Case Study: Web Stories is a new visual storytelling format for the open web and so much more. This is an Open Source framework, free and part of the open web, developed by Web Content Ecosystems Team at Google with engagement by XWP.
Role: UX Architect & Designer with XWP
Challenges:
- The Google Progressive Innovation Team needed a WordPress MVP (became alpha release) solution based on the POC version of Web Stories with a launch to correspond with WordCamp US 2019.
- Simultaneously, the team needed to develop and deploy version 1.0 for AMP for WordPress plugin while creating a custom website for the plugin, AMP for WordPress.
- The time frame for our teams was tight considering the state of the admin editor during this time.
This entire project was developed using unstable versions of the Gutenberg editor as it was being tested and iterated with. XWP & Google teams worked intensely to bring this version of visual storytelling to the open web.
Learn more about Web Stories: The AMP Project/Stories
Strategy: Bring Design Maturity to the project. Find ways to conduct some usability testing, workshops, and micro sprints to expedite the complex challenges. During the development phase for MVP the need is to facilitate teams with UX tactics, iterations, collaborations throughout production, and also execute some very useful usability testing for the team to move forward with.
Tactics:
- stakeholder interviews
- expert analysis
- usability testing
- micro sprints
- journey mapping
- task time vs goal time usability analysis
- sketching
- iterations and prototyping
- storyboarding
- information architecture
- content strategy
- facilitation of design walkthroughs
- visual design iterations
- video demonstrations with slide decks
- mock ups, storytelling
- visual designs
- facilitation of presentations and original examples
Results: The team was successful in creating the MVP/alpha release version and presented the demo at WordCamp US 2019. My integration of the blur effect also served to make the work of creating an Web Story on the admin interface more successful. The breakthrough with a 30% opacity setting provided for an MVP editing environment that was functional and allowed users to easily see clearly as they worked in layers. The screen recordings, iterations, and teamwork will all be key to moving the project closer to a stable release. Web Stories was one of the top and most successful projects we completed in 2018. I was pleased to create and execute the demos which were presented at WordCamp US 2018 in Nashville.
Read on to see visual samples from the project as well as this useful set of personas that were developed to align the teams, ignite inspiration, and help us make informed decisions as we moved into Alpha and Beta versions.
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