Experience Platform is a robust suite of tools and services that dynamically alters the content and presentation of a site per session to be personalized for the target user based on user understanding.
What is Experience Platform?
Experience Platform is a robust suite of tools and services that dynamically alters the content and presentation of a site per session to be personalized for the target user based on user understanding.
The platform partners with the data science and membership teams to access information about the user, using machine learning to study user behavior and generate a user understanding model. This enables real-time content and layout changes to better cater to user needs and preferences.
to fetch data from across all Yahoo and its affiliate services with one API call.
Products in the Experience Platform Suite
By the time I completed my time with the Experience Platform team, it comprised the following products:
Experience Platform API: The federated backend API that powers the whole platform
Experience Creator: The frontend tool for experience platform
Module Catalog: A tool to find or discover available content modules in the Yahoo ecosystem
Experience Config: A tool to edit content from an individual module and instantly publish changes
Knowledge Portal: A learning portal to understand the platform, its tools, and its purposed
Who is this product for?
Experience Platform is designed for:
Yahoo’s owned-and-operated (OnO) properties
Product owners
Content creators
Editors
Developers across various Yahoo verticals, including Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo News, Engadget, and AOL.
What?
What challenges were addressed in this initiative?
Minimal Adoption:
Misunderstanding of platform capabilities
Lack of awareness
Steep learning curve
Inaccessibility for non-developers
Low Number of User-Personalized Experiences:
Long development times
Pipeline friction
Communication barriers
Long Publishing Times:
Inability to react to breaking news
Inability to quickly strike sub-content from a site
How?
How were these challenges addressed?
It starts by assessing the landscape;
Discover Pain Points
Conducted 50+ user interviews and established the voice of the customer (VoC)
Misunderstanding of Platform Capabilities:
Built a knowledge portal and spearheaded a unified lexicon initiative across the entirety of Yahoo to clarify platform components and value propositions
Lack of Awareness:
Conducted presentations and workshops to evangelize the platform
Steep Learning Curve:
Replaced the embedded code editor with Monaco editor for better developer support
Inaccessibility for Non-Developers:
Prototyped an interactive GUI and developed a WYSIWYG drag-and-drop layout editor
Created a node/widget-based behavior graph editor for adding complex business logic
Long Development Times:
Implemented interim solutions with Monaco editor and improved JIRA ticket templates
Developed new GUI features for easier use by non-developers
Pipeline Friction and Communication Barriers:
Streamlined communication with comprehensive JIRA templates
Developed an MVP solution for quick deployment using feature flags
Long Publishing Times:
Implemented “Instant Publish” for rapid content updates and adjustments
Built Experience Config for quick content modifications
User Personas
User Journey
Strategy and Roadmap
Success Metrics
Services Rendered
My Impact
Led the ideation, prototyping, MVP, and launch phases of the Experience Platform
My Impact in the Ideation Phase
Top Contributions:
Conducted 50+ user interviews to uncover needs and pain points
Established the voice of the customer (VoC)
Defined user personas and key areas of misunderstanding
Developed a unified lexicon for Yahoo page components
Built a knowledge portal to explain platform capabilities
Top Results:
Improved clarity and understanding of platform capabilities among users
Enhanced communication with a unified terminology
Increased product awareness through targeted presentations and workshops
Identified key user segments and tailored solutions to their needs
Laid the groundwork for better user engagement with the platform
My Impact in Prototype and MVP
Top Contributions:
Replaced embedded code editor with Monaco for better developer support
Prototyped an interactive GUI in Figma as an MVP
Ran user tests with the MVP to gather feedback
Developed a WYSIWYG drag-and-drop layout editor
Created a node/widget-based behavior graph editor
Top Results:
Reduced development time with enhanced code editor features
Gathered valuable user feedback to refine the MVP
Increased developer productivity and reduced learning curve
Increased user engagement, awareness, and interest in intuitive content creation tools
My Impact in Launching the Product
Top Contributions:
Evangelized the platform through presentations and workshops
Developed the “Instant Publish” feature for rapid content updates
Built Experience Config for quick content modifications
Streamlined the CI/CD process with interim solutions
Integrated advanced features into the Experience Creator tool
Top Results:
Increased adoption and usage of the Experience Platform by 70%
Improved accessibility for non-developers with Knowledge Portal
Enabled rapid response to breaking news and content adjustments
Improved overall user satisfaction and engagement
Reduced publishing times and enhanced content management
Empowered product owners and content creators with powerful, easy-to-use tools
All Projects
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Rebuilding Paradise
Yahoo!
Witness the reconstruction process for a home destroyed in a deadly fire. This AR experience puts you inside the story and introduces you to a family rebuilding their life after the fire.
Jan. 6 - XR Interactive
Yahoo
An interactive timeline of the Jan 6 capital insurrection where the user can select a time and see an animated map of the rioters and the White House Officials.
Stonewall Inn Riot
Huffington Post
Listen To Firsthand Accounts Of The Stonewall Riots In Augmented Reality.