Issue Discussion

Disclaimer: Due to the nature of the project on which I worked on at Microsoft, I am limited in the amount of work I can show. I have omitted, changed, and obfuscated confidential information in this case study. All information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of Microsoft.

One of the main features of Microsoft’s internal tool (SaaS-based Field Service application) for Microsoft data center build and commissioning is the ability to perform issue management for anything and everything that happens on the construction site by creating an issue record for each.

One thing that we always heard from our users is that for every issue, there are a lot of email ping-pongs happening outside of the application. For a system that usually contains more than 100,000 issues for a single project, there are a lot of email threads to keep track of. How can we bring this communication into the Issue Module?

MY ROLE

Product Designer: Part of the end-to-end design process - discovery, analysis, user research, requirements, design, development, testing, and support through launch.

MY TEAM

Team consisting of Project Manager, Engineering Manager, 9 Developers and 1 Designer

TYPE OF PROJECT

SaaS-based Enterprise Application: 0 to 1 product feature

OUTCOMES

Launching the discussion feature into production was one of the major and successful releases for the team during that quarter.

HOW MIGHT WE?

Streamline communication and collaboration within the issues module and reduce reliance on external email threads, especially for projects with a high volume of issues for the users of a Microsoft SaaS-based enterprise application and internal tool?

The Challenge

Goals and Requirements

Final Design

The Fine Details

Future Roadmap

THE CHALLENGE

Almost all the communications related to an issue happen outside of the application.

The issue module keeps track of all the issues that happen across a project. There were more than 500 projects and typically the number of issues created for a project would be more than 100,000. That sums up to a staggering amount of issue records. The fact that there was no way to communicate about each issue inside the application was a major gap.

Users had to keep track of a lot of email ping-pongs outside of the application, making them frequently switch between multiple applications. Sometimes holding in-person meetings for just communication.

We heard from our users as well.

A better way of communication within issues was the biggest request from the users.

Too many email ping pong for issue discussion. Would be great to have a timeline area for discussion.

Communications mostly happen via emails.

1000s of issues, some are quite big like malfunctioning equipment. Its brain overload to track.

An issue might not be looked at for weeks, we keep a notes outside and go through email trails.

When issue is raised, have an way of saying retest needed. So that when opening an issue, the guys know retest is required. Right now [a] formal meeting is required [.. to do this].

GOALS AND REQUIREMENTS

We had in-app feedback data from the users on what they required from the discussion. Along with this, I talked to the business stakeholders and users. Combining all this, we were able to outline the project goals for the discussion section.

Remove Overreliance on Emails

Achieve a measurable decrease in the volume of issue-related email threads. Users should report less time spent managing and searching through emails.

Product Requirements

Centralized Discussion Area: A dedicated space for all discussions related to each issues.
‍
Threaded Conversations: Ability to create and follow threaded conversations to keep discussions organized.
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Search Functionality: Search capabilities to quickly find relevant discussions and information.

Streamlined Collaboration

Improve coordination among team members by facilitating real-time discussions within the tool.

Product Requirements

User Mentions: Allow users to mention specific team members who are part of the issue to draw their attention to relevant discussions.

Comment and Reply Features: Ability to comment on and reply to specific messages or discussion threads to maintain context and clarity.

Do not overwhelm

Prevent users from being overwhelmed by the volume of notifications. Ensure that important information is not ignored due to notification overload.

Product Requirements

Setting Notification Constraints: Allow users to set preferences and constraints for notifications to manage the volume and relevance of alerts they receive.

Easily accessible discussion section widget

The discussions are accessible from all pages of the issue module, allowing users to easily find and reference discussions associated with specific issues. This enhances visibility and ensures that important decisions and updates are not missed.

Discussion in the system

Users can now add comments and engage in discussions directly within the issue record, eliminating the need for external communication channels and keeping all relevant information within the system.

Reply to specific discussions with threads

The threaded structure of discussions allows users to reply to specific threads, keeping related conversations together and making it easier to follow the flow of discussion. This helps maintain organization and clarity within the system.

Find what you need with search

Users can search for specific people, words, or discussions, making it convenient to find relevant information quickly. The search highlights the text if found in any discussion threads. This feature enhances efficiency and saves time for users.

Capture anyone's attention with @mention

Users can mention other individuals within the discussions to draw their attention or involve them in the conversation. This feature facilitates effective collaboration and ensures that relevant stakeholders are included in the discussion.

THE FINE DETAILS

Digging deep into the fine details

Discussion

No Threads

Reply state - Default

Reply state - Active

Threads

Multipline

Text Area

Default

Reply state - Default

Reply state - Active

Discussion Threads

Single Threads

Threads Reply

3+ Thread

Search Mid

Search Full

Search - Not found

@Mention

@Mention - Search

@Mention_ Search focused

@Mention_ Not Found

@Mention_ Search Many

FUTURE ROADMAP

After the success of the first version of the discussion, we had some ideas for the future directions.

The first release of the discussion section was the last major feature that I worked on before leaving Microsoft. Some future directions that we envisioned for the next iteration,

Filter the discussion by date, people, and reply.

Option to edit, pin, and delete posts.

Bring discussion into the offline version of the application.

Reactions to a discussion (emojis??) and ability to upvote.

ISSUE DISCUSSION