Research:
Because this project has a distinct Social Media aspect to it, the first step was to learn more about the companies social media space. We did a competitive analysis of enterprise social network websites and apps, along with what the company had in the current load-set. After understanding our space, I turned my attention to the target users of the application. The initial launch will be for IT folks, while going to all functions soon after. I wanted to better understand how employees use social media platforms for work. For user research, I conducted non-formal interviews with participatory design exercises. The participants were internal employees from various countries including the United States, India, Japan and the UK.
Results from research:
We found that different cultures utilize social media differently, if at all, for working with their coworkers. For instance, [at the time of the interviews] the participants we spoke with from Japan felt there wasn’t room for corporate social media in the workplace. We also found that people are more likely to consume information rather than participate. However, we all have, and want the big questions answered, “That's so cool, who worked on that?”, “I want that, who was the lead?” or “Awesome!! How can I find out more?” So we set out to answer those questions for everyone.
Information Architecture (IA):
Working with the PM, we began with the information architecture to help us better understand how users would need to interact. Although this is a flat representation of what would inevitably be a graphically designed finished product, it gave us an idea for filters and navigating the screens.
Usability Testing:
Due to the project timeline, we ran usability testing in parallel to the implementation of the app. We wanted to do concept validation and discover issues. We ran sessions on employees from various countries using interactive prototypes and then updated designs based on the feedback we received during usability testing and design reviews.
The Snag:
Where do we find this phantom data that connects people to one another? One idea was to use the HR database. It had promise but after some testing we found that the HR database in the U.S. didn’t speak directly with the databases anywhere outside North America. There was too much of a disconnect and the load would be tremendous and slow if we tried to connect them during a user session. We also found that certain countries were still suffering from slow bandwidth. We eventually designed a simple form for communication leaders to input a few items to make the connections. Then through corporate database APIs and web-services we pulled down user details such as, employee profile photo, work address, phone, Skype direct connect, vCard, etc. It turned out to be an elegant solution that resulted it very fast client-side experience, regardless of global location.
Conclusion:
The end result was an intuitive, fun and informative web app that graphically connected people with their geographic location, relationship(s) with other’s on a particular projects, along with contact information.
A month after release we joined multiple sub-function team calls to address the app and the service it provides. The feedback on the look and feel was mostly positive. We used these opportunities to address user concerns in future releases. The main takeaway from these meetings was the overwhelming desire to want more. Employees now have a new channel at their disposal to help them get in contact with the proper person for an upcoming job/project, with an exciting view to see who else could be helpful. And finally, they quickly realize that, even though we may be countries/timelines apart, we’re never separated more than 6 degrees.
