Justin Bregar
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Case study

Wowza Video 2.0

Bringing together the best parts of two video delivery platforms
A user interface for a video streaming platform titled

Fast Facts

Role

Sketches, wireframes, high-fidelity comps, functional prototype, user testing, analytics, onboarding

Tools

Pen & paper, Figma, AppCues, PostHog, ReactJS, MUI X

Timeframe

2023-2025

User Profiles

01

Video engineers

Video engineers include those who spec and run streaming for organizations where video is their primary business.
Concerned specifically about features
Use web interface to monitor streams
Willing to accept complexity in exchange for feature-richness
Wowza Video 1.0 user
02

Developers

Developers are those who interface with Wowza Video primarily through the API.
Use web interface sparingly
Use web interface primarily to verify setup and for testing
Parity between API and UI is essential
Wowza Video 1.0 or Flowplayer OVP user
03

Video streamers

Streamers are those for whom video is a part of their business but not the primary business. Examples include houses of worship, sports teams.
UI is their only interface
Often don't care about complex features
Getting their video out there is the primary goal
Confused by jargon and complexity
FlowPlayer OVP user

Problems

Wowza Video 2.0 was a combination of the initial version of Wowza Video and Flowplayer OVP which was acquired in 2022. Bringing together two products provided some challenges...
Different user types
Wowza Video and Flowplayer OVP historically had different user profiles.

Wowza Video customers were primarily video engineers or developers at companies where video was a large part of or their primary business. They need robust video tools and APIs that allow for custom solutions.

Flowplayer OVP customers were primarily streamers or developers operating in businesses where video added to their business, but wasn't their primary business line. They value ease of use over niche features.
Complexity
Full-featured, enterprise-grade video streaming is a complex tool requiring some real finesse when adapting it to a less-sophisticated SaaS audience.
Different cultures
Wowza Video and Flowplayer OVP were developed by different teams across the world from each other. These teams had spent time building solutions to the problems their users had. Bridging that gap was tricky.
Organic nav and IA
The information architecture and navigation scheme for both products had developed largely organically over years of development. No design system was in place and neither platform's navigation was easily scalable to the size of product Wowza Video was becoming.

Process

Talking

When I started at Wowza, they were in the beginning technical stages of combining the products into Wowza Video 2.0, but product design had stalled. I took some time to gather input from all the stakeholders and a number of clients for both products to move forward iteratively towards a solution.

Design system

With an approach in mind, I set about to create the foundation for accelerated development. I worked closely with the front-end architect to construct a design system and components within Figma and associated React components that would allow our development team to move forward in a fast, consistent manner.

Hi-fis

Once we had a design system and components built for both design and development, I worked closely with product managers in each functional area of the product to map out and design high-fidelity mockups and Figma prototypes for user testing and (after refining them based on feedback) delivery to development for building.

Build and refine

With refined and tested mockups and prototypes combined with ready-made React components development of Wowza Video 2.0 proceeded quickly. I spent a lot of time with the developers refining designs and making tough compromises to get the project out the door in record time. After launch, we moved on to refining the product iteratively by adding and enhancing features.

Solution

A detailed analytics dashboard for the Wowza video platform displays viewer and playback data over multiple timeframes. Graphs show viewer trends for live streams and videos, along with player statistics including popularity and engagement rates. Playback statistics are broken down by device type (desktop, tablet, phone, etc.), rendition quality (e.g., 720p, 1080p), and viewer locations by country. Lists of top-performing videos and live streams appear at the bottom right. The interface uses clean visualizations and is designed for monitoring streaming performance and audience behavior.
Keeping it familiar... but better
We combined the navigation scheme from Wowza Video and FlowPlayer into a design that was instantly familiar to the users from both products. Working with our content team we unified our language and squashed jargon where we could so everyone would feel at home.
User feedback
Throughout the process, I solicited user feedback. I sat in on customer calls, showed prototypes and screens, conducted ad-hoc user tests and focus groups. After launch I suggested and helped to implement PostHog for product analytics so we could collect passive user data that was actionable.
Don't be afraid to say "no"
Features with little or no use were analyzed to see if they were really necessary. If we could keep the functionality while scrapping the complexity, we did it. If the feature was adding complexity for users and not getting used, they were removed.
Onboarding that doesn't suck
Using insights from our analytics software, we built an onboarding flow in AppCues that helped get users up to speed (or back up to speed) fast. Combined with smart navigation design and product content, Wowza Video 2.0 was as familiar as that old pair of socks... but without the smell or the holes.
Progressive disclosure
We used progressive disclosure and smart defaults to make it easy for our users to start streaming fast and without a lot of thinking about the fiddly bits. Trial conversions went up.

Results

A unified platform everyone can use
Post-launch user analytics and testing showed a decrease in time to complete common video streaming tasks and a sharp decrease in confusion and "rage clicks." Qualitative user feedback was very positive. Trial conversion increased by 35% which correspondingly increased annual recurring revenue. We also saw an increase in usage once legacy customers were migrated in both live and VOD streaming further contributing to ARR.
  • A streaming management dashboard from the Wowza Video platform displays a list of video streams with statuses such as “Running,” “Stopped,” and “Error.” Each row shows a stream title (e.g., MLS Soccer World Championships or Super Bowl LIX), creation and update timestamps, status tags, and action icons for editing or duplicating. Filters, bulk actions, and a green “Create new stream” button appear at the top right. The interface also allows users to sort and paginate through multiple pages of streams, offering efficient control over live and archived content.

    Live stream list

  • A stream management interface on the Wowza Video platform is shown with a filters panel open on the right side. The main section displays a list of video streams, while the filter panel allows users to refine results by status (Running, Errors, Stopped), license status (Current, Expiring soon, Expired), and tags (such as Soccer, Sports, Cricket). A search bar and an expandable list of tag options are included. At the bottom of the panel are buttons for saving, canceling, or applying filters, helping users efficiently manage and locate specific streaming content.

    Live stream list w/ filter panel expanded

  • A user interface for a video streaming platform titled "MLS Soccer World Championships" is displayed, showing a live soccer match in progress. A player in a blue jersey (number 18) is in mid-action near the goal, with defenders and a goalkeeper visible. Stream status indicators below show the stream is running, sourced from Wowza, with good health and an inbound bitrate of 655 Kbps. Viewer statistics are shown on the right, including current viewers (12,440), peak viewers, total viewers, and average view time, all with percentage change indicators. Navigation options are visible on the left sidebar.

    Live stream detail page in stopped state

  • A live stream monitoring dashboard from the Wowza Video platform shows an active stream titled “MLS Soccer World Championships.” The central video frame captures a soccer player in blue mid-kick near the goal. Status indicators confirm the stream is “Running,” with a connection speed of 6.3 Mbps and an elapsed time of 1 minute and 22 seconds. On the right, viewer statistics (watching now, peak viewers, total viewers, and average view time) are displayed with trend percentages. Below, stream health is marked as “Good,” with inbound and outbound bitrate readings and a graph tracking stream metrics over time.

    Live stream detail page in running state

  • A settings panel is open on the right side of the Wowza Video platform interface, allowing editing of stream details for “MLS Soccer World Championships.” The form includes fields for the stream name, description, and internal notes (not visible to viewers). Behind the panel, the main stream dashboard shows a soccer player in blue kicking a ball in front of a goal. Stream health is marked as “Good,” with inbound and outbound bitrate statistics and a graph tracking performance over time. The interface supports real-time adjustments while monitoring live stream quality and viewer stats.

    Live stream detail w/ edit metadata panel open

  • A stream creation interface on the Wowza Internal platform titled “Let’s get started” guides users through setting up a new live stream. The form includes fields to name the stream and select a source: streaming from a browser (WebRTC), using an encoder (RTMP), or specifying another protocol. Users can also choose whether to record the stream, with the default option being “Record stream.” At the bottom are buttons to cancel or create the stream. The layout is clean and user-friendly, designed to simplify launching a stream quickly and efficiently.

    New quick stream page

  • An analytics dashboard from the Wowza Video platform displays detailed streaming metrics. At the top, viewer data is broken down by current viewership, last hour of live streams, last hour of videos, and total viewers—each with accompanying trends. A line graph compares live streams (red) and video (blue) over time. Below, player statistics include a “Popularity” graph (displays vs. plays) and an “Engagement” curve, showing play rate, completion rate, and average watch percentages. The interface is designed for visualizing viewer behavior and stream performance, helping teams make informed decisions.

    Stream analytics

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