Business communication desktop app — UX Strategy Part 1.

A strategic roadmap aimed at comprehending the project’s objectives and formulating effective solutions for a unified communication desktop application.

UX Strategy = Business Strategy + Validated User Research + Frictionless UX

The key stakeholders involved in the process were the UX Team and the Product Team, led by facilitator Iwona Gonciarz. The activity format consisted of two workshop sessions, with each sessio had 6 section with allocated 5 minutes, enabling all participants to complete all sections within a one-hour workshop. The framework employed was COLLECT > CHOOSE > CREATE > COMMIT.

The UX Strategy was divided into two distinct phases: pre-UX research and post-UX research. The MSCW method was utilized for prioritization purposes.

UX Strategy before UX research

Challenges

What problems are we trying to solve?

The primary objectives of the project are as follows:

1. Replacing the hard phone devices to enable seamless communication among users and customers.
2. Providing a software-based communication solution for all users within the Comcast/Blueface ecosystem.
3. Creating a unified communication platform in the form of a single application.
4. Enabling various communication features such as messaging, calls, video conferencing, SMS, and more for efficient real-time interactions.
5. Ensuring accessibility and ease of use for all users.
6. Facilitating faster and more efficient connections with customers.

Outcomes & Aspirations

What are the ideal desired outcomes?
What do we want to achieve?

MUST HAVE

1. The UX design should be custom-tailored to meet the needs of the user. User research is integral throughout the design process to ensure a superior user experience.
2. The focus is on enabling users to complete tasks comfortably and effortlessly, prioritizing a frictionless UX. Thoughtful error handling designs should be implemented to mitigate user frustration during technical glitches.
3. A clear understanding of the product’s information architecture is crucial. The aim is to help users comprehend the content and effortlessly locate the information they seek, ensuring easy navigation.
4. User needs should be effectively communicated to both the technical and product teams, fostering collaboration and alignment.
5. Ensuring the product is accessible to all users, irrespective of their abilities, is a priority.
6. Maintaining clear and consistent communication within the UX team and fostering effective collaboration with cross-functional teams.
7. Utilizing Figma for comprehensive documentation, enabling efficient design collaboration and version control.

SHOULD HAVE

It is recommended to establish a design system comprising a style guide, component library, and pattern library. Depending on the available budget and specific requirements, there are three potential approaches to consider: adopting an existing design system as-is, adapting an existing system to align with the company’s needs, or developing a brand-new design system tailored to the organization’s unique requirements.

COULD HAVE

1. Consider implementing micro interactions and animations within the user interface to enhance the overall user experience to engage visual cues can provide users with a more dynamic and interactive interface.
2. Efficient onboarding — to help the user with quickly experience to grasp the benefits of the product and maximize their initial engagement.

Focus Area

What is the scope of the strategy?
What will we focus on for the most impact?

MUST HAVE

1. Conduct comprehensive user research using triangulation techniques to gain valuable insights into our target market and users. Incorporate user feedback through usability testing to inform decision-making.
2. Prioritize user needs above technical challenges, ensuring that the development team is aligned with delivering a product that best serves the users. Place a strong emphasis on user feedback and incorporate it throughout the design process.
3. Develop a clear UX roadmap with well-defined deadlines and milestones, outlining the steps required to deliver the final product. Prioritize and make informed decisions to ensure efficient progress.
4. Emphasize quality over extensive functionality, ensuring that the delivered product meets high standards of usability, performance, and reliability.

SHOULD HAVE

1. Conduct a thorough analysis of the competition to gain insights into industry trends, identify gaps, and leverage best practices.
2. Develop detailed journey maps to understand the user experience across various touchpoints, identifying pain points and opportunities for improvement.
3. Create user personas based on research findings to help align design decisions with user needs and goals.
4. Define clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the progress and success of the UX efforts.
5. Establish a well-defined UX process that outlines the specific steps, methodologies, and deliverables to be followed throughout the product development lifecycle.
6. Utilize UI libraries and design systems to ensure consistency, efficiency, and scalability in the design process.

COULD HAVE

Simplicity with Intelligence — Strive to create a user experience that is simple yet intelligent, balancing ease of use with innovative and smart design solutions.

Strategic Approach

How will we overcome the challenges and problems (part1)?

MUST HAVE

1. Clearly identify the needs of the market and define the target audience to ensure alignment with their requirements.
2. Develop a comprehensive problem statement to frame the problem at hand, communicate the scope of discovery, and guide the focus of the project.
3. Clearly define user needs and goals through user need statements, facilitating a shared understanding of the problem to be solved.
4. Create a well-defined project plan, outlining responsibilities, timelines, and methodologies to ensure effective execution.
5. Conduct thorough research on competitors and similar solutions to gain insights and inform the design process.
6. Foster constant communication and feedback sessions with developers and the product team. Encourage collaboration and review within the UX Team. Engage stakeholders and create accessible user-testing deliverables.
7. Utilize prioritization methods to identify and focus on the most important tasks.

SHOULD HAVE

1. Explore products from other domains to gather additional ideas and insights. Analyze competitors’ solutions for inspiration.
2. Develop a clear understanding of the jobs users are trying to accomplish and align design decisions accordingly.
3. Streamline design tasks where necessary to enhance efficiency and user experience.
4. Conduct workshops, if needed, to facilitate collaboration and generate innovative ideas.

COULD HAVE

1. Organize workshops to educate and guide the team on creating micro-interaction animations.
2. Create visual inspiration boards to identify and implement interactive elements.
3. Choose appropriate tools for each task within the UX design process to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.

Activities

What type of activities can help solve the problem?
How can we achieve our aspirations?

MUST HAVE

1. Follow the established UX process, ensuring all necessary steps are undertaken for a comprehensive design approach.
2. Conduct user interviews prior to the ideation stage. Perform initial research to validate product scenarios and gather feedback from both internal and external users.
3. Facilitate workshops with the Product Team and conduct collaborative sessions for research purposes. Regularly present progress updates to stakeholders.
4. Utilize card sorting and tree sorting techniques to effectively organize the information architecture of the app.
5. Perform task analysis to study how users navigate and complete tasks within the app.

SHOULD HAVE

1. Arrange workshops with stakeholders to enhance collaboration and gather valuable input.
2. Employ Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) methodology to gain deeper insights into user motivations and goals.
3. Create low-fidelity prototypes and conduct testing before initiating the development phase to ensure optimal design solutions.
4. Implement the double diamond UX methodology to guide the design process and ensure thorough exploration and refinement.
5. Develop scenarios and use cases to better understand user interactions and refine design decisions.

COULD HAVE

Establish a mood board or inspiration section in Figma to explore and incorporate micro-interactions within the app, enhancing the overall user experience.

Measurements

What type of measurements will we employ?
What metrics will be used to measure our success?

MUST HAVE

1. Utilize the System Usability Scale (SUS) to measure the overall usability of the app.
2. Ensure that all predefined scenarios can be completed successfully within the app.
3. Measure the time taken by users to accomplish tasks as an indicator of task efficiency and effectiveness.
4. Conduct post-scenario questionnaires as part of usability testing to gauge user satisfaction and gather feedback.
5. Monitor and analyze the frequency of user errors encountered during task completion.
6. Employ affinity mapping techniques to summarize and organize the results obtained from usability testing.

SHOULD HAVE

Analytics Tools: Consult the Product Team to determine the appropriate analytics tools to be used for gathering valuable insights.

COULD HAVE

Support Seeking Frequency: Measure how frequently users seek support or assistance while using the app, providing insights into areas that may require improvement or clarification.

Continue reading … Business communication desktop app — UX Strategy Part 2. Solution Ideas

Business communication desktop app — UX Strategy Part 2.