Ford Motor Company

As a dedicated team within Ford, FordLabs partners with Ford businesses to solve significant problems by developing digital products and services in a lean, human-centered fashion. For this project, their objective was for us to develop a collaborative multimedia communication platform that would efficiently enhance the employee interaction experience.

Project Statement

How Might we Build a Minimalist & Cost-efficient Collaborative Platform for Ford Employees to Recognize Peer Accomplishments?

The primary motivator for the tool is the lack of existing solutions catering to the diverse use cases of individual teams within the company and the escalating costs associated with frequent usage of the current third-party applications.4o

The project aims to solve this problem by designing a specialized digital space for Ford employees, addressing the need for an efficient and cost-effective solution for acknowledging accomplishments, milestones, and events. The final outcome will be a high-fidelity mockup for a web application, seamlessly aligning with Ford's culture to promote recognition and collaboration.

Solution

Our Proposed Design for Ford Employees' Varied Use Cases

Hi-fi Prototype of Home Page

Hi-fi Prototype of Posts Page

Hi-fi Prototype of Calendar and Upcoming Events Page

Hi-fi Prototype of Create New Board Page

Research

Understanding the Social Culture at Ford and the Needs of Ford Employees

We conducted the research in two stages. The first stage involved secondary research, where we analyzed the platform used at Ford and performed a comparative analysis of similar applications. The second stage involved primary research, where we interacted with current Ford employees to understand their needs from the platform.

To develop a deeper understanding of user needs and product offerings on the existing platform used at Ford, we interacted with the team at KudoBoard. This interaction provided insights into the platform's range of functionalities and helped us identify specific use cases required by Ford employees.

Screencapture of KudoBoard's Board Creation tab

The following are the main product offerings of KudoBoard -
‍- Kudoboard is a paid service utilized by organizations such as Ford.
- It facilitates celebrating and recognizing colleagues by allowing users to create digital boards where they can post messages, photos, and other content.
- Kudoboard serves as a virtual space for sharing positive sentiments and acknowledging achievements.

The goal of our competitive analysis was to identify existing platforms similar to KudoBoard and compare a few key considerations for our design proposal. We compared platforms based on their features, price, and board types to KudoBoard. This helped us identify features to include in our model and understand KudoBoard's significance in Ford's social culture which helped us in our decision-making process.

My Keka

In investigating Keka, we examined their celebratory platform's layout and event scheduling presentation. We observed that while the information is displayed coherently, the overall appearance lacks cohesion, especially in presenting overwhelming data points.

Celebrations for Slack

Celebrations for Slack by Airspeed presented several handy features in an intuitive layout. This improved our understanding of design layouts commonly used across celebration platforms and the benefits of design simplicity.

Celebrations by Microsoft

Studying Celebrations by Microsoft, we observed various methods and approaches to content presentation and software functionality. Additionally, we identified layouts that we could incorporate into our design proposal.

After reviewing our top three company research findings, we have identified the salient features we want to include in our design:
- Calendar Feature: Adding a calendar feature to track birthdays, anniversaries, and work events would improve organization within our platform.
- Point System: Implementing a point system initiated by managers, rather than being transactional, could enhance our platform.
- Gift Card Donations: Allowing gift card donations within birthday posts for users to show appreciation for one another.

These features are based on our research findings and are intended to enhance the functionality and user experience of our platform.

Following our secondary research, we conducted user interviews with stakeholders to understand their experiences with KudoBoard and their expectations for our proposal. After the interviews, we analyzed the data using affinity maps and translated our findings from themes into how might we questions to explore potential design features for the product. We then developed a priority matrix to identify primary and secondary features for our design proposal.

We interviewed 5 FordLabs employees to gain insights into their interactions with KudoBoard, and we developed affinity maps to analyze the interview data. The goal of our interviews was to:
- Understand FordLabs employees' interactions with the platform currently used at Ford.
- Identify their needs for virtual celebrations.
- Gain insights into other platforms like KudoBoard, Slack, and Webex used by the employees.
- Uncover any pain points in their celebration processes.

Data from the User Interviews Organized by Interviewees

After conducting our interviews, our team created an affinity diagram to consolidate our understanding of our user group. We organized the information into the following categories:1. -
‍Multimedia: Describing the communication platforms FordLabs employees utilize.
Bonding: Entailing the methods by which coworkers interact both during and outside of office hours.
Ease of Interactions: Features that interviewees found useful and straightforward.
Weekly Touch Base: Execution of informative employee gatherings and cross-communication.
‍Workplace Gifting: Celebratory efforts demonstrated virtually and in person between coworkers.
Communication Channel: Slack-based messaging focused on recognizing employee accomplishments through shout-out comments.

Data from the User Interviews Organized by Interviewees

After creating our affinity diagram, we generated "how might we" statements based on the previously mentioned categories. This process helped us identify the next steps in our design process. These "how might we" statements represent the pain points identified by our team, and we intend to use them as a guide for prioritizing our matrices.

Themes from User Interviews Translated into "How Might We" Questions

Following the evaluation of options from the affinity diagrams, our goal was to refine our approach to the solution. This involves assessing our options within the prioritization matrix to pinpoint the most impactful questions we need to address in our design. The "how might we" statements we prioritize for our design decisions are categorized as follows:
Do Next:
How might we create an easy-to-navigate interface?
How can we provide the optimal level of self-expression?
How might we incorporate some of the top gifts employees appreciate into our design?
Do Now:
How can we incorporate easy-to-operate features that enhance the convenience of the platform
How might we decrease the overload of channels while maintaining quality?
How can we encourage gift-giving without making it feel forced?
How can we create an efficient way for people to communicate reminders regarding informal events and celebrations?
Do Later:
How would we encourage employees to indulge in reactions?

To address the prioritized "how might we" statements, we propose the following features -
Tutorial Option for Employees: Provide a comprehensive tutorial to help employees navigate the platform and utilize its features efficiently.
User-Friendly and Easy-to-Navigate Website: Design the website with a clean, intuitive interface to ensure ease of use for all employees.
Emoji Feature: Integrate an emoji feature to enhance self-expression and make interactions more engaging.
Personal Email Connection: Enable employees to connect their personal email accounts to the platform for seamless communication and updates.
Anonymous Messaging and Gift-Giving: Include an option for anonymous messaging and gift-giving to allow for more spontaneous and genuine expressions of appreciation.

Ideation

Brainstorming Ideas Through Iterative Wireframing

Information Architecture

Post our research through stakeholder interviews, user surveys, and competitive analysis, we to gathered insights into the types of content and interactions users expected. Based on this research, we organized the content into logical categories and created a site map that reflected the user journey and task flows. We iteratively refined this structure through wireframing and usability testing, ensuring that the navigation was intuitive and that users could easily access the information and features they needed.

Information Architecture of the Proposed Application

Mid-Fi Prototypes

With insights from our information architecture, we focused on designing the homepage, contribute page, and create new board page of the platform, using our sketches and wireframes as a foundation. At this stage, our primary objective was to structure the layout of content and simplify information, prioritizing clarity and usability. Our goal was to ensure that the content was intuitively organized, making it easy for users to navigate the site and access the features they need.

Mid-fi Prototype of the Proposed Platform's Home Page and Posts Page

Mid-fi Prototype of the Proposed Platform's Contribute to a Board Page

Mid-fi Prototype of the Proposed Platform's Create Page

Final Design

Our Proposed Design for Ford Employees

Design System for the Proposed Platform

Based on feedback from our mid-fidelity wireframe usability tests, we iterated our design to improve navigation and ease of use. The updated homepage features a redesigned two-column layout, with a side navigation bar next to the main posts section. We further divided the side navigation bar into three subsections: "For You," "Calendar," and "Upcoming," to provide direct access to the various functionalities of the product, simplifying user interaction and enhancing navigation efficiency. Additionally, we integrated the search bar into the main sorting, filtering, notifications, and profile top bar, reducing the number of sections on the page and contributing to a more simplified and uncluttered layout.

Hi-fi Prototype of the Home Page

The prototype of the Posts Page showcases a completed board created to celebrate a coworker's birthday. The design supports submissions of various media types, including images, GIFs, audio messages, and text-only posts. This flexibility allows users to choose their preferred format, rather than being restricted to image-only or text-only submissions. The image details the board's theme, featuring an editable background image that can be customized to suit users' needs. Additionally, a hover button in the bottom right corner allows users to contribute directly to the board while viewing it.

Hi-fi Prototype of the Posts Page

The redesigned calendar page now includes an additional column that provides details about upcoming accomplishments and events. This makes it easier for users to access more information about upcoming events, reminding them to create a new board or contribute to an existing one. The attached screen capture illustrates these updates, showcasing the improved layout and added functionality.

Hi-fi Prototype of the Calendar and Upcoming Page

Create Board Page: The following series of images illustrate the user flow for creating a new board and customizing it to meet individual needs. The steps are outlined as follows:
‍Templates Menu: In the first step, users can search, browse, and select a template from a list of pre-existing options. These templates cover a range of themes, such as birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations, professional events, and more, allowing users to tailor them to their specific event.
‍Choose Recipients Pop-up Menu: After selecting a template, users can choose the recipients who will be able to contribute to the board, ensuring targeted and collaborative engagement.
‍Create and Send Menu: In the final step of the board creation process, users have the option to save the board as a draft or to create and send it to the selected recipients, initiating the collection of contributions.

Create New Board - Templates Gallery View

Create New Board - Recipient Details Pop-up Menu

Usability Testing: We plan to continue user testing of our high-fidelity designs to ensure that our ideas are intuitive and helpful for our users. This ongoing testing will allow us to refine and enhance the user experience based on feedback and real-world use cases.
Responsive Design: We aim to make our design responsive to different screen sizes and devices, allowing users to access and use the app seamlessly across various platforms. This flexibility ensures that the app remains accessible and user-friendly, whether on desktop, tablet, or mobile.
Slack Integration: We will explore integrating notifications into Slack, enabling users to stay updated on events and activities within the app. This integration will help users keep up with events more efficiently, leveraging a tool they already use regularly.