Kaskus was founded in 1999, and ever since, has been the largest online community in Indonesia. Many of the old-time users have reluctance to change, and any changes done can shake the ground of the hard-core fans. On the other hand, with the shift in the user behavior and the new wave of competitions, change is inevitable. KASKUS needs to adapt to stay relevant and to continuously deliver great experiences for its users. In this presentation, the presenters shared two sides of the stories: first is the transformation of the Kaskus products, and second is the transformation of the organization to support this new direction.

1. Outwards and Inwards
Experiential Transformation:
Ardy Alam
VP Product Management
KASKUS
Ketut Sulistyawati
Founder, Principal Consultant
Somia Customer Experience
a KASKUS case study
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

2. 2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

3. About
KASKUS
● Founded in 1999
● The largest social commerce
platform in Indonesia:
○ Online (Mobile Native App,
Mobile Site, Desktop)
○ Offline (Community Events,
Gatherings, CSR)
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

4. About
KASKUS
● Organic growth
● Has its own cultures and lingos
● Hard-core fans
● Unique brand personality
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

5. Despite being one of the pioneers
in digital startup in Indonesia,
KASKUS keeps improving its UX
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

6. User background varies
• Older hardcore fans are comfortable ‘the way it is’
• Younger users feels the user experience is no
longer relevant. Expectation on UX is high, wants
the latest and greatest
external
considerations
Technology & security standards
evolve
• Mobile adoption grows significantly but readiness
to adapt was slow
• Variety of devices, OS versions
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

7. Organizational vision varies
• Rapid growth of team, new perspectives
• Gen X vs Gen Y vs Millenials
Internal
considerations
Seeking alternative ways to monetize
• Team challenged to grow traffic = grow user base
• Product experience sacrificed for monetization
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

8. How we addressed
these issues...
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

9. 2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

10. Addressing
The Issues
1
internal
discovery 2
customer
centricity 3
MOnetization
ideas 4
MObile
first
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

11. We started with
internal discovery
These are done by neutral
independent consultants
1
internal
discovery
● Interviews with the Founders and C-levels, key employees (old
timers are influencers) to understand their point of views and vision.
● ‘Organizational Ethnography’
● Look into historical data
● Hypothesized direction to be further investigated with users
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

12. We involved users along the journey
● Interviews with existing users, potential users, non-users
● Informal discussions through community gatherings
● Usability testing sessions
● Online surveys
2
USER
CEntricity
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

13. Users hated the banner ads.
How might we monetize without
sacrificing the user experience?
3
monetization
ideas
Leveraging existing user behavior to develop creative
monetization solutions, example:
● Native content advertising
● Kaskus Plus - premium users
● Sundul, gan!
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

14. 2016
UXSG
|
A
joint
lightning
talk
by
KASKUS
and
SOMIA
CX

15. ‘Sundul’
a way that users do to push
their contents to appear higher
in the listing page
”SUNDUL”
explained
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

16. SUNDUL, GAN!
1 Gamification for Sundul
Give free sundul for users after they
have successfully completed
transactions on FJB, or other
activities
2 Simple to Sundul
Simple action to ‘sundul’ instead of
manually enter text on the post. This
makes the post more elegant too.
3 Monetization
Users can buy sundul package if they
have run out
1
2
3
CONCEPT
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

17. 2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

19. We need to create consistent
and continuous experience
across platforms
4
MOBILE
FIRST
● 63% access from mobile browser
● 30% access from desktop browser
● 5% access from Android app
● 2% access from iOS app
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

20. Started from mobile web,
translated to the other platforms
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

21. But most importantly,
all of these will not be successful
without...
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

22. Cross functional
involvement
Collaboration across product team with UX,
sales, marketing, CS, operation, facilitated by
consultants
Key Ingredients
for Success
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

24. Phased Approach
Large scope = big chaos. So we took a
phased approach with clear milestones
instead of trying to solve all at once.
Key Ingredients
for Success
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

25. Agreed vision,
strategy, and
product positioning
Agreed direction on
how the four
products connect to
one another
Agreed features,
structure, and
content direction
Discovery
Research
Master
Blueprint
Mobile
Web
Website, iOS,
Android
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

26. Building Team confidence:
• Team members present to Management in milestone review
• War room with walls filled with the materials
• Practice sessions the day before
• All key stakeholders (Founder and C Levels) attended
• Everyone takes turn walking through the design in the wall
• Questions and concerns are addressed on the spot
• Signoff to proceed
Key Ingredients
for Success
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

29. ...and what is the outcome?
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

30. ● Revamped the main pages
● Launched native apps for
commerce
● Up-to-date experiences,
yet preserving the unique
personality
On the
Product
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

31. before after

32. before after
insert images

34. before after
insert images

35. ● Less display banners, more content
marketing
● Standardized ad positions, easier to sell
● Data driven decisions
Business
Impact
Overall : increase in revenues
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

36. ● User research embedded in the
development process
● Multiple iterations, prototyping
● Monitor, observe, and analyze user
behavior after going live
○ Google Analytics Premium
○ Forum KSP (“Critics, Suggestions and
Questions”)
impact on the
Internal Process
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

37. Create a stage for
the team to shine
and run the show
Consultant is invisible;
behind the scene
view from
Consultant
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

38. one last thing...
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

39. 1. In order to stay relevant, the product needs to
evolve and adjust its experience, but without losing
its soul.
2. Transformation does not simply means changing
the UI
3. Spirit of collaboration, including the BOD and
management
4. Trust but verify
5. Continuous improvements everyday: monitor,
observe, adjust as needed
Lessons
Learnt
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX

40. NOT

41. Thank you
Ardy Alam
Ardy.Alam@kaskusnetworks.com
Kaskus ID: aa976
linkedin.com/in/ardyalam
Ketut Sulistyawati
sulis@somiacx.com
Twitter: @tyawati
linkedin.com/in/sulistyawati
2016 UXSG | A joint lightning talk by KASKUS and SOMIA CX