PROJECTS
Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Slack Huddles with Scheduling & Notifications
Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Slack Huddles with Scheduling & Notifications
WORKFLOW
Quantitative Research
Research Synthesis
Design
Usability Testing
Role
UX/UI Designer
UI Designer
Timeline
2024
4 Months
industry
Mobile Design
Communication &
Messaging
B2B
METRICS
business
Huddle Initiation Rate
Average Huddle Duration
User Engagement with Huddle Features
Repeat Huddle Usage
METRICS
business
Huddle Initiation Rate
Average Huddle Duration
User Engagement with Huddle Features
Repeat Huddle Usage
METRICS
business
Huddle Initiation Rate
Average Huddle Duration
User Engagement with Huddle Features
Repeat Huddle Usage
BUSINESS GOAL
Slack is a tool for communicating fast and simple between team members. Currently, anyone can start a Huddle and hope their teammates join, but there’s no simple way to schedule Meetings and often times a person would not join the Huddle because they would miss or did not see the notification. Although Slack allows integration with Google Calendar or Outlook for Teams Meetings, the calls always take place on a third-party platform. This often results in users continuing to rely on competitors' services.
BUSINESS GOAL
Slack is a tool for communicating fast and simple between team members. Currently, anyone can start a Huddle and hope their teammates join, but there’s no simple way to schedule Meetings and often times a person would not join the Huddle because they would miss or did not see the notification. Although Slack allows integration with Google Calendar or Outlook for Teams Meetings, the calls always take place on a third-party platform. This often results in users continuing to rely on competitors' services.
BUSINESS GOAL
Slack is a tool for communicating fast and simple between team members. Currently, anyone can start a Huddle and hope their teammates join, but there’s no simple way to schedule Meetings and often times a person would not join the Huddle because they would miss or did not see the notification. Although Slack allows integration with Google Calendar or Outlook for Teams Meetings, the calls always take place on a third-party platform. This often results in users continuing to rely on competitors' services.
Discovery | Define
FINDING THE STARTING LINE
In the first phase of this project, we conducted a qualitative survey with 25 participants to understand how users currently experience with Slack, the main pain points when using the tool and how they solve the current problem of syncing with their colleagues and how the competitors solve the problem.
As a result of this survey, we could define that:
31.6% of the team members reported missing Huddles due to unnoticed notifications
40% of the interviewees mention that they wish to be able to sync Slack Huddles with their other calendar
Slack is primarily used for 1-on-1 quick syncs (78.3%), problem-solving/support (69.6%), and informal conversations (60.9%).
Although the survey provided valuable insights, we later realized that including more demographic questions—such as age, occupation, and role background—would have helped us define our user persona more accurately.
Discovery | Define
FINDING THE STARTING LINE
In the first phase of this project, we conducted a qualitative survey with 25 participants to understand how users currently experience with Slack, the main pain points when using the tool and how they solve the current problem of syncing with their colleagues and how the competitors solve the problem.
As a result of this survey, we could define that:
31.6% of the team members reported missing Huddles due to unnoticed notifications
40% of the interviewees mention that they wish to be able to sync Slack Huddles with their other calendar
Slack is primarily used for 1-on-1 quick syncs (78.3%), problem-solving/support (69.6%), and informal conversations (60.9%).
Although the survey provided valuable insights, we later realized that including more demographic questions—such as age, occupation, and role background—would have helped us define our user persona more accurately.
Discovery | Define
FINDING THE STARTING LINE
In the first phase of this project, we conducted a qualitative survey with 25 participants to understand how users currently experience with Slack, the main pain points when using the tool and how they solve the current problem of syncing with their colleagues and how the competitors solve the problem.
As a result of this survey, we could define that:
31.6% of the team members reported missing Huddles due to unnoticed notifications
40% of the interviewees mention that they wish to be able to sync Slack Huddles with their other calendar
Slack is primarily used for 1-on-1 quick syncs (78.3%), problem-solving/support (69.6%), and informal conversations (60.9%).
Although the survey provided valuable insights, we later realized that including more demographic questions—such as age, occupation, and role background—would have helped us define our user persona more accurately.
Synthesizing | Affinity Map
STANDING IN THE USER'S SHOES
To analyze the results and identify trends, we used Dovetail. After creating a tagging taxonomy and highlighting key insights, we built our affinity map, clustering the insights into themes such as needs, pain points, goals, and experiences.
This was one of the most challenging parts of the project for me, as I tended to overthink category definitions and naming. Collaboration helped us complete this phase successfully and taught me how to structure categories more effectively in the future.
Synthesizing | Affinity Map
STANDING IN THE USER'S SHOES
To analyze the results and identify trends, we used Dovetail. After creating a tagging taxonomy and highlighting key insights, we built our affinity map, clustering the insights into themes such as needs, pain points, goals, and experiences.
This was one of the most challenging parts of the project for me, as I tended to overthink category definitions and naming. Collaboration helped us complete this phase successfully and taught me how to structure categories more effectively in the future.
Synthesizing | Affinity Map
STANDING IN THE USER'S SHOES
To analyze the results and identify trends, we used Dovetail. After creating a tagging taxonomy and highlighting key insights, we built our affinity map, clustering the insights into themes such as needs, pain points, goals, and experiences.
This was one of the most challenging parts of the project for me, as I tended to overthink category definitions and naming. Collaboration helped us complete this phase successfully and taught me how to structure categories more effectively in the future.
Usability Audit | Benchmarking | IA
EXPLORING THE MARKET AND THE OPPORTUNITIES
Based on our research insights, we mapped the existing information architecture and audited the competitors identified in the survey, like Microsoft Teams and Google Calendar. For the last part of the process, we used the SWCDUO (Strengths, Weaknesses, Challenges, Design Opportunities) method and the usability heuristics.
Doing this exercise helped us to detect the current trends and evaluate the competitors' user interfaces to find the opportunities that helped us later on the ideation process and wireframing. In the next phase, you can find out more which changes were made based on the audit and benchmarking.
Usability Audit | Benchmarking | IA
EXPLORING THE MARKET AND THE OPPORTUNITIES
Based on our research insights, we mapped the existing information architecture and audited the competitors identified in the survey, like Microsoft Teams and Google Calendar. For the last part of the process, we used the SWCDUO (Strengths, Weaknesses, Challenges, Design Opportunities) method and the usability heuristics.
Doing this exercise helped us to detect the current trends and evaluate the competitors' user interfaces to find the opportunities that helped us later on the ideation process and wireframing. In the next phase, you can find out more which changes were made based on the audit and benchmarking.
Usability Audit | Benchmarking | IA
EXPLORING THE MARKET AND THE OPPORTUNITIES
Based on our research insights, we mapped the existing information architecture and audited the competitors identified in the survey, like Microsoft Teams and Google Calendar. For the last part of the process, we used the SWCDUO (Strengths, Weaknesses, Challenges, Design Opportunities) method and the usability heuristics.
Doing this exercise helped us to detect the current trends and evaluate the competitors' user interfaces to find the opportunities that helped us later on the ideation process and wireframing. In the next phase, you can find out more which changes were made based on the audit and benchmarking.
Problem statement | Ideation | Mindmap
CONSOLIDATING THE PROBLEM STATEMENT
While defining the problem statement, we realized there were multiple issues we wanted to address. However, given the short timeline, we needed to prioritize our focus. Therefore, we needed to go back to our business goal. To do this, we revisited our business goal and asked ourselves: How might we increase Slack Huddles initiations so that teams don’t need to move to another platform?
One key opportunity identified during this phase was that Microsoft Teams and Google Meet notify users about meetings via email. In addition to adding the feature of scheduling, we include the notification of the invitation to the user directly in the app.
The following Mind Map outlines the ideation process we followed to determine which features we would like to add or improve from the current version.
An important takeaway from our ideation and problem statement process was that many Slack users (including ourselves) are unaware of the full integration potential Slack offers, such as syncing with external tools like Google Calendar. This insight highlighted the need to improve awareness and accessibility of these integrations, ensuring users can maximize Slack's capabilities without relying on third-party platforms.
Problem statement | Ideation | Mindmap
CONSOLIDATING THE PROBLEM STATEMENT
While defining the problem statement, we realized there were multiple issues we wanted to address. However, given the short timeline, we needed to prioritize our focus. Therefore, we needed to go back to our business goal. To do this, we revisited our business goal and asked ourselves: How might we increase Slack Huddles initiations so that teams don’t need to move to another platform?
One key opportunity identified during this phase was that Microsoft Teams and Google Meet notify users about meetings via email. In addition to adding the feature of scheduling, we include the notification of the invitation to the user directly in the app.
The following Mind Map outlines the ideation process we followed to determine which features we would like to add or improve from the current version.
An important takeaway from our ideation and problem statement process was that many Slack users (including ourselves) are unaware of the full integration potential Slack offers, such as syncing with external tools like Google Calendar. This insight highlighted the need to improve awareness and accessibility of these integrations, ensuring users can maximize Slack's capabilities without relying on third-party platforms.
Problem statement | Ideation | Mindmap
CONSOLIDATING THE PROBLEM STATEMENT
While defining the problem statement, we realized there were multiple issues we wanted to address. However, given the short timeline, we needed to prioritize our focus. Therefore, we needed to go back to our business goal. To do this, we revisited our business goal and asked ourselves: How might we increase Slack Huddles initiations so that teams don’t need to move to another platform?
One key opportunity identified during this phase was that Microsoft Teams and Google Meet notify users about meetings via email. In addition to adding the feature of scheduling, we include the notification of the invitation to the user directly in the app.
The following Mind Map outlines the ideation process we followed to determine which features we would like to add or improve from the current version.
An important takeaway from our ideation and problem statement process was that many Slack users (including ourselves) are unaware of the full integration potential Slack offers, such as syncing with external tools like Google Calendar. This insight highlighted the need to improve awareness and accessibility of these integrations, ensuring users can maximize Slack's capabilities without relying on third-party platforms.
User Flow | Wireframing
DEVELOPING THE "HAPPY PATH"
Having a clear architecture of the current version of the app and the feature we wanted to add, we proceeded to create our user flow. At this stage, the communication between the team members was very reduced, making it difficult to be on the same page, which caused slight delays in proceeding.
In both of the Memorisely projects, this phase was particularly challenging for me. I often found myself overanalyzing the different possible outcomes of the 'schedule meeting' task. However, through feedback from instructors and teammates, we overcame these difficulties. As a result, we successfully developed our user flow and created low-fidelity wireframes, which later served as the foundation for building our components and high-fidelity prototypes.
Wireframing was one of the most enjoyable tasks in this process, as it allowed us to focus on functionalities, define the necessary screens, and consider implementation possibilities. One major improvement in our teamwork was using Post-it notes to clarify designs and provide suggestions.
User Flow | Wireframing
DEVELOPING THE "HAPPY PATH"
Having a clear architecture of the current version of the app and the feature we wanted to add, we proceeded to create our user flow. At this stage, the communication between the team members was very reduced, making it difficult to be on the same page, which caused slight delays in proceeding.
In both of the Memorisely projects, this phase was particularly challenging for me. I often found myself overanalyzing the different possible outcomes of the 'schedule meeting' task. However, through feedback from instructors and teammates, we overcame these difficulties. As a result, we successfully developed our user flow and created low-fidelity wireframes, which later served as the foundation for building our components and high-fidelity prototypes.
Wireframing was one of the most enjoyable tasks in this process, as it allowed us to focus on functionalities, define the necessary screens, and consider implementation possibilities. One major improvement in our teamwork was using Post-it notes to clarify designs and provide suggestions.
User Flow | Wireframing
DEVELOPING THE "HAPPY PATH"
Having a clear architecture of the current version of the app and the feature we wanted to add, we proceeded to create our user flow. At this stage, the communication between the team members was very reduced, making it difficult to be on the same page, which caused slight delays in proceeding.
In both of the Memorisely projects, this phase was particularly challenging for me. I often found myself overanalyzing the different possible outcomes of the 'schedule meeting' task. However, through feedback from instructors and teammates, we overcame these difficulties. As a result, we successfully developed our user flow and created low-fidelity wireframes, which later served as the foundation for building our components and high-fidelity prototypes.
Wireframing was one of the most enjoyable tasks in this process, as it allowed us to focus on functionalities, define the necessary screens, and consider implementation possibilities. One major improvement in our teamwork was using Post-it notes to clarify designs and provide suggestions.
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UI Styles | UI Components | Design system
BUILDING A STRONG, REUSABLE AND RESOURCEFUL COMPONENT LIBRARY
To give life to our prototype, we started creating in Figma the styles. Based on the Brand Guidelines and with the support of IOs screenshots, we created the text-, color-, effects- and grid styles. This ensured that we keep a consistency across the designs and components.
We then built components following the Atomic Design methodology, starting with atoms before assembling more complex molecules. Leveraging component properties streamlined our workflow, enabling easy customization of text, states, and icons within Figma’s right panel.
By incorporating interactive components and motion effects, we crafted a high-fidelity prototype that closely mirrored Slack’s real-world interactions. Users could select participants from a list, track interaction statuses, and configure meeting times—enhancing the scheduling experience.
UI Styles | UI Components | Design system
BUILDING A STRONG, REUSABLE AND RESOURCEFUL COMPONENT LIBRARY
To give life to our prototype, we started creating in Figma the styles. Based on the Brand Guidelines and with the support of IOs screenshots, we created the text-, color-, effects- and grid styles. This ensured that we keep a consistency across the designs and components.
We then built components following the Atomic Design methodology, starting with atoms before assembling more complex molecules. Leveraging component properties streamlined our workflow, enabling easy customization of text, states, and icons within Figma’s right panel.
By incorporating interactive components and motion effects, we crafted a high-fidelity prototype that closely mirrored Slack’s real-world interactions. Users could select participants from a list, track interaction statuses, and configure meeting times—enhancing the scheduling experience.
UI Styles | UI Components | Design system
BUILDING A STRONG, REUSABLE AND RESOURCEFUL COMPONENT LIBRARY
To give life to our prototype, we started creating in Figma the styles. Based on the Brand Guidelines and with the support of IOs screenshots, we created the text-, color-, effects- and grid styles. This ensured that we keep a consistency across the designs and components.
We then built components following the Atomic Design methodology, starting with atoms before assembling more complex molecules. Leveraging component properties streamlined our workflow, enabling easy customization of text, states, and icons within Figma’s right panel.
By incorporating interactive components and motion effects, we crafted a high-fidelity prototype that closely mirrored Slack’s real-world interactions. Users could select participants from a list, track interaction statuses, and configure meeting times—enhancing the scheduling experience.
Design Solution
INTRODUCING SLACK HUDDLES SCHEDULING FEATURE
The solution we came to is a new feature that allows you to schedule Slack Huddles, a capability not currently available. Users can intuitively schedule meetings by selecting participants, setting the time, adding a subject, and sharing the meeting via Slack, email, or calendar.
With the “Suggested Time” feature, users can schedule quick syncs or plan meetings where everyone is aligned and prepared.
Once the meeting is set up, the scheduler and participants can see on their Slack Huddles homepages the upcoming meetings, the date and the hour. Once a meeting is scheduled, participants can see it in their Slack Huddles homepage, ensuring visibility and reducing missed syncs. To further improve engagement, we introduced a more prominent notification, allowing users to join or decline the meeting with a single tap.
Design Solution
INTRODUCING SLACK HUDDLES SCHEDULING FEATURE
The solution we came to is a new feature that allows you to schedule Slack Huddles, a capability not currently available. Users can intuitively schedule meetings by selecting participants, setting the time, adding a subject, and sharing the meeting via Slack, email, or calendar.
With the “Suggested Time” feature, users can schedule quick syncs or plan meetings where everyone is aligned and prepared.
Once the meeting is set up, the scheduler and participants can see on their Slack Huddles homepages the upcoming meetings, the date and the hour. Once a meeting is scheduled, participants can see it in their Slack Huddles homepage, ensuring visibility and reducing missed syncs. To further improve engagement, we introduced a more prominent notification, allowing users to join or decline the meeting with a single tap.
Design Solution
INTRODUCING SLACK HUDDLES SCHEDULING FEATURE
The solution we came to is a new feature that allows you to schedule Slack Huddles, a capability not currently available. Users can intuitively schedule meetings by selecting participants, setting the time, adding a subject, and sharing the meeting via Slack, email, or calendar.
With the “Suggested Time” feature, users can schedule quick syncs or plan meetings where everyone is aligned and prepared.
Once the meeting is set up, the scheduler and participants can see on their Slack Huddles homepages the upcoming meetings, the date and the hour. Once a meeting is scheduled, participants can see it in their Slack Huddles homepage, ensuring visibility and reducing missed syncs. To further improve engagement, we introduced a more prominent notification, allowing users to join or decline the meeting with a single tap.
Usability Testing
LEARNING FROM THE USERS
Usability testing was conducted in Maze to assess the usability of the new scheduling feature and identify any potential roadblocks in the user experience. The testing was unmoderated, meaning users navigated the prototype independently, which prevented us from offering immediate support when they encountered difficulties. While the prototype generally functioned as expected, certain settings (such as screen fitting) were not optimally configured, causing usability issues for some users.
We initially created a lengthy usability task that required users to complete multiple actions in one go. This made it difficult to gather focused insights and resulted in incomplete task completions.
Despite these challenges, we gathered valuable feedback from users who successfully completed the tasks, which helped inform our next steps. From the testing, we learned several key points:
We need to refine the custom time field design for better usability
It’s important to provide real-time feedback when a meeting is modified to ensure all participants are aligned
Introducing a step-by-step tutorial could help users understand the new feature more easily
Running usability testing proved invaluable, not only in identifying key pain points but also in guiding future improvements. If we were to test again, we would ensure the prototype functions smoothly across all devices to preemptively address potential issues
Usability Testing
LEARNING FROM THE USERS
Usability testing was conducted in Maze to assess the usability of the new scheduling feature and identify any potential roadblocks in the user experience. The testing was unmoderated, meaning users navigated the prototype independently, which prevented us from offering immediate support when they encountered difficulties. While the prototype generally functioned as expected, certain settings (such as screen fitting) were not optimally configured, causing usability issues for some users.
We initially created a lengthy usability task that required users to complete multiple actions in one go. This made it difficult to gather focused insights and resulted in incomplete task completions.
Despite these challenges, we gathered valuable feedback from users who successfully completed the tasks, which helped inform our next steps. From the testing, we learned several key points:
We need to refine the custom time field design for better usability
It’s important to provide real-time feedback when a meeting is modified to ensure all participants are aligned
Introducing a step-by-step tutorial could help users understand the new feature more easily
Running usability testing proved invaluable, not only in identifying key pain points but also in guiding future improvements. If we were to test again, we would ensure the prototype functions smoothly across all devices to preemptively address potential issues
Usability Testing
LEARNING FROM THE USERS
Usability testing was conducted in Maze to assess the usability of the new scheduling feature and identify any potential roadblocks in the user experience. The testing was unmoderated, meaning users navigated the prototype independently, which prevented us from offering immediate support when they encountered difficulties. While the prototype generally functioned as expected, certain settings (such as screen fitting) were not optimally configured, causing usability issues for some users.
We initially created a lengthy usability task that required users to complete multiple actions in one go. This made it difficult to gather focused insights and resulted in incomplete task completions.
Despite these challenges, we gathered valuable feedback from users who successfully completed the tasks, which helped inform our next steps. From the testing, we learned several key points:
We need to refine the custom time field design for better usability
It’s important to provide real-time feedback when a meeting is modified to ensure all participants are aligned
Introducing a step-by-step tutorial could help users understand the new feature more easily
Running usability testing proved invaluable, not only in identifying key pain points but also in guiding future improvements. If we were to test again, we would ensure the prototype functions smoothly across all devices to preemptively address potential issues
Results | Further steps | Learnings
ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE OF QUICK SYNCS
By introducing the new scheduling features in Slack, we successfully addressed the users' needs for conducting 1:1 quick syncs, scheduling meetings, and improving team collaboration within the Slack platform. By enhancing usability and integrating scheduling tools directly within Slack, we believe this feature will position Slack Huddles as the go-to platform for daily communication, driving higher initiation rates and repeat usage.
To further enhance the user experience, we recommend implementing the following changes:
Conduct additional usability testing to optimize the notification flow for meeting invitations.
Pin scheduled Slack Huddles to chat rooms for easier access.
Implement a follow-up option for users to confirm or reschedule meetings.
Introduce a poll feature to help teams align on meeting timing for larger groups.
Add notifications for ongoing meetings to keep participants informed.”
Throughout this project, I had the opportunity to apply the skills and methodologies I developed during my UX/UI Bootcamp to solve a real-world problem. Through user research, pain point analysis, and team collaboration, I gained practical experience in designing a feature that enhances team collaboration and communication. I also learned valuable lessons in overcoming remote team communication barriers and finding efficient asynchronous workflows. By creating user flows, wireframes, and a design system, I gained a deeper understanding of the importance of consistency and usability in digital products. Moving forward, I am excited to continue applying user-centered design principles while balancing business objectives to create impactful, user-friendly solutions.
Results | Further steps | Learnings
ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE OF QUICK SYNCS
By introducing the new scheduling features in Slack, we successfully addressed the users' needs for conducting 1:1 quick syncs, scheduling meetings, and improving team collaboration within the Slack platform. By enhancing usability and integrating scheduling tools directly within Slack, we believe this feature will position Slack Huddles as the go-to platform for daily communication, driving higher initiation rates and repeat usage.
To further enhance the user experience, we recommend implementing the following changes:
Conduct additional usability testing to optimize the notification flow for meeting invitations.
Pin scheduled Slack Huddles to chat rooms for easier access.
Implement a follow-up option for users to confirm or reschedule meetings.
Introduce a poll feature to help teams align on meeting timing for larger groups.
Add notifications for ongoing meetings to keep participants informed.”
Throughout this project, I had the opportunity to apply the skills and methodologies I developed during my UX/UI Bootcamp to solve a real-world problem. Through user research, pain point analysis, and team collaboration, I gained practical experience in designing a feature that enhances team collaboration and communication. I also learned valuable lessons in overcoming remote team communication barriers and finding efficient asynchronous workflows. By creating user flows, wireframes, and a design system, I gained a deeper understanding of the importance of consistency and usability in digital products. Moving forward, I am excited to continue applying user-centered design principles while balancing business objectives to create impactful, user-friendly solutions.
Results | Further steps | Learnings
ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE OF QUICK SYNCS
By introducing the new scheduling features in Slack, we successfully addressed the users' needs for conducting 1:1 quick syncs, scheduling meetings, and improving team collaboration within the Slack platform. By enhancing usability and integrating scheduling tools directly within Slack, we believe this feature will position Slack Huddles as the go-to platform for daily communication, driving higher initiation rates and repeat usage.
To further enhance the user experience, we recommend implementing the following changes:
Conduct additional usability testing to optimize the notification flow for meeting invitations.
Pin scheduled Slack Huddles to chat rooms for easier access.
Implement a follow-up option for users to confirm or reschedule meetings.
Introduce a poll feature to help teams align on meeting timing for larger groups.
Add notifications for ongoing meetings to keep participants informed.”
Throughout this project, I had the opportunity to apply the skills and methodologies I developed during my UX/UI Bootcamp to solve a real-world problem. Through user research, pain point analysis, and team collaboration, I gained practical experience in designing a feature that enhances team collaboration and communication. I also learned valuable lessons in overcoming remote team communication barriers and finding efficient asynchronous workflows. By creating user flows, wireframes, and a design system, I gained a deeper understanding of the importance of consistency and usability in digital products. Moving forward, I am excited to continue applying user-centered design principles while balancing business objectives to create impactful, user-friendly solutions.
Work
Product Design case studies
This is a selection of my work as a product designer
and web designer
Work
Product Design case studies
This is a selection of my work as a product designer
and web designer
Work
Product Design case studies
This is a selection of my work as a product designer
and web designer