Quick Access Menu, Sky Glass

01 · Outcome

Shipped with Sky Glass, and scaled further

Quick Access Menu launched with Sky Glass in October 2021, driving ~1.9M monthly converted journeys with a 65% conversion rate. Users completed their intended actions in an average of 32.41 seconds, validating the core design principle of effortless access.

~1.9M

Monthly converted journeys through Quick Access Menu

65%

Conversion rate when QAM is invoked, users complete their intended action

32.41 sec

Average time in QAM before converting, speed and clarity by design

02 · Challenge

A lift-and-shift that became a strategic redesign

Originally briefed as a lift-and-shift of Sky Q's settings experience onto Sky Glass, what began as a migration quickly became a strategic redesign. The existing approach couldn't serve Glass's unique capabilities, or its customers' needs.

The opportunity: provide a globally accessible menu of tools and settings for customers to get the best out of their Sky Glass experience, without disrupting the content they came to watch.

What we inherited

Sky Q's settings were buried in deep hierarchies, designed for a remote-heavy interaction model. Sky Glass needed something faster, more contextual, and built for a new audience.

The opportunity space

Competitor analysis showed Samsung, Sony, and LG offered no comparable quick-access layer. Sky Glass had a genuine chance to set a new standard for TV navigation.

The toughest sell

The biggest unlock was convincing the Group Design Director and Group Product Director to dedicate a remote-control button to Quick Settings. Without a physical entry point, the feature would remain buried in menus. Securing that button meant QAM could deliver on its promise of one-press access from any state.

03 · How I approached it

A modular card system designed for scale

Research with Sky Glass users revealed a paradox: most people rarely change settings, but when they need to, they can't find them. That shaped the core design challenge: discoverability over habit.

Rather than designing for specific settings, I defined five core navigational paradigms that became four reusable card components: Toggle, List, Slider, and Link. Every new setting maps to one of these, preserving clarity and consistency as the system grows.

Effortless access

One button press from any state. No hunting, no hierarchy navigation, the most needed actions surfaced instantly.

Non-disruptive interaction

QAM overlays content without replacing it. Users stay in context, whether browsing, watching live TV, or mid-playback.

Consistency across devices

Designed to work across Sky Glass and the XiOne puck, a unified experience regardless of hardware variant.

Future-proofing

The card-based architecture was built to accommodate new features, proven when it extended to Watch Together PiP and Sky Protect Video Doorbell integration.

04 · Validation & Business Pivot

Shipping without the planned research window

The original validation plan covered four areas: the new remote-control button, ease of use and comprehension of QAM, universal actions across video, apps, and HDMI, and pain points in the card navigation model.

A late-stage de-scoping decision at director level paused the testing phase. When the business later recognised QAM's strategic importance, particularly after the accessibility button was removed from the remote, delivery was accelerated ahead of the planned research window.

How we maintained quality

I documented a full research plan for future validation and relied on prior Sky Q behavioural insights and competitor benchmarks. Internal heuristic reviews, cross-team walkthroughs, and stress-testing the interaction model across multiple contexts filled the gap.

What this taught me

Constraints change where you apply rigour, not whether you apply it. When the research window closed, the answer was to draw on every other signal available and document what still needed testing.

Outcome · Extended Impact

A foundation that scaled beyond QAM

Sky Live Watch Together

QAM's PiP and overlay patterns became the foundation for Watch Together's co-viewing interface.

Sky Protect Video Doorbell

The card-based architecture extended to integrate doorbell notifications into Sky Glass.