Coffee chats

the new social feature in Microsoft Teams
Working remotely, I have noticed that numerous peers regularly skip out on the monthly team-building meetings, demonstrating their lack of enjoyment. This issue I chose to address, during my coursework at CMU.
I followed the traditional design thinking approach from research to design to understand the problem and then solved it by creating iterative designs and regular feedback.
COMPANY
Microsoft Teams
(Concept)
Timeline
2 months
WHAT I DID
Research
Medium Fidelity Prototype
Prototyping
UI Designs
Tools
Figma
VoiceFlow
PLATFORM
iPad
in brief

a feature for self expression to connect with team members promoting team building

Remote work have reduced interactions, straining team dynamics. A customized profile can help share things that matters to people & reduce feelings of alienation and provide topics for employees to talk about, especially with other team members.
Learning about others leads to understanding and celebrating diversity which helps to identify common areas to communicate, improving team cohesion.
CORE EXPERIENCE

Express interests by customizing your profile

A platform for employees to share their interests, which promotes a more inclusive and welcoming environment within the team.
The user profile new feature in Microsoft teams
CORE EXPERIENCE

Connect instantly for coffee chats

Select coffee chat status to connect for instant meetings to brainstorm, network, discuss ideas over short video chats.
The instant coffee chat dialogue box with search results
CORE EXPERIENCE

Leave praises directly on user profiles

This feature links user profiles in teams to microsoft praises app
The praise dialogue box, and its integration with user profile
CONTEXT

“I am more than my title and my pronouns. Although I'm a sales person,  I am creative at heart "

Most teams are cross cultural with people with varying motivations, backgrounds & working styles making employees experience miscommunication and misunderstandings
“I want to network with more people in my organization, but I get very busy to network”
Problem statement

How can we reimagine physical interactions in the digital world when people are busier than ever?

How can we reimagine physical interactions in the digital world when people are busier than ever?

Streamline communication, offering time-boxed virtual networking events and asynchronous collaboration. By organizing instant virtual team-building activities employees do not commit to informal events and can seek feedback for iterative improvements, fostering a more inclusive and efficient platform for personalized connections.

Social Connection & Engagement:

Regular interactions, even informal ones like coffee chats, contribute to building a positive team culture, reducing feelings of isolation, and boosting overall team morale

Psychological
Safety:

When team members feel comfortable discussing both work-related and personal topics, it enhances trust and collaboration, leading to more effective teamwork and problem-solving

People postpone informal meetings:

The lack of a predefined structure and perceived lower stakes lead individuals to postpone these gatherings as they do not feel the same level of obligation to prioritize them over other tasks
KEY INSIGHTS

People make the mistake of focusing more on the content of their argument and not enough on how they deliver the message

People make the mistake of focusing more on the content of their argument and not enough on how they deliver the message

Streamline communication, offering time-boxed virtual networking events and asynchronous collaboration. By organizing instant virtual team-building activities employees do not commit to informal events and can seek feedback for iterative improvements, fostering a more inclusive and efficient platform for personalized connections.

This boils down to

People justify the choices they made based on logic, however the delivery of the message and tailoring it based on the background of the recipients is crucial in success of discussion

Research Activities & Outputs

6 Interviews of remote workers over zoom, survey, unobstructed internet research affinity mapping in FigJam
tools approach

I decided to work directly on the high fidelity prototype because of simpler functionality of the project utilizing the existing design system of Microsoft Teams

I decided to work directly on the high fidelity prototype because of simpler functionality of the project utilizing the existing design system of Microsoft Teams

After designing the user flows for this small feature, I decided to jump directly into the high fidelity for the project as it seemed better approach for this project due to lesser complexity.
Design solution

Finding time for informal meetings

Finding time for informal meetings

It is easier for office workers to connect with people when they have extra time, than to schedule informal meetings

What happens if no one is available?

Continue to stay in the coffee chat preference, and connect with office workers when someone changes their status as well
Coffee chat feature activation
Setting up User Profile
Design solution

Empathy builds relationships

Empathy builds relationships

Genuine relationships are built through taking effort to find about the person, their interests and their personal story
Genuine relationships are built through taking effort to find about the person, their interests and their personal story.

What happens if no one shares information?

It can be effortful to customize your profile for some people, hence customizing profile should be effortless and can part of new employee onboarding

It can be effortful to customize your profile for some people, hence customizing profile should be effortless and can part of new employee onboarding.

Design solution

Use Copilot to spark creativity

Use AI, to edit pictures, texts and update your profile
What is it important?
Microsoft is significantly integrating AI features to its apps, and employees who use this feature can benefit from it to create a unique inclusive profile effortlessly

Microsoft is significantly integrating AI features to its apps, and employees who use this feature can benefit from it to create a unique inclusive profile effortlessly.

Generative AI Customization
CONCLUSION

What would I do differently?

What would I do differently?

Upon more given time, I would spend more time on user testing by creating detailed user personas representing various cultural backgrounds, communication styles, and user goals. These personas would help me test my hypothesis and ensure the customization options cater to a wide range of user experiences

Conduct user research sessions for accessibility needs

Conduct user research sessions for accessibility needs.

People justify the choices they made based on logic, however the delivery of the message and tailoring it based on the background of the recipients is crucial in success of discussion

People justify the choices they made based on logic, however the delivery of the message and tailoring it based on the background of the recipients is crucial in success of discussion.

Consider integrating the feature with other processes like employee onboarding

Consider integrating the feature with other processes like employee onboarding.

New employees can benefit from such a feature as future expansions of the feature could include mentorship matching, cross-departmental networking, and integration with on-boarding resources. By actively seeking user feedback and incorporating iterative improvements, the feature can continually evolve to meet the needs of new employees, ensuring a smoother and more engaging on-boarding journey within Microsoft Teams
New employees can benefit from such a feature as future expansions of the feature could include mentorship matching, cross-departmental networking, and integration with on-boarding resources. By actively seeking user feedback and incorporating iterative improvements, the feature can continually evolve to meet the needs of new employees, ensuring a smoother and more engaging on-boarding journey within Microsoft Teams.
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