RemoteTeam - “Quick Connect” Native Desktop Application
Designing to quicken communication, deepen connection, and benefit both the user and the business
Project Overview
RemoteTeam, a startup business-logistics platform for companies with remote workers, asked our team to design a desktop application that allowed for quicker and easier communication between teammates, in the name of efficiency and convenience. Our team’s design met that goal and our research provided insight into some additional benefits of making remote communication more casual and natural.
Scope
3-week design sprint (academic “client project” exercise)
Team of 3 UX/UI designers (Cheryl Yu, Steve Stremsterfer, and Benjamin Thorne in remote collaboration)
Tools
Figma, pen and paper, Photoshop, Mural, Whimsical, Google Survey, Google Suite, Zoom, Slack
My Role
I lead our team through research, UX writing, storytelling, and presentation scripting; supported in designing and prototyping designs
Key Research Methods
Competitive Analysis
Explored and noted the design features of other remote work platforms like Remotion, Sococo, and Tandem
Noted each product emphasized connection, coworker availability and task awareness, and replicating the experience of being in a shared workspace
Task Analysis
Explored and noted the steps necessary to engage with top communication applications such as Zoom, Slack, etc.
Researched the limitations and advantages of housing the application in the top bar of iOS, a specific request from RemoteTeam to minimize desktop clutter
Mapped new flows of interactions from within the new application to ensure efficiency
Explored combinations of layout elements and composition to maximize user recognition
Charted features in a MoSCoW chart
User Insight
Surveyed and conducted 1-on-1 interviews with 15 respondents, including RemoteTeam’s C-suite
Explored the meaning of personal connection, a theme mentioned by each respondent as missing or hampered by remote working conditions
Organized 3 rounds of affinity mapping to determine other themes in user responses
Takeaways
Design inspiration
Remotion’s status indications and schedule awareness
Tandem’s team awareness and work status
Sococo’s overall “workplace” awareness
The “must-haves” of RemoteTeam’s stakeholders and our users
Awareness of areas of opportunity
User pain points with remote work and technology
Where we could make interaction improvements
What users wanted to be featured in our design
How to present a lean design
How we could design beyond efficiency and into aiding connection
A more universal story for our design, based on the value of connection
The relationship between the quality of communication and connection
The impact personal connection has on professional relationships
The impact personal and professional relationships have on the quality of work
User Persona
Based on our research, we crafted a persona, Joseph, to stand in for our users. Joseph:
Finds it takes much longer to get information and do his job while working from home, as quick interactions are much harder in a remote setting
Misses the casual, “over the wall” communication that comes in an office
Often has multiple programs, applications, and windows with multiple tabs open on his desktop
Wants a way to quickly and easily communicate with his team and other top coworkers
Believes communication is key in establishing and maintaining strong personal and professional relationships
Believes stronger relationships build stronger teams, stronger teams do better work, and better work strengthens business
Lo-Fi and Testing
We began sketching after our first meeting with RemoteTeam, taking time to consider ways to incorporate and organize elements and features as we discovered them through our research. We conducted 2 design studios, utilizing feedback and ideas from 7 fellow designers to inform our general design direction and test the application’s value proposition. Low-fidelity wireframes were assembled in a shared Figma workspace in order to maintain awareness of feature presentation and spatial limitations. Mid-fidelity screens were created to walk the user through the features of the application by mimicking the experience of a set-up process. We conducted 5 user tests of the downloading and onboarding process, the feature walkthrough, and using the shortcut feature to open a Zoom session with a coworker. Fidelity was increased by incorporating RemoteTeam’s brand colors and by enhancing avatars and graphics.
Key Design Features
Unobtrusive Interface
Mindful of desktop real estate
Features a moveable, expandable desktop dock, as well as an active state in the limited real estate of the top bar in iOS (client request)
Customizable, One-Stop-Shop
Features all of the user’s preferred communication applications
Contains necessary, vital information in a clean, consistent location
Allows for top contacts and integrated applications to be reconfigured at will
Features a customizable shortcut action (or “Quick Connect”) that can be paired to the application of the user’s choice to further improve efficiency
Emphasis on Efficient Communication
Teammate avatars expand and become dropdowns containing communication options, logistical information, and a snapshot of the day’s calendar
Status indicators on teammate avatars offer availability awareness at a glance
Access a teammate’s dropdown to
send quick, direct text (Slack) messages, send an email, and set up a calendar event
A reduction in actions for engage top communication applications
Zoom clicks reduced from 16 to 3 (or 2 using the “Quick Connect” shortcut)
Slack clicks reduced from 5 to 3 (or 2 using the “Quick Connect” shortcut)
Detail of the settings panel dropdown highlighting the “Quick Connect” shortcut customization feature.
Detail of the settings panel dropdown highlighting application integration visualization.
Detail of desktop notification appearances.
What I Learned
The real fun is in the research: Presented with a relatively straight-ahead design request, we discovered the larger, engaging theme of the importance of connection that our respondents expressed in their interviews.
Solving for a specific need can yield universal benefits: In designing for quicker, more casual interactions, we addressed the greater need for a more immediate and personal connection between coworkers.
Don’t get caught up in the little things: We spent the better part of two days and nights working out an iteration of our iOS top bar presentation, then the focus of our design, only to present it to our unimpressed client. We were encouraged to move on from that aspect of the application. What was initially a shock and disappointment to hear ended up refocusing the design and allowed us to better incorporate elements of our research.
Next Steps
Refine design by cleaning up interface and increasing fidelity
Overcome missing or limiting information indicators in a remote setting (lack of body language, technological comfort and/or capacity)
Explore possibilities of smaller side conversations within larger meetings
Strengthen product branding based around the “Quick Connect” shortcut