Aloud.ai for youtubeContext
Aloud.ai (fka OLiVE) was a team in its incubation stage in Area120, Google’s in-house startup incubator. Aloud.ai enables content creators to create omni-lingual videos to expand their audience beyond the original production language, providing a significantly scalable and lower-cost alternative to other translation tools. The feature is currently being beta-tested by YouTube Creators in a Trusted Tester program before a public launch in 2024.
Problem
The team was tasked with identifying priorities for their minimum viable product (MVP) ahead of their six-month funding review with Area120 VC partners.
Process
Assumptions Exercise: I facilitated an assumptions workshop and used the output to design a moderated study to test the product’s value proposition.
Foundational In-Depth Interviews: I recruited a small cohort of Content Creators across three continents (North America, Europe, and Asia) to understand their experience with translating content to reach Consumers in different language markets. The PM, Design, and Engineering partners were all invited to observe these 60-minute, in-depth interviews, and we debriefed asynchronously each day to align on key themes and follow-up questions from each interview.
Impact
Identifying Priorities for the MVP: Findings from this moderated study were socialized in a team-wide shareout, including key themes, recommendations, and next steps for refining the product before their six-month review. My research specifically helped the team determine priorities for the MVP following early signals that Content Creators had concerns about trust and translation quality. The team recruited these Content Creators into a Trusted Tester program to maintain an ongoing channel for early feedback. They were also able to replicate my study with a cohort of Consumers to understand whether they shared sentiments similar to those of Content Creators regarding trust and translation quality.
“Aloud lets me quickly and easily dub videos without having to worry about cost ...Aloud is eliminating the language barriers between Content Creators like me and new potential viewers all over the world.”
Reflections
My favorite part of leading research with early-stage product teams in startup environments is working through a 60-minute assumptions exercise to get to know the product team and orient our work together; I learned this exercise from my mentor and former Head of UX at Area120, Maya Elise Joseph-Goteiner. I organized a 60-minute meeting with Aloud.ai’s Product Manager, Engineers, and Design partner and prepared a comprehensive literature review of the existing product landscape to guide our discussion. From there, we identified the team’s assumptions, subject matter expertise, and evidence to pinpoint high-priority knowledge gaps and related research questions. Taking ownership of the project kick-off with this exercise gave me clarity and structure in my research and cemented my role as a trustworthy, organized lead. I believe this was essential to how receptive the team was to the user feedback that absolutely enabled them to build the amazing product they've successfully scaled today.
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