Connect Chat
Microsoft Teams
How might we... Connect Teams users through chat in a secure way, no matter which account type they are using
Connect Chat
Microsoft Teams
How might we... Connect Teams users through chat in a secure way, no matter which account type they are using
Connect Chat
Microsoft Teams
How might we... Connect Teams users through chat in a secure way, no matter which account type they are using
Background
Before this project, Teams allowed users to chat with coworkers interally, as well as external collaborators at other organizations. In 2020, Teams for personal use was released and allowed customers to chat and video call with friends, family, or anyone else using a personal account. Microsoft then announced that Teams Chat for personal use would come pre-installed with the new Windows 11, with the potential to reach over 1 billion existing Windows customers.
Background
Before this project, Teams allowed users to chat with coworkers interally, as well as external collaborators at other organizations. In 2020, Teams for personal use was released and allowed customers to chat and video call with friends, family, or anyone else using a personal account. Microsoft then announced that Teams Chat for personal use would come pre-installed with the new Windows 11, with the potential to reach over 1 billion existing Windows customers.
Background
Before this project, Teams allowed users to chat with coworkers interally, as well as external collaborators at other organizations. In 2020, Teams for personal use was released and allowed customers to chat and video call with friends, family, or anyone else using a personal account. Microsoft then announced that Teams Chat for personal use would come pre-installed with the new Windows 11, with the potential to reach over 1 billion existing Windows customers.
Daniela can chat internally with Aadi or externally with Ray, who works at Fabrikam
Problem
Before this project, Teams users on work accounts could only chat with others using work accounts, and Teams personal accounts could only chat with other personal accounts.
Problem
Before this project, Teams users on work accounts could only chat with others using work accounts, and Teams personal accounts could only chat with other personal accounts.
Problem
Before this project, Teams users on work accounts could only chat with others using work accounts, and Teams personal accounts could only chat with other personal accounts.
With the vast majority of existing Teams users on work accounts, we wanted to connect our existing user base of 250 million monthly active users (MAU) with potential personal accounts to help drive consumer adoption and value.
With the vast majority of existing Teams users on work accounts, we wanted to connect our existing user base of 250 million monthly active users (MAU) with potential personal accounts to help drive consumer adoption and value.
Problem
With the vast majority of existing Teams users on work accounts, we wanted to connect our existing user base of 250 million monthly active users (MAU) with potential personal accounts to help drive consumer adoption and value.
Opportunity
We saw an opportunity to build chat features between Teams work and personal accounts to: ✔ Help Teams users connect with anyone in the world, regardless of account type ✔ Increase usage and adoption of Teams for personal use This project would also enable several valuable chat scenarios for our existing customers including:
Opportunity
We saw an opportunity to build chat features between Teams work and personal accounts to: ✔ Help Teams users connect with anyone in the world, regardless of account type ✔ Increase usage and adoption of Teams for personal use This project would also enable several valuable chat scenarios for our existing customers including:
Opportunity
We saw an opportunity to build chat features between Teams work and personal accounts to: ✔ Help Teams users connect with anyone in the world, regardless of account type ✔ Increase usage and adoption of Teams for personal use This project would also enable several valuable chat scenarios for our existing customers including:
Design
As the lead designer on desktop for this feature, I had to build all of the various flows and their complexities for Teams Connect Chat, while balancing simplicity and alignment across existing chat patterns.
Design
As the lead designer on desktop for this feature, I had to build all of the various flows and their complexities for Teams Connect Chat, while balancing simplicity and alignment across existing chat patterns.
Design
As the lead designer on desktop for this feature, I had to build all of the various flows and their complexities for Teams Connect Chat, while balancing simplicity and alignment across existing chat patterns.
Hundreds of screens!
Design Challenge #1
How might we align and consolidate chat headers to account for new scenarios? As our work connected users to new account “types” and scenarios, we needed to revisit our chat header patterns.
Design Challenge #1
How might we align and consolidate chat headers to account for new scenarios? As our work connected users to new account “types” and scenarios, we needed to revisit our chat header patterns.
Design Challenge #1
How might we align and consolidate chat headers to account for new scenarios? As our work connected users to new account “types” and scenarios, we needed to revisit our chat header patterns.
Design Challenge #2
How might we help users feel secure when chatting with new people? Even with our auto-spam detection, account verification, and IT admin controls, we wanted to take additional steps in the UX to help our chat users feel secure. When receiving a new message from a user who is outside your organization or not a trusted contact, we designed a “safety” screen that gave three options:
Design Challenge #2
How might we help users feel secure when chatting with new people? Even with our auto-spam detection, account verification, and IT admin controls, we wanted to take additional steps in the UX to help our chat users feel secure. When receiving a new message from a user who is outside your organization or not a trusted contact, we designed a “safety” screen that gave three options:
Design Challenge #2
How might we help users feel secure when chatting with new people? Even with our auto-spam detection, account verification, and IT admin controls, we wanted to take additional steps in the UX to help our chat users feel secure. When receiving a new message from a user who is outside your organization or not a trusted contact, we designed a “safety” screen that gave three options:
Previewing messages from unknown sender
We also worked with our IT admin and chat services teams to: 1) Allow admins to easily turn off Teams Connect Chat, or limit chat based on select organizations or Teams accounts 2) Limit the number of messages (10) you can send to a new user without a response
We also worked with our IT admin and chat services teams to: 1) Allow admins to easily turn off Teams Connect Chat, or limit chat based on select organizations or Teams accounts 2) Limit the number of messages (10) you can send to a new user without a response
We also worked with our IT admin and chat services teams to: 1) Allow admins to easily turn off Teams Connect Chat, or limit chat based on select organizations or Teams accounts 2) Limit the number of messages (10) you can send to a new user without a response
Validation
We ran three different sessions of user testing and flash feedback through our design process, testing with Figma prototypes.
Validation
We ran three different sessions of user testing and flash feedback through our design process, testing with Figma prototypes.
Validation
We ran three different sessions of user testing and flash feedback through our design process, testing with Figma prototypes.
Outcome
Microsoft Teams announced the Teams Connect Chat feature during its annual Ignite Conference in 2021. The feature has now been rolled out successfully to the majority of our public users and organizations (with IT admin approval)
Outcome
Microsoft Teams announced the Teams Connect Chat feature during its annual Ignite Conference in 2021. The feature has now been rolled out successfully to the majority of our public users and organizations (with IT admin approval)
Outcome
Microsoft Teams announced the Teams Connect Chat feature during its annual Ignite Conference in 2021. The feature has now been rolled out successfully to the majority of our public users and organizations (with IT admin approval)
As of 2022, Teams Connect Chat has hundreds of thousands of monthly active users, and millions of messages are sent across work and personal accounts each month. Teams Connect Chat has also enabled several other key investments from the Teams organization, including Parent Connection, SMB (small and medium-sized business) plans, and the Teams Chat pinned app in Windows 11.
As of 2022, Teams Connect Chat has hundreds of thousands of monthly active users, and millions of messages are sent across work and personal accounts each month. Teams Connect Chat has also enabled several other key investments from the Teams organization, including Parent Connection, SMB (small and medium-sized business) plans, and the Teams Chat pinned app in Windows 11.
Outcome
As of 2022, Teams Connect Chat has hundreds of thousands of monthly active users, and millions of messages are sent across work and personal accounts each month. Teams Connect Chat has also enabled several other key investments from the Teams organization, including Parent Connection, SMB (small and medium-sized business) plans, and the Teams Chat pinned app in Windows 11.