Project Background
Meta's Facebook Reels team is preparing a Q3 launch of a redesigned creator onboarding flow intended to increase first-week creator activation. You are the lead User Experience Researcher embedded with a cross-functional squad of 11 people (1 PM, 1 UXR, 1 data scientist, 5 engineers, 1 content designer, 1 product designer, 1 UXR ops partner). Your mixed-methods research across 24 creator interviews, 2 diary studies, and an evaluative usability study on a high-fidelity prototype found that the new flow improves comprehension but introduces friction for casual creators, especially on Android in lower-bandwidth markets.
The conflict: the Product Manager and Growth lead want to launch globally in 6 weeks because Reels creator growth is below target, while Design and Integrity agree with your findings that the current proposal may harm early retention for new creators. The Director of Product has asked for a recommendation by next Friday, including whether to proceed, narrow scope, or delay.
Constraints
- Launch deadline: 6 weeks
- Remaining research budget: $45,000
- Engineering capacity: 2 backend and 2 client engineers available; 1 Android engineer is shared 50% with Facebook Lite
- Existing commitment: A/B test instrumentation must be finalized in 10 days
- Geographic scope under consideration: US, Brazil, India, Indonesia
Complications
- The PM believes your sample over-indexes on novice creators and is challenging the validity of the findings.
- The VP-level Growth stakeholder has already previewed the redesign in a QBR as a Q3 win.
- Integrity requires one additional consent screen in India, which adds more friction and design complexity.
Your Task
- Build an execution plan for resolving stakeholder disagreement and making a launch recommendation.
- Define how you would validate or de-risk the disputed findings within the 6-week window.
- Recommend a launch scope, sequencing, and decision framework for Facebook Reels.
- Specify stakeholder communication, escalation points, and ownership.
- Identify the top risks, mitigations, and success criteria for launch readiness.
