Yahoo! Ad Platform Redesign
The Product
Users of Brightroll DSP, by Yahoo! are online advertising campaign managers who run campaigns (the Demand-Side) on ad properties throughout the internet (the Supply-Side). Each time an app or web page loads, ad placements are sold in real time (fractions of a second) by Ad Exchanges.
Campaign managers have a budget to spend, and attempt to meet a variety of specific performance metrics depending on the campaign goals. The DSP provides parameters for users to target specific audiences (called "Targeting") such as demographics, device type, time of day, include and exclude lists of specific sites and apps, and many others. Professional campaign managers often run hundreds of campaigns at once for a single account. For example, a single campaign (1) might run two different videos (x2) in 50 cities (x50), or run variations based on specific times of day users are likely to be surfing a list of specific apps or websites.
Quick Facts
Timeframe
05/2016 – 06/2017(Verizon acquisition)
Product
Brightroll DSP, by Yahoo!(Demand-Side Platform)
Orginization
Ads & Data UX
Team
5 + turnover
Tools
Sketch, InVision, Balsamiq
Role
Sr. UX Designer
Team Contributions
- Cross-function Design Lead
- Interviewed new hires
- Mentored junior designers
- Developed processes & standards
Design Contributions
- Dashboard screen
- IA & navigation patterns
- Campaign optimization flows
- Generative user research
- Prototype user testing
The Team
Ads & Data UX was divided among two products, the DSP and the Ad Exchange, but my team was 100% dedicated to DSP maintenance and redesign. Three months into my on-boarding, parental leave and the departure of a senior team member left me in charge of a team of three, followed by the addition of two more new hires. Turnover was especially difficult on our Engineering team, which lost several senior members after the announcement of the potential (and eventual) acquisition by Verizon.
Our project was supported by a very experienced UX Researcher who made valuable contributions. Unfortunately, she was not tasked to our project until it was well underway, instead of prior to the start of design which would have been ideal. Until she got hired and brought up to speed I had to perform my own generative UX research and prototype user testing. Once on board, all the designers supported her lead on research, which was great mentoring for all of us on research methods and rigor.
With the close of the Verizon acquisition, teams were merged with AOL to form "Oath," and I was one of approximately 2,200 Yahoo! employees laid off.
The Problem: Outdated UI
Some Issues
- Slow workflows
- Highly nested IA
- Low information density
- No "planning" capability
- Poor reporting in-app
- Poor reporting export
- No notifications/intelligence
Big Business
Strong competition in a fast-changing industry, where advertisers had more money to spend than time, drove users to other platforms.
Incomplete Campaign Tool
Features to support critical campaign activities like planning and audience building only existed outside the platform, requiring additional work and set up time.
Outdated User Research
Product and Design teams were relying on task flows and user profiles generated years prior. Discussions suffered from speculation and uncertainty instead of wholistic knowledge of user needs.
Outdated Code
Tech debt to update the code framework, chaotic CSS, and years of changes made it preferable for Engineering to start from scratch with a new Beta UI.
Who are the users?
Types of Users
Fresh UX research to update organizational understanding of the user was needed, but hadn’t been done in advance. Most users worked at agencies that specialize in Advertising. Some agencies were large, handling all manner of clients and accounts, while others were smaller or more specialized. For example, one agency we talked to specialized in targeting mobile users who had flown through airports near New York within the previous few months. Larger agencies were more likely to share campaign work among users focused on different tasks, such as Ad Specialist, Audience Specialist, Optimization Specialist, Data Analyst, and Account Manager. Strategies, methods, and additional software tools varied significantly from one team to another.
Internal vs. External
An internal Yahoo! business unit ran campaigns on behalf of clients like an agency. Internal Yahoo! users experienced a Salesforce integration that made workflows like set up and budget allocation completely different from external users. External users often ran campaigns across multiple platforms like Facebook and Google, then aggregated campaign results into a single report for clients. Getting candid product feedback from external users was more difficult than internal users, who were easier to talk to and whose perspective more accessible. Thus, even though the voice of the external user was more important to the business, it was usually the voice of the internal user that was heard.
Interview, a Yahoo! Campaign Manager in Europe
Interview, a Manager oversees a team that handles many accounts
Hands-On-Keyboard Users
The “hands-on-keyboard” (HOK) user was typically a Campaign Manager, intimately involved in details, using the DSP to set up and run campaigns, monitor and adjust parameters, and was generally responsible for campaign performance.
Manager Users
The manager user was more interested in bigger business performance details such as accounts, profits, and relationships with clients. Typically wasn’t involved in campaign details, but often managed a team of Campaign Managers (HOK users).
Power Users
Experienced “pros” who know the ad business, know the software, and need to work quickly and efficiently. They often manage the biggest accounts, and to be the platform of choice for this user was a design goal.
First-Time & New Users
Entry-level and junior users were common in the industry, and business training on the platform was not practical. The new DSP needed to be easy for new employees to learn quickly on their own.
