Problem Statement:
People have trouble with the below mentioned features. Goal is to add new or update existing features to solve this problem.
This spec discusses more about (WHY, WHAT, WHEN) needs to be built.
It does not discuss the technical implementation (HOW)
Disclaimer:
All the below mentioned assumptions are based on my research and analysis.
Goals:
To add key features to Instagram in the upcoming version.
User Stories :
As a user:
- I want a find button in the chat section, so that I can search for a specific message.
- I want to browse by music in reels, so that I can use the song for doing reels.
- I want a copy option in the comment section, in order to copy the comment in posts.
Why build this feature?
We are building this feature to:
- Save time for users when searching for messages.
- Help users use all songs in reels.
- Make users copy the comments..
User Interviews: (Based on personal survey):
- Interacted with 12 -15 regular users of instagram to find the likes and dislikes..
- 75% of potential users responded positively overall.
- Ability to search messages and copy comments seems to be one of the most awaited features.
OKR: (Objective & Key Results)
O - To improve the product performance in the next update.
KR1 - Increase of 5-7% in user engagement. .
KR2 - Improving retention rate to 10%
KR3 - Increase NPS from 49 to 54.
KR4 - Decrease in churn rate by 6-8%
Product Requirements (The What)
| Requirement | Priority | Phase/Milestone | Status |
| Create a search option inside the chat box, to find messages. | Must have | M1 | Yet to Start |
| Adding "show posts only to close friends" similar to close friend story feature. | Must have | M1 | Yet to Start | Introduce browse by music/song option in reels.. | Must have | M1 | Yet to Start |
| Allow users to copy the comments from the comment section. | Must have | M1 | Yet to Start |
| Hide the number of likes in posts | Should have | M2 | Yet to Start |
| Show the posts shared inside the chat option. (In media section) | Must have | M2 | Yet to Start |
| Grant users to share clickable links in stories. | Should have | M2 | Yet to Start |
| When a user takes the screenshot of the story, the notification should go to the other user. | Should have | M3 | Yet to Start |
| Insert a time slider in reels option, to navigate back and forward. | Must have | M3 | Yet to Start |
| Include other emojis to react in posts. | Should have | M3 | Yet to Start |
Non-Product Requirements:
| Requirement | Priority | Phase/Milestone | Team | Status |
| Marketing: Update Instagram Blog page on the new features | Must Have | Post M3 | Marketing | Yet to Start |
| Marketing: Announce feature to the world through our social media accounts | Must Have | Post M3 | Marketing | Yet to Start |
Assumptions :
- Search option - Including a search option in the chat box will reduce the user’s time to some extent, when the person tries to search any old chats/messages.
- Posts for close friends - This will show the posts only to their close friends and not to others.
- Browse by song/music - In reels, we can browse the song/music just like stories, so that users will be able to choose.
- Copying comments - In many cases, people tend to find the comment section useful in various posts. Inclusion of this feature will be beneficial for the users to just click on the comment and use it as per their needs.
- Navigation slider - In Reels, 15 or 30 seconds is the time limit. Adding this slider will save some time if they don’t really like to watch full video.
- Link Sharing - When sharing a link (say a YouTube link) in story, users won’t have the clickable link. Including these options help users to visit the page by clicking on the link without any hurdles.
- Emoji addition - Currently only heart (❤️) option is available, meaning - liking the posts. Additional emojis like claps (👏), fire (🔥) can be included so that users will be interested to find the response they receive for their posts/pictures.
- Hiding likes - This feature will hide the total no. of likes for all the posts. The hatred and personal insecurity will get reduced when the numbers are not shown.
- Display of posts in media - This will show the posts shared by 2 persons in the media section.
- Screenshots - Whenever a user tries to take a screenshot of a person’s stories, it will send the “You took a screenshot” notification to the concerned user. This will increase everyone’s privacy.
Statistics:
- Total no. of users - 1.1 Billion
- Daily Active Users (DAU) - 500 Million
Roll Out Plan:
M1 :
- Alpha on 10th Aug
- Beta on 20th Aug provided there are no major bugs or concerns in Alpha
- Will launch on Prod as an experiment on 25th Aug
M2
- Alpha on 7th Sep
- Beta on 14th Sep provided there are no major bugs or concerns in Alpha
- Will launch on Prod after we have results on M1 experiment results
M3
- Alpha on 5th Oct
- Beta on 14th Oct provided there are no major bugs or concerns in Alpha
- Prod on 24th Oct
Conclusion:
Based on the user’s pain points and the survey findings, the above upgrades will be implemented, to improve the overall user experience.