MeetSpace: Design an all-in-one management application tailored for a hybrid working style
🌟Outcomes
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Designing a comprehensive solution from 0 to 1
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Created features that improve collaboration, productivity, and efficiency in hybrid work mode
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Improved prototypes through design iterations
📝 Overview
In creating the MeetSpace app, our group dove into the world of hybrid work, aiming to bridge the gap between remote flexibility and office dynamics. Our journey was shaped by the real needs and challenges faced by today's workforce, guiding us to design an app that not only addresses workspace management but also fosters team connectivity.
Role
User Research
Wireframing
Prototyping
Product Management
Team
Violet Xu
Xi Zhang
Manuel Garcia
Jialun Sun
Tools
Figma
Miro
Word
📝 Problem discovery
Hybrid work is the new norm
Hybrid work has emerged as the new standard in the wake of the pandemic, offering a blend of remote work flexibility and the advantages of a traditional office setting. This shift has inspired our team to delve into the realm of work management tools, specifically designed to cater to the unique requirements of hybrid teams.
Secondary research
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Systematic breakdown of secondary research
Step 1: Narrowing down the scope
Given limited time constraints to design a solution from scratch, we defined our primary objective as gaining a deep understanding of emerging trends among tools used frequently for hybrid teams to inform the development of a comprehensive and flexible application tailored for the hybrid work model.
Our group searched for academic research, industry reports, and journalist commentary. It was crucial for understanding the evolving hybrid work environment, identifying innovative features, and pinpointing user needs.
Step 3: Analyze the findings
Key learnings
The pandemic accelerated the shift to remote work
The pandemic triggered a rapid shift to remote work in March 2020, significantly altering existing work routines.
A shift from remote to hybrid work models is occurring
After more than two years, there's a trend of people moving back to the office, with work practices evolving from solely remote to a hybrid model.
Hybrid work combines remote flexibility with office sociability
Hybrid work models blend the flexibility of remote work with the structure and social aspects of an in-office environment
Step 4: User pain points & needs (Interview)
The research method we used for this project is user interviews. It helped us get in-depth knowledge of what the user needs and the challenges users face as they try to adapt to the hybrid working style. Also, it allowed us to find out the trending tools used in hybrid teams.
Identified painpoints
For employers:
For employees
Lack of in-office attendance
Employers struggle to keep a regular in-office presence, missing out on spontaneous collaboration
Inefficient teamwork
Hybrid work can sometimes lead to inefficiencies in teamwork due to a lack of synchronization in work
hours and communication gaps.
Struggle to distribute office space
Employers face challenges in optimizing office space usage with fluctuating attendance.
Lack of professional appliances
Employees working from home may find it difficult to replicate the high-quality equipment and tools available in an office.
Difficult to communicate:
Without the ease of in-person interactions, employees face challenges in maintaining clear communication with colleagues.
Can't reserve office space on busy days
On days when in-office attendance spikes, employees struggle to secure a workspace due to high demand and limited availability.
Identified needs
Need for effective workspace management
In hybrid work, employers face challenges with uneven office attendance, leading to underutilized workspaces on less popular days.
Need for a flexible meeting-scheduling system
The pandemic caused a surge in meetings, which led to a virtual work shift but also brought communication inefficiencies and scheduling challenges due to differing availabilities.
Need for workspace accommodations
Post-COVID, employees emphasized the need for tailored accommodations and equipment to boost productivity. Interviews revealed that comfort and well-equipped workspaces are key to encouraging office attendance.
Competitor analysis
Feature Identification and Innovation
Through the examination of current technologies and solutions, alongside insights gained from our interviews, we pinpointed key features observed in competitor offerings and sparked innovative concepts that differentiate our solution.
Office management solutions frequently used during hybrid working
Key Takeaway
The main features of the application
Such applications might contain features including desk booking, calendar management, and meeting time generator
Generating meeting time with ease
Users are looking for a faster way to find a meeting time that fits with every stakeholder's availability and doesn't require much manual effort
Customized office space booking
Existing solutions enable remote office bookings via user devices, yet there's room for enhancement, as they lack details on equipment and specific features.
Step 2: Locating related sources
The key takeaways from the sources are summarized below:
❓ Problem statement
How might we support a hybrid team to work seamlessly together?
🔁 Iteration
Wireframe testing
Peer review
After creating the wireframes, we organized a testing session in class and got some feedback from 10 participants. As a result, some problems were identified
Problems
Workspace booking
The complicated process for booking office space
The process for booking a meeting room can be more streamlined. Filters are not displayed on the same page, increasing user memory load.
Team Calendar
Unnecessary calendar implementation
Users were confused when they were asked to choose the range on calendar when trying to check teammates' availability
Lack of visual cues in the calendar
The calendar tab could be more clear with its functions. The lack of labels and navigation made it difficult for users to check availabilities to schedule 1-on-1 meetings.
Other
Missing the feature to book remote meetings
Participants noted that while having separate sections for booking various types of office spaces—like desks and meeting rooms—is beneficial, the lack of remote meeting booking options inconveniences hybrid teams.
Incoporate Feedback
Streamlined workspace booking
Consolidating filters on one page eliminates the need for users to remember inputs, and hiding excessive filter parameters by default minimizes on-screen information, allowing users to focus attention on specific tasks.
Making the booking process simpler
Straightforward team calendar UI
Streamlined workspace booking: Consolidating filters on one page eliminates the need for users to remember inputs, and hiding excessive filter parameters by default minimizes on-screen information, allowing users to focus attention on specific tasks.
Removing confusing visual indicators from team calendar
Implementation of virual meeting booking
We created a specific tab for users to easily schedule remote meetings with their colleagues.
Adding a place to plan for virtual meetings
🎯 Final Deliverable
Outcome
Higher approval rate
Following updates to our high-fidelity prototypes, we showcased the revisions to the same volunteers who evaluated our low-fidelity versions. Each reported enhanced usability in the high-fidelity prototypes.
High-fi prototypes
Desk booking
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Meeting room booking
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Meetspace's design style guide
Team Calendar
Team Calendar
🏅 Reflection
Easy user flow is the key to user-centric design
Reflecting on streamlining Meetspace's descriptions, I learned a lot about clear communication and smart design. Keeping things brief and straightforward is key to sharing complex ideas effectively. Focusing on what users need and want really makes a difference in creating solutions that people find useful and engaging.
Future insights
With more time, I'd enhance the app by adding a feature for reserving workspaces in advance, moving beyond the current option of viewing real-time desk availability. Additionally, while the prototype lets users view team schedules, it lacks a direct way to set up one-on-one meetings. A future update could include this, providing options for either in-office collaboration or online meeting links.
🧠 Ideation
Main features
Desk & space booking
This feature allows for remote booking of desks and meeting rooms, ensuring availability upon arrival. Meetspace also offers customizable filters for selecting room features and equipment tailored to specific job needs.
AI Team Meeting Scheduler
Meetspace features a predictive scheduling system that syncs with team members' calendars, automatically finding a meeting time that suits everyone, simplifying the coordination process.
Virtual meeting booking
In addition to facilitating physical office meeting reservations, Meetspace also provides a feature for scheduling and organizing remote meetings.
Team Calendar
Meetspace enhances team communication in hybrid settings by allowing employees to view coworker schedules on the team calendar. This supports easy planning of one-on-one meetings or collaborative on-site workdays, fostering better communication and productivity.
Wireframes
Wireframes of the main features