taskmaster because of the varied interests of their userbase. TaksmasterSuperMax+ can keep their structure, but continue creating and releasing versions out of different countries to draw in more subscribers.
Maintaining the fanbase is an important aspect of smaller companies' streaming services. Making sure to factor in the content as well as cast is something I learned is important through this research. Taskmaster, in having five new comedians per season, is able to draw in fans of different well-known comedians, even though the content structure as a whole stays the same.
Weaknesses:
Dropout and 2nd Try do not capitalize on advertising as much on their streaming services which limits the budgets for the shows they can create. This can be an issue for the more high-budget episode or series they may have. TaskmasterSuperMax+ has the backing of the BBC, not just their streaming service income, so there is more room for them to use their budget. Each season also increases the amount of props the comedians have to work with for any given task.
Beacon has a limited type of content they produce which will ultimately limit the user-base to those who enjoy Table-Top Role Playing Games (TTRPGs). While TaskmasterSuperMax+ also has a limited type of content, it is a singular game show structure that can be translated into other countries and expanded on the platform.
Netflix's constant price hikes and restrictions they place upon accounts is driving some users away. Though they still have the most subscribers out of any streaming platform, the more they raise their prices, the less likely people will want to subscribe to their services. TaskmasterSuperMax+, on the other hand, has not raised their prices for their streaming services over the past four years.
Taskmaster makes sure their product is advertised through social media and that they have multiple streams of income is important. Taskmaster does this through their socials, posting clips from many episodes throughout the year, as well as having both a subscription service as well as a YouTube channel for people without access to the BBC channel on their televisions.
Opportunities
Dropout is very popular on social media and have either sounds or videos go viral often which brings in new fans to the space and, in turn, brings in more subscribers. TaskmasterSuperMax+ is working on its social media presence to bring in the younger crowd of viewers to their streaming services.
Beacon is a good source for Table-Top Role Playing Game and Dungeons & Dragons content. They work with popular game masters and creators to draw in other audiences. The team has expanded to include other forms of media on other platforms such as Amazon Prime to gain new fans of their content. While TaskmasterSuperMax+ does not have an animated show like Critical Role has, they have expanded into books, board games, live experiences, and most recently a virtual reality game for viewers to get more involved in the show.
2nd Try is tied to a well established YouTube channel which has an already large fanbase, much like the show Taskmaster is tied to the BBC.
Netflix has begun bringing in more viewers with live sporting events being streamed such as boxing matches, wrestling, awards shows, and NFL games allowing them to partner with these businesses for additional revenue as well as brings in more viewership with fans. TaskmasterSuperMax+ does not currently seem like they will be doing any live streamed events, but they do have the opportunity to release episodes early as a perk for subscribing to the service.
TaskmasterSuperMax+ already has versions of the show in different countries and have recently started selling a board game and virtual reality game so you can experience the fun at home with friends, though there are more opportunities they can do to make their streaming services even more successful.
Threats:
A potential threat to all of the streaming services in America is the FCC, or the Federal Communications Commission, and any censorship that may come with it. At this time, there are not any sanctions against these streaming services, but that does not exclude the possibility.
Dropout is somewhat dependent on their cast availability and the recognition of the SAG-AFTRA agreements. With the strikes that happened in 2024, any production halted as they wanted to stand with their fellow members of the community.
Beacon is dependent on the enjoyment of Table-Top Role Playing Games by fans. In recent years there have been controversies with the Dungeons and Dragons franchise, namely the Open Game License (OGL) which would have severely impacted third party content creators, such as Critical Role.
2nd Try is dependent on it's cast, which most have additional jobs in addition to working at 2nd Try. They then have to work around those schedules to see what projects they are able to work on with the available cast.
Netflix's competition in other streaming services is getting steeper. People are more likely to want to pay less money for the same quality of streaming if they can get it elsewhere.
Making sure they keep the users in mind in business decisions is imperative to TaskmasterSuperMax+'s success. They must be aware of the public relations of their cast and crew as well, as that could affect the viewership of their series.
02. Define
Defining Parameters
For this application, I used testing and refining based on feedback gained through the previous section's interviews and surveys to define the structure of the application. The primary deliverables included a user persona, user flow, task flow, and two problem statements to help me get into the mind of the potential users to ultimately help with the designing process.
Problem Statements
Many subscribers of TaskmasterSuperMax+ have issues with navigating the application. At the time, the 19 and counting series of Taskmaster from countries around the world are mixed together with little to no thought of the user experience.
The lack of a collections tab makes it difficult for users who want to watch series from other countries find what they are looking for as the predominant feature of the service is Taskmaster UK. This makes it even less likely for people who don’t know these series exist to be able to watch them as they are at the bottom of the scroll menu which would lead to less time spent on the application.
User Personas
Based on of the research and problem statements, The user personas give us a deeper insight into who we are designing for. This is giving a "typical" potential user a face for designers and shareholders alike to look to for the ultimate prototype and what would be most beneficial for them in the long run
Violet is a Data Analyst looking to enjoy watching her favorite British comedy panel competition in the evenings when she has no plans. She wants the applications she uses to be easy to navigate so she does not get frustrated when trying to relax and unwind after work.
Task Flows
I created a task flow for finding an episode to watch via the new collections feature being added. This helped with planning how many pages should be needed for the process and what would be best to have on each page. I had to add in the pages for collections, TM UK, and series 1 episodes.
User Flows
In the persona, Violet wanted to be able to quicly find episodes, so we added a collections tab and intuitive navigation. Based on the task flow above, I created a user flow to show the more intricate steps and possibilities that could contribute to the user's overall experience.
Design
Overview of the Design Process
Designing the feature for the TaskmasterSuperMax+ application was an iterative process. The goal was to make a simple, easy to navigate feature that could improve the user's experience with the application. Each decision was made with the idea of functionality and ease of use in mind.
Low Fidelity Sketches
Starting with low-fidelity, I sketched out a couple of ideas for each page, then chose the best design to move forward with for the mid fidelity. All of the pages went through a few versions before becoming the pages we see in the prototype. The choices for the finalized pages ended up being based on what the current application already has in place, I added the collections page, the season list, and episode list pages.
Mid Fidelity Prototype
You can interact with this prototype! Try following the tasks, or click the arrow buttons at the bottom of the interactive feature.
Mid Fidelity wireframes were created to test the digital design on potential users to see if the direction we were headed would work as a new feature on the application and would make sense to the users.
In the mid-fidelity, I was able to base the login, home, and episode screens on screenshots from the application.
This design was helpful in showing what was and was not working for the users. Through it has a simplified look, the users were able to focus on the functions over the form of the application, therefore making the tests all that more valuable.
Mid Fidelity Test Results
Three users were encouraged to test the mid-fidelity prototype by completing a simple task: to log into their account and find the first episode of Taskmaster UK to watch.
Through testing, the users were able to complete the task within the five minutes given, which included the instructions and comments from the users. The notes made by these users were all positive stating it seemed "straightforward" and everything was "where [they] expected it to be." The average score given was a 5/5.
04. Prototype
High Fidelity Prototype
You can interact with this prototype! Try following the tasks, or click the arrow buttons at the bottom of the interactive feature.
I brought up everything to high-fidelity while maintaining the branding of TaskmaskterSuperMax+ in the design.
I used screenshots for the login, most of the homepage, and navigation so I would not have to recreate each of those pages, as they were staying the same. The only addition I made to the home page was the collection feature, which was the intended project.
To ensure the added feature to TaskmasterSuperMax+ provided a seamless user experience, I conducted a second round of usability testing with the high-fidelity prototype pictured on the left with three new users who had no previous knowledge of the design.
Usability Testing
Goals Being Tested
To see if the application is intuitive and easily repeatable by users from various backgrounds.
Double checking structuring of the navigation.
Making sure the added branding does not add any confusion to the users.
Testing Methods and Execution
I conducted task-based usability testing, asking participants to complete the same primary flow from the mid-fidelity testing, checking to see if the content was still easy to understand and task able to be completed. Once again, the task was to sign in to the application, then find Episode 1 of Season 1 of Taskmaster UK. Participants were encouraged to think aloud while completing the tasks and I was present as both a spectator and potential facilitator in case participants got stuck.
Success Metrics
To be a successful test, I was checking for a high percentage of participants to complete the task, how long it took to complete each task, what the frequency of errors was, and the overall user satisfaction with the website. With the information in hand, iterations would be made on areas identified as needing improvement before the final project would be submitted.
Somewhere between mid and high fidelity the right facing arrow did not get transferred over in the design process. Users had difficulties with finding where to go to find the collections page as the arrow was a key indication. Though they eventually found where to go, it did take them longer to find than the group doing the mid fidelity testing. A secondary group of high testing was done after iterations to the homepage to ensure the confusion was resolved, which thankfully, it was.
Key Findings
Completion Time
In the first round of testing, the three users were able to complete the tasks in an average time of two minutes.
After the iterations, a new set of three users were able to complete their task in under a minute, proving adding the right facing arrow on the homepage improved the usability of the feature.
Completion Success Rate
The task was completed in every user test.
Tester Feedback
Overall Experience (Rated 1-5)
Across the high-fidelity six tests, the users gave an average of a 4.8/5 for the ease of use score. The only 4 rating was from the first tester who was unfamiliar with using streaming applications and had gotten confused about what she could click on, but ended up figuring out she could click on the series card to get to the Taskmaster UK season collection list.
Notably, the addition of the arrow fixed any issues the users had with the flow in the first round of high-fidelity testing.
05. Iterations
Finalization
From the final user testing to the submission of the prototype, there were only a few cosmetic changes on the app design. These were quick and easy to edit, mostly having to do with changing button layouts and making sure elements were aligned properly.
01. Homepage
02. Series List
03. Episode List
04. Episode Page
06. Conclusion
Working on this add-a-feature project was a fun and quick experience. This is something I have personally been wanting to add to the TaskmasterSuperMax+ application for four years now, so getting to see it come to life and see other peoples' thoughts on it was very rewarding. I was not able to work directly with the Taskmaster team for this project, but would eventually like to reach out to them to see if they would like to implement the project.
Regarding my previous projects, this ended up being more of a solo project. I relied more on the testing and my mentor for feedback on the design process.
I have further sharpened my design skills, especially for smaller projects like this. I made myself work on a quicker time schedule to prove to myself I could and, with that smaller time line, I was surprised at how quickly and efficiently I was able to get my work done.
Overall, I hope to do more projects like this. Adding small adjustments such as this would be good work for in between larger projects that I feel would be a good reset. I felt like the whole process was well timed out and streamlined.
