Ford Motor Company
Designing an internal communication platform for Ford employees to coordinate and celebrate peer achievements.
How Might We Build a Minimalist and Cost-effective Platform for Ford Employees to Celebrate their Peers?
The primary objective was to design a platform to address the lack of services catering to the diverse needs of teams at Ford and the high costs associated with using existing services. The challenge was to design a space that can accommodate teams of varying sizes, allowing them to celebrate their peers, organize events, and address individual employee needs.
Understanding the Social Culture at Ford and the Needs of Target User Group—Ford Employees
Secondary Research
Understanding the Platform Currently used at Ford
To understand the platform used at Ford, we interacted with KudoBoard, a paid service used by companies to recognize peers’ accomplishments where users can create and interact with digital boards to share messages.
Screencapture of KudoBoard's Board Creation tab
Exploring Existing Solutions through Competitive Analysis
Our competitive analysis compared platforms like Keka, AirSpeed, and Celebrations for Microsoft. We evaluated features to understand KudoBoard’s significance in Ford’s social culture. We found the following features common among all platforms.
FEATURE #1
Calendar for tracking birthdays, anniversaries, and work events, which enhances organization.
FEATURE #2
Managers typically have access to point-based system to create boards for their employees.
FEATURE #3
Gift card option in birthday posts to show appreciation towards peers.
Primary Research
After secondary research, we interviewed stakeholders to understand their KudoBoard experience. We analyzed user interviews using an affinity map and translated themes into how might we statements. We further developed a prioritization matrix to identify solutions.
Interviewing Users and Affinity Mapping to gather Insights
We interviewed 5 FordLabs employees to gain insights into KudoBoard interactions, and developed affinity maps to analyze the interview data. Our three main goals were:
GOAL 1
Understand FordLabs employees' interactions with KudoBoard, the platform currently used at Ford.
GOAL 2
Identify their needs for virtual celebrations and uncover pain points in their existing celebration process.
GOAL 3
Gain insights into other communication/virtual meeting platforms like Zoom, Slack, and Webex used at Ford.
Insights from User Interviews for Affinity Mapping
After conducting our interviews, the following are the themes identified after analyzing the data from affinity map of our interviews with the employees.
MULTIMEDIA SUPPORT
Including options to add multiple media types such as images, videos, GIFs, audios, voice notes, etc.
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Entails the methods by which coworkers interact both during and outside of office hours.
USER INTERACTIONS
Intuitive user flow throughout the platform to ensure smooth user interactions, and easy-to-navigate site mapping.
WEEKLY UPDATES
Notifications of upcoming events and communication to keep employees informed.
WORKPLACE GIFTING
Option to include gift cards in celebratory posts to show appreciation towards peers, and option enable anonymous gifting.
COMMUNICATION
Messaging recognizing peer accomplishments through threaded comments.
Developing Themes based on User Interviews
Developing How-Might-We Statements and Prioritization Matrix for Brainstorming Ideas
Following the analysis of the affinity map, we crafted how might we statements and categorized them into prioritization matrix based on user needs.
How-Might-We Statements for the Themes Identified through Affinity Mapping
Do Now
- How might we create an easy-to-navigate interface?
- How might we provide the optimal level of self-expression, while still addressing all user needs?
- How might we incorporate some of the top gifts employees appreciate into our design?
Do Next
- How might we incorporate features to enhance convenience of using the platform?
- How can we efficiently communicate reminders to people regarding events?
- How might we decrease the posts overload of channels?
Do Later
- How might we encourage employees to actively respond to posts and comments with emoji reactions?
- How can we encourage gift-giving without making it feel forced?
- How might we include features to replace platforms such as Slack?
The how might we statements and categories from the prioritization matrix were translated into features mentioned below.
Onboarding
Provide a walk-through to help employees navigate the platform on onboarding.
Intuitive User Flow
Clean, intuitive user flow to ensure ease of use for all employees.
Email Integration
Option to link employee email to the platform for seamless communication.
Emoji Reactions
Integrate reactions to make communication more engaging.
Anonymous Responses
Option for anonymous messaging to express genuine appreciation.
Monetary Gifts
Option to include monetary gift cards to allow employees with more flexibility.
Brainstorming Ideas Through Iterative Wireframing
Information Architecture
Post primary research, we gathered insights into users' interaction expectations to map users' journey. By organizing content into relevant categories and taking an iterative approach, we created an intuitive information architecture for the platform.
Information Architecture of the Proposed Application
Mid-Fi Prototypes
With information architecture of the site, we ideated the homepage, contribute page, and create new board page of the platform through sketching and iterative wireframing. Our focus was on structuring content layout and simplifying information for clarity and usability.
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
Our Proposed Design for Ford Employees
Design System for the Proposed Platform
Home Page
The homepage layout has a two-column design with a side navigation bar divided into three subsections: For You, Calendar, and Upcoming. A search bar is integrated into the top section, reducing the number of sections on the page.
Hi-fi Prototype of the Home Page
Posts Page
The following is prototype of Posts Page showing a completed board for a coworker’s birthday. It supports various media types, including images, GIFs, audio, and text, allowing users to choose their preferred format.
Hi-fi Prototype of the Posts Page
Create Board Page
Users can browse pre-designed boards for events like birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations, and professional events to create new boards and select contributors for targeted engagement. Users can save boards as drafts or send them to receive contributions.
Create New Board - Templates Gallery View
Create New Board - Recipient Details Pop-up Menu
