Introduction
Ignite is an internal platform commissioned by ITV to streamline the process of preparing and approving new television productions. It was created to replace a fragmented system of spreadsheets, emails, and manual reminders with a more efficient and user-friendly workflow.
Working alongside an internal product manager, I led the research, ideation, and design of the tool. This case study explores how we uncovered key pain points in the existing process, defined role-based user needs, and delivered a solution that improved collaboration, accountability, and the quality of business case sign-offs.
Discovery
The goal of the discovery phase was to analyse the existing workflow and identify key pain points and inefficiencies that were hindering productivity. Our approach combined a range of qualitative and analytical methods including dependency mapping, existing workflow mapping, stakeholder interviews, surveys, and field studies.
Key Problem Areas Identified
Limited Findability in Project Databases
Employees struggled to locate ongoing projects within a vast database managed through Google Sheets. The lack of intuitive navigation and search functionality made it difficult to access relevant project information efficiently.
Lack of a Notification System
There was no mechanism to notify teams when work was pending. Instead, communication relied heavily on emails, which were often overlooked. This led to frequent delays and a general lack of accountability in handover points between teams.
Inaccessible Historical Data
Teams relied on historical production data to inform new projects, yet much of this information was scattered or missing. In many cases, access to past project insights was limited, which negatively impacted decision-making and planning.
"Ignite isn't just about systemisation, it's about making our process better"
Rachael Holmes - Head of LBA, ITV
Challenge
A notable challenge during discovery was gaining access to the commissioning team—one of the core user groups. Their time was highly protected, which initially restricted our ability to gather insight directly from them. By communicating the long-term value of their input to senior stakeholders, we were able to secure crucial access and include their perspectives in our findings.
Outcome
The outcome of the discovery phase was a clearly defined project scope, a detailed understanding of the existing workflow, a thorough view of other ITV systems and a prioritised list of user pain points. This foundation informed our design decisions moving forward and ensured that we addressed the needs of those most impacted by the inefficiencies in the current system.
Define
With a clearer understanding of the user pain points and business goals, we shaped the final scope of the Ignite project. The goal was to deliver an internal tool that seamlessly integrated with ITV’s existing software ecosystem, enabling reliable data transfer and improving operational efficiency across departments.
We focused on solving the three core challenges uncovered during discovery: poor project findability, lack of timely notifications, and limited access to historical production data.
To measure success, we defined two key metrics:
%Reduction in average data completion time per project – to ensure the tool helped reduce delays across teams.
%Increase of sign-off meetings conducted with fully populated data – to assess the reliability and completeness of project information by the time decisions were made.
Ideation
We facilitated remote ideation workshops using Figjam, with Butter used to guide and structure each session. Participants included employees from affected departments, developers, product managers, and designers from other internal tools to ensure cohesion across ITV's digital ecosystem.
Each workshop targeted specific problem areas: project access, data collection, and inter-team communication. We used affinity mapping and "How Might We" exercises to generate ideas that balanced user needs with technical feasibility.
By co-creating with a broad stakeholder group, we ensured that early ideas were grounded in practicality and gained internal buy-in from the outset.
Validation
Once the initial version of Ignite was developed, we moved into a focused validation phase to ensure the tool met user needs and worked effectively in real-world conditions.
We conducted moderated usability testing with a group of early adopters representing each of the core user roles: Sign-Off Initiators, Business Case Leaders, and Business Case Collaborators. Sessions were carried out remotely using clickable Figma prototypes, with participants asked to complete realistic tasks such as assigning collaborators, inputting cost breakdowns, and preparing for a sign-off meeting.
These sessions confirmed that:
The role-based flows aligned with how users naturally approached their work.
Notifications were helpful but needed clearer indication that an action was pending.
The visualisation of project data gave Sign-Off Initiators confidence when entering meetings.
The feedback informed a number of quick design iterations, including improved labelling of contributor roles, more prominent notification indicators, and more filter options throughout the workflow.
Validation helped ensure that the tool wasn’t just functional, but genuinely usable, intuitive, and valuable from day one.
Design Solution
The initial release of Ignite was intentionally lightweight from a front-end perspective, focusing on delivering key functionality with clarity and accessibility.
Collaborator Assignment
Business Case Leaders could easily assign team members to contribute to individual projects, with clear role tagging and visibility into outstanding inputs.
Real-Time Notifications
Collaborators received timely prompts—either in-app or via email—whenever their input was required. This helped reduce dependency on traditional email chains, a major source of delay in the previous workflow.
Data Visualisation & Export
Sign-Off Initiators were provided with clean, structured views of project data that could be extracted for presentation in approval meetings.
Advanced Project Filtering
Users could locate projects using a variety of filters (e.g. team, producer, production name), significantly improving access to relevant information.
Impact & Outcome
Post-launch, Ignite began to demonstrate real value to the business within its first quarter:
42% reduction in average time to populate project data across teams
89% increase in employee tooling satisfaction in initial feedback survey
9% increase to project completeness in sign-off meetings
Whilst still positive, that final metric signalled a gap in notification visibility for users who relied on email but had yet to adopt in-app alerts. As a result, a next step was prioritised: implement SMS and Slack integrations to expand cross-platform visibility of pending actions.
Beyond the metrics, stakeholders reported a greater sense of ownership over cross-team collaboration, and the commissioning process became more transparent and traceable.
"I think you came in and took the design process up another level"
Nick Wilson - ITV Delivery Manager
