Fetch Case Study
FETCH x Datadog
— a SaaS platform that minimizes workflow disruptions by streamlining communication between colleagues
overview
PROBLEM
In large organizations, it can be difficult to stay connected with employees, both on a personal and professional level, especially with the majority of them working remotely. Our client, Datadog, asked us for help.
TASK
We were tasked with building a hybrid employee directory + social network to facilitate communication between colleagues.
PROJECT DETAILS
MY ROLE: I led project management for the whole team as well as research strategy and synthesis. I also worked on the UI design.
UX RESEARCH & DESIGN: Valeria Gonzalez & Dave Coughlin
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING: Errol Highberg, Tara Solbrig,& Trevor Smith-Holbourn
TIMELINE: 4 days
Click on image to view prototype.
*When viewing prototype, navigate through the directory to find the Engineering Team Manager, Julia Brooks, and start a chat with her!
RESEARCH
Research Goals
We know our mission was to facilitate communication between colleagues, but we wanted to get to the root of the problem, so we asked our users key questions to understand their behaviors, pain points, and preferences when communicating with colleagues.
Key Questions
What challenges do you face from the communication tools you currently use?
What information would you expect to find in a company directory?
What kind of information would you want to share with your colleagues?
WHAT USERS TOLD US
CHALLENGES
“Often I just need a quick response in order to move forward. But getting that quick response is hit or miss.”
USEFUL INFORMATION
“I think having pronouns is an important feature to have in a directory.”
SHARING PREFERENCES
“I’m a very private person, I prefer to keep the workspace a professional space.”
Empathizing with the user
MEET CARLY
Carly is a new Sales Manager on a completely remote team for Datadog.
She works cross-functionally with the Product, Marketing, and Engineering teams.
A potential new client has requested more information about Datadog’s new product. However, Carly does not have this information yet.
CARLY’S needs
Carly usually gets the latest updates from the Product Manager but he is out sick and the Product Lead is in meetings all day.
She needs to find another person who can give her a quick update.
Carly is worried that the longer her client has to wait for a response, the more likely it is that he will go to the competition.
CARLY’S JOURNEY
(click through image slides to follow her journey)
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Users need to work cross-functionally to do their job more effectively. But it can be difficult to obtain information from other teams.
How might we help Carly connect with the “the right” people outside her immediate team to make HER workflow more efficient?
DESIGN
Meeting Gabby’s needs
To design the right features, we asked ourselves:
How do we help users find the right person?
How do we help users get quick responses?
How do we accommodate for different users’ desires to share personal information in a professional workspace?
The Features
While it was a given that we were to design an employee directory, there were key details we decided on to optimize the user experience.
We could design a hybrid employee directory & social media network with the following features and characteristics
Created by vectorpouch @freepik.com
mobile first
Our solution would be a mobile web app to make information accessible anywhere, and as quickly as possible.
COMPANY DIRECTORY
Directory in hierarchical order
Search bar on home page — search by tag, employee name, team, department
Color-coded team leaders
CHAT
Most recent chats accessible from home screen.
Chat can be initiated from employee profile
EMPLOYEE PROFILE
Screens progress from from professional to personal
“What you should contact me about?”
Out of office messages
Average response time
Quick links
Tags
task flow
This task flow shows how Carly can easily navigate throughout Fetch, our mobile web app, to fulfill her needs at each step of the user journey.
Fetch — Hi-fi Wireframes
Check out the prototype here!
Retrospective
LEARNINGS
Researching, designing, and launching an app in 4 days was certainly challenging. However, establishing clear goals at the beginning of the project and working closely with developers throughout the whole process ensured that we did not waste time designing features that were not feasible within that time period (i.e. additional levels of hierarchy). Communication was key.
NEXT STEPS
Explore micro-interactions, and hone in on the sweet spot of fun / professional
Add more levels of hierarchy
Find out how users use this app and what’s valuable about it to them
DEVELOPMENT
Want to learn more about the development team’s work?
Check out our project Github page here, or check out the live app here.