Driving automation and serviceability for DV360's top tier enterprise clients
Challenge
Serviceability-by-Design balancing automation with necessary user control to maximize ad spend and decrease support burden. Break non-intuitiveness of the platform.
Context
DV360 (Display & Video 360), a critical demand-side platform, is an inherently task-heavy environment where media traders(or advertisers) manage significant ad spend. The platform was constrained by high-volume, repetitive workflows that lacked intelligent assistance, creating a direct link between usability and inefficiency.
Leadership & Scope:
Spearheaded the transformation of DV360 into an automation-driven, scalable enterprise platform, partnering closely with Product and Engineering to align research with business-critical priorities.
Multi-year research program identified and solved high-friction workflows, validated efficiency gains during key sales cycles, and embedded ethical research practices.
Kicked off critical technical studies around API and SDF integration to support the automation need of the platform with the goals of user satisfaction, workflow efficiency, and platform adoption.
Impact
Measurable increase in user efficiency and directly correlated with higher ad budget utilization on the platform (validated via CSAT benchmarking).
Successfully scoped and prioritized the API feature roadmap to address the top 20% of user workload, guaranteeing that engineering resources were focused on high-ROI automation essential for top-tier client tasks.
Leveraged localized field research (e.g., in EMEA and APAC) to translate diverse regional needs into global product requirements leading to broader product adoption.
Difficulty
The Workflow Friction: Users were required to complete multiple, simultaneous tasks (e.g., budget allocation, creative setup, reporting). Despite the straightforward nature of the tasks, even minor UI changes created significant friction, directly impacting worker efficiency and resulting in tangible losses in the budget spent on the platform.
The Automation Imperative: The product direction needed a foundational research strategy to intelligently automate workflows and assist primary users, all while operating under the strict constraints of 1) maintaining worker efficiency and 2) preserving multi-million dollar budgets.
3. Advertiser Trust: As a B2B platform managing client funds, any design intervention had to adhere to stringent B2B ethics, ensuring the preservation of user/advertiser trust and transparent communication about efficiency gains.
4. DV360 had a considerable internal usage. UX needed to provide a framework for prioritization while enabling better UX both internally and externally.
Methodology
To transition DV360 from a nascent tool to a market-leading enterprise platform, I designed a multi-modal research ecosystem. This program balanced generative "big-picture" strategy with iterative evaluative cycles.
1. Ethnographic Field Studies & Contextual Inquiry
To map the serviceability landscape and differentiate persona-based workflows across global markets. Conducted in-situ contextual inquiries across 4 global hubs (NYC, Dublin, India, Singapore). Observed media traders and account managers in their natural environments to identify "workarounds" and friction points.
Scale: 42 deep-dive sessions; 120+ hours of observational data.
Outcome: Developed a differentiated persona framework (Internal Support vs. External Agency) that led to the launch of Custom Columns, reducing support ticket volume by an estimated 15% in the first two quarters.
2. Longitudinal "Rolling" Evaluative Studies
To provide a continuous feedback loop for high-risk automation features (e.g., $1M+ daily budget reallocations). Established a Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation (RITE) program. Every 3 weeks, we ran usability cycles on high-fidelity prototypes to validate trust markers and "undo" mechanisms in automated workflows.
Scale: 18 consecutive months of testing; 150+ participants; 450+ usability issues logged and prioritized.
Outcome: Achieved a "Hands-Off-Wheel" efficiency rating increase of 40% for automated budget features.
3. Mixed-Methods Service Design Audit
To identify where algorithmic assistance could replace expensive manual support. A combination of Support Ticket Quant-Analysis (mining 5,000+ logs) followed by Diary Studies with power users to understand the "why" behind common errors.
Scale: Analysis of 5k+ support entries; 30-day diary study with 25 lead media planners.
Outcome: Directly informed the roadmap for Predictive Assistance and contextual guided aid, shifting the product from reactive to proactive support.
4. B2B Strategic Partnership Testing (Ethical Sales UXR)
Validate enterprise-grade features while maintaining ethical boundaries during high-stakes sales cycles. Co-Design Workshops and Concept Value Testing with "Tier 1" customers. This served as a "technical preview" that allowed for rigorous feedback without compromising the sales relationship.
Scale: 10 co design workshops with Top 10 global ad agencies.
Outcome: Secured "buy-in" for the multi-year roadmap and ensured the platform's automation remained transparent and user-controlled.
Affinity Mapping from one of the design workshops.
Impact
The research translated directly into a more efficient, scalable, and trust-centered platform, maximizing user output, speed and functional depth.
Quantifiable Efficiency Increase/Optimization: Research insights led directly to the redesign of critical workflows with UI changes, resulting in a measurable increase in user efficiency and satisfaction—a direct correlation with successful budget management on the platform.
Platform Scalability: Strategically aligned research efforts to prioritize designs that were not only user-friendly but also API-friendly and scalable. This also helped in identifying which high-volume tasks for full API automation versus human-in-the-loop assistance.
Global Relevance and Adoption: Market-specific research successfully translated diverse, localized insights into global product requirements. We
Strategic Product Assistance: The work established the product's direction for automation features enabling product team to move the platform from a manual task executor to an intelligent tool that assists media traders.
