ITV invests significant capital in TV shows and films, either acquiring finished products or funding new productions. Ignite helps ITV evaluate which shows represent smart investments - acting as a 'potential shopping list' of programs under consideration. It tracks shows from initial consideration through contract completion.
I was deeply involved in a collaborative, hands-on role as the only product designer within ITV team. Working in an agile environment, I helped optimise existing components of the product and created the design of a new section for Music & Entertainment through extensive research and thorough usability testing.
M&E onboarding. A key challenge was making Ignite accessible to various ITV stakeholders like Finance, Commissioners, and Legal. Each requires different data to decide if greenlighting a production makes sense. With the high per-program investment, ITV undertakes a rigorous, multi-stage decision process. This drawn-out timeline was an issue. Our goal was to streamline data digestion for each department to enable timely, informed choice and reduce the disjointed usage of spreadsheets centralising the data on one platform.
Given the project's size, timing constraints, and limited user availability, we initially gathered internal knowledge and existing documentation to understand the process's complexities. We then created a draft process map and designed a quick solution. This solution underwent extensive usability testing, divided into two phases: testing the prototype and then using targeted questions to accurately define the process and identify needs. That resulted in a validate MVP to implement.
By distilling disparate information into digestible formats tailored to each group's needs, Ignite facilitates faster, evidence-based decisions about potential new productions. With easier access to insightful data, ITV can more accurately project profitability when allocating its content investment budget across multiple proposed shows and films.
Ignite now consolidates customised data to accelerate ITV's complex, cross-departmental decision-making regarding its high-value investments in new TV and film productions. By keeping track of projects through different stages and steps in a systemised way, users can pull better reports and make better decisions when it comes to whether ITV should invest in distributing and/or streaming content.
