INTEL UNIFIED MESSAGING

MY ROLE

UX / UI Designer

PROJECT

End-to-end design of a
custom messaging app
This project is focused on simplifying chat messaging communications and increasing productivity. From our initial research, we found that people find it difficult to keep track of messages. The average American has 47 unread chat messages and uses 5 different chat apps. Using our findings, moved on to concept testing to dive deep into participants' feelings about their messaging apps. 
OUR GOAL is to simplify communication 
Let's start with market research and interviews
PROBLEM
RESEARCH
INTERVIEWs
SURVEYs
TESTING
A large majority of participants were interested in simplifying communication. Many felt overwhelmed with the number of chat apps they used.  A clear majority wanted to be able to search across all messaging apps. There was a common frustration in having to search individual apps to find a specific file or message. We did a comprehensive competitive analysis of messaging apps as well as other unified apps. This helped to see areas that could be improved to help users in their daily life.
THE TAKEAWAYS
01  Strong interest in consolidating messaging apps
02  Concerned about being overwhelmed with notifications
03  Searching across all apps interested every participant
04  Personal and work messaging separation was important
One thread messaging had mixed reviews
While the majority of users liked the overall concept, there were repeated concerns that it would be overwhelming. Some expressed concern that they would miss important messages. Others felt that this would save them time and easily scan through all chats.
All communication channels in one place
FEEDBACK
"I was looking for my friend's address and couldn't remember if she sent it to my iPhone, on WhatsApp or Messenger"
After listening to feedback, we felt that One Thread messaging had value, but needed to be simplified. This layout is an "All Messages" thread that allows users to select a person, then have the ability to see all messaging apps where they are connected. Users can easily toggle back and forth between chat apps.
Unread messages anywhere, anytime
In order to improve productivity, we needed to seamlessly integrate 3rd party messaging apps into one place. Users can go directly to each individual app to view messages. After connecting apps, users receive notifications.
Have full control over notifications
Control Notifications
Set specific times to turn off notifications for individual apps. Have all notifications disabled if screen-sharing.
Custom Auto-Replies
Auto-send customized replies for each app or use AI-based prompts for a one-click quick reply.
Call + Video + Chat
Easily see who is contacting you and what app they are using. Control notifications for calls, video and chat separately,
My initial iteration had notification settings for our Unified Messaging app - users could silence all notifications at once, but not individually. Users strongly wanted full control over every aspect of their communication platforms.
Rethinking the contacts page
Users were excited to have all contacts for all of their messaging apps in one place. This design shows icons for each shared messaging app. After clicking a messaging app icon, you can select a call-to-action button. Feedback showed us our idea was on the right track, but we needed to minimize the design.  "All contacts for all apps in one place is amazing!" "This page is really busy" “I’m not sure where I need to click on this page."
THE QUOTES
"All contacts for all apps in one place is amazing!"
"This page is really busy"
"I'm not sure where to click on this page"
All of your contacts in one place!
While we tested displaying more extensive information on contact cards, such as share media, we realized users preferred a more basic and simple version. Our final iteration is Option A. Users liked having the option of seeing all options upfront, with one-click calling or messaging.
The final contacts flow
The final flow for the consolidated contacts page is simple and clean. 

Goal 01

Merged contacts

Show all connected apps for each of your contacts. Users can then easily make audio or video calls, or send a message over any shared apps.

Goal 02

One-click

Users can make audio and video calls as well as send a message with one click.
The biggest challenge: Search across apps
The global search was the most difficult path. The first iteration always sent users to the advanced search page.  Forcing users to navigate away from the messages page received negative feedback. Our final design combined quick search results as well as an option for more advanced searching. It was a simple solution that had a big impact during testing.
What's the most efficient way to connect apps?
Connecting Android and iPhones to Unified Messaging was very difficult. Users initially found it hard to connect devices, with too many steps. Working closely with the engineering team and taking into account user concerns and feedback, we were able to lessen the setup steps, while keeping privacy and security as a top priority.
What's next for this project?

Personal

Work

Separating work and personal messages was highly requested. Users were concerned about accidentally sending a message to a colleague to the wrong messaging app. We are exploring ways to create sub-accounts for both work and personal.
83%
Simplified Messaging
75%
Improved Workflow
91%
Improved Organization
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