MIKE OICHERMAN
PRODUCT DESIGN · RESEARCH · AI-ASSISTED PROTOTYPING & BUILD
GROUND CONTROL
Back
A companion app that puts every live-tool one tap away, so creators never leave the stream to control it.
Role Product Design Lead
Timeline Q2 2024 - Q3 2024
Company StreamElements
The Problem
StreamElements' ability to capture creators' attention during live streams is limited, even when creators visit the dashboard. This limitation leads creators to use third-party tools for on-the-fly controls during live streams. Combined with low incentive for daily dashboard visits, this results in potential revenue loss for StreamElements.
Goals
Our primary goal was to address the lack of control and reduce operational friction. We aimed to:
OBJECTIVE 1 Acquire 30,000 daily active users within 14 days of release.
OBJECTIVE 2 Scale to 100,000 daily active users within 90 days by providing additional features.
OBJECTIVE 1 Maintain a churn rate of less than 70% over 30 days.
OBJECTIVE 2 Increase sponsorship offer views by 5-10% (proxy metric).
Research & Findings
GoalsIdentify the various controls and features creators use during live streams and explore ways to enhance the StreamElements tool experience during a live stream.
Process
15x Competitive User Interviews Interviewed users of competitor tools to understand and analyze their competitive edge, and identify which features and tools creators frequently use.
10 StreamElements User Interviews Identified which tools from the StreamElements suite are currently being used by creators during live streams.
Competitive Analysis Researched and mapped the strengths and weaknesses of similar tools and services currently used by creators.
Discord Survey Published a survey on Discord to our core users, allowing them to rank various features according to their impact on live stream control and engagement.
Key Findings
The lack of direct control during live streams (requiring creators to navigate and operate the web product) introduces significant friction, hindering creators' ability to function quickly and efficiently. This often compromises content quality.Current tools in the ecosystem do not offer an end-to-end solution for creators. A unified control experience in a single instance holds significant value.We learned that some creators adopt tools recommended by their moderators, highlighting an additional persona to consider.
Ideation
For the ideation process, I facilitated a one-day in-squad design sprint with the development team, creator success agents, and live creators.
Idea Generation & Ranking. Each member wrote down feature ideas for possible "docks" they believed would be valuable to creators. We collectively ranked these features and identified the top contenders for an Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Concept Development. After ranking MVP features, each member quickly sketched a basic flow and rough UI for these docks, outlining the level of control and specific features to include.
Selection. Each member presented their sketch and explained their thought process. The group then provided constructive feedback, noting what they liked and disliked about each concept.
Distilling a Solution. We compiled all the likes and dislikes from the sketches to define an MVP, incorporating the best and most favored ideas.
Prototype
Due to the nature of the "Ground Control" product, creating a prototype that effectively conveyed usability was challenging. I opted for a very low-fidelity prototype to highlight flexibility and focus on the value of individual docks.
Interactions. As the product allows full interface customization by enabling creators to build their own workspace, the prototype's interactions were intentionally limited. They focused on ease-of-use for individual docks, such as easily adding chat commands, and reading and sending chat to multiple broadcasts.
Feedback & Iterations. We received very positive feedback after creators engaged with the prototype, validating our assumptions. We also identified the next iteration of the product.
Testing & Validation
Method10x online screen-share interviews were conducted. Participants were shown the prototype with a pre-recorded flow demonstrating various docks and the UI's flexibility.
Key Findings & Iterations
Diverse Layout Needs. Creators and moderators often do not share the same layouts. Furthermore, a single creator may require multiple distinct layouts.
Double Down on Multistreaming. We identified the clear competitive advantage of our product: the ability to control multiple live streams from a single instance. This is a key differentiator.
Design
MethodThe final design incorporated a common default starting-point layout, eliminated the need to visit the web product during live streams, and reduced the time-to-take-action by over 95%. It provides an all-in-one solution for creators' live stream needs.
Principles
Instant Control. Focus on enabling creators to react instantly and control their stream with minimum friction.
Customizability. Fully customizable, allowing each user to define their setup and quickly switch between various configurations.
Keep it Simple. Avoid complex flows. Any actions taken by creators should take no longer than a couple of seconds.
Thoughts and Metrics
Outcome Ground Control achieved 30,000 installs within the first 30 days and reached 100,000 users after 60 days. It maintained 3,000 daily active users while keeping user churn between 10-20% over 30 days.
What We Did Right We successfully leveraged Ground Control's multistreaming capabilities and identified a clear competitive edge. We created a product that users not only needed but truly loved.
What We Did Wrong After releasing the second iteration, further development was unfortunately frozen. This resulted in a lack of new innovation and a reduction in feature scope, which subsequently led to higher churn and impacted projected growth metrics.
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