Audience Innovation Labs
Driving newsroom transformation through key UX interview learnings
Opportunity
The Washington Post needed space for content innovation and experimentation in order to reach younger audiences. The Audience Innovation Labs program was established to create that space.
Strategy
Lab participants would conduct UX interviews (with training and coaching from my team and me), gathering direct audience feedback and ensuring strategic iteration and alignment with overall editorial objectives
Outcomes
Reaching target audiences with new content forms on modern platforms.
Enhancing participants' skills in social media and audience engagement.
Fostering a deeper understanding of audience needs through direct feedback.
Encouraging a culture of experimentation within the newsroom. Each participant concluded the program with tangible projects and professional growth, contributing to an increased net promoter score, reflecting higher satisfaction and engagement compared to the previous year.
Roles
Accountable for Lab participant satisfaction, managing other team members who were integral to the work, promoting a culture of experimentation and learning within the newsroom.
Responsible for creating training, designing assets and coaching journalists on how to conduct UX interviews, recruiting study participants, and encouraging ongoing iterations influenced by the insights from those interviews.
Process
Planning UX Interviews: Lab participants were trained on how to conduct UX interivews, and collaboratively drafting an initial set of questions, which were then refined by my team and me. This preparatory stage was crucial for ensuring that the questions were targeted and effective, focusing on understanding the specific needs and behaviors of the audience segments relevant to each project.
Conducting UX Interviews: Participants conducted between 5 to 7 UX interviews with their target audiences. These interviews were crucial for gathering in-depth insights directly from the users, allowing participants to hear first-hand how their audience interacted with and felt about potential and existing content offerings. The hands-on guidance from UX professionals ensured that these interactions were structured to yield meaningful data.
Analyzing UX Interview Feedback: After conducting the interviews, participants worked with their audience coaches and UX leads to analyze the feedback. This involved identifying common themes, preferences, and pain points that emerged from the discussions. The insights gained were then used to adapt and refine their projects, ensuring that the final outputs were well-aligned with audience expectations and needs.
Deliverables I Created
Social media posts and videos.
Audience feedback analyses.
Final presentations showcasing their projects and outcomes.
Tools I Used
User Interviews for recruiting participants
Skills I Applied
Coaching & training new researchers
UX interviewing and audience analysis.
Strategic content iteration to engage specific audience segments.
Reflections & Lessons
UX Interviews Foster Empathy and Insight: Conducting UX interviews not only provided tangible data but also fostered a deeper empathy among participants for their audience. This emotional connection was found to be transformative, influencing how participants thought about their audiences and their approach to journalism moving forward.
Importance of Preparation and Direct Engagement: The program underscored the crucial role of meticulously preparing for UX interviews and directly engaging with the audience. This approach led to deeper insights and a more nuanced understanding of audience needs, which proved invaluable in tailoring content effectively.
Direct Audience Engagement is Invaluable: Participants learned firsthand the value of direct engagement with their target audience through UX interviews. This approach provided deep insights into audience needs and preferences, which were often nuanced and could not have been as accurately captured through indirect methods like surveys or data analytics alone.
