User Research for Google TV in France

When Google launched Live TV and integrated streaming apps into the interface, the team needed to understand French viewing habits. These insights were critical for improving the features in France and informing a global design strategy for other regions.

I led a mixed-methods research project using surveys, diary studies, and in-depth interviews to uncover viewing habits, user needs, and reactions to the new features.

My Role and Responsibilities

Research Design: Defined study goals with Google TV Research team and created study instruments to align with Google’s product goals.
Prototype Development: Built an Axure prototype to support realistic usability and concept validation during the in-depth Interviews.
Cross-Regional Collaboration: Partnered with a French research agency to conduct the research and led post-session analysis, ensuring findings were high-quality and actionable.
Synthesis & Deliverables: Consolidated findings into a report highlighting French TV viewing patterns, key unmet needs, and adoption barriers.
Project Management: Oversaw vendor activities in France, tracking milestones, managing risks, and reporting progress to keep the project on track and within scope.

Research Approach

Objective: Understanding TV Viewing Habits in France

Background

Google TV planned to launch a Live TV tab in France, featuring an electronic program guide (EPG) and personalized recommendations.

To design an experience tailored to local needs, the team needed to understand:

How French audiences watch Live TV and use the EPG to navigate channels.

How they re-watch recently aired programs through Catch-Up TV, and what makes this feature valuable.

Study Goals

Identify key Live TV use cases to inform product direction.

Assess expectations and perceptions of the EPG.

Explore needs for Catch-Up TV and the features that make it most useful.

Evaluate how well the current Google TV experience meets user needs in France.

Mixed Research Method

Diary Study

A seven-day diary study with 10 participants to understand the daily and weekly viewing habits of TV audiences in France.

In-depth Interviews

Moderated interviews built on diary insights to uncover pain points and test early design concepts.

Quant Study

A 1,000 participant survey using Max-Diff to prioritize user needs.

Concept Assessment During IDIs

Participants were shown an Axure prototype with screens (For You, Top Picks, Live, On Now) and provided feedback on usefulness, ease of use, and relevance.

Participants were shown an Axure prototype with screens (For You, Top Picks, Live, On Now) and gave feedback on usefulness, ease of use, and relevance.

Follow-up discussions explored titles, content types, navigation, limited interactions, and layout clarity.

Key Outcomes

Delivered actionable insights that identified critical user needs, such as flexibility for catch-up viewing, clearer differentiation of live vs. on-demand content, improved EPG usability, and pricing transparency, that shaped feature priorities for the France launch.

Developed a research framework that was subsequently applied across other EMEA markets, extending the study’s value beyond France.

The study identified critical user needs, such as flexibility for catch-up viewing, clearer differentiation of live vs. on-demand content, and pricing transparency, that shaped priorities for the France launch.

The research design was subsequently applied across other EMEA markets, extending the study’s value beyond France.

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hdehmeshki@gmail.com