Microsoft
Visual Interactive Voice Response (VIVR)
The Visual Interactive Voice Response (VIVR) project aims to enhance the user experience by providing a visual replacement for traditional voice support. This is typically done on a smartphone, with a direct link sent via SMS.
My role:
As the design lead for the VIVR mobile experience, I led the design efforts and collaborated closely with other designers through design critiques and feedback sessions. The collaborative design critiques and feedback sessions with other designers helped refine the design, resulting in a polished and effective solution.
Problem
Microsoft relied on third-party providers to manage and update the VIVR solution, leading to high costs and a cumbersome process for making changes. The primary goals were to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve the user experience by building a first-party VIVR solution.
The primary goals were to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve the user experience by building a first-party VIVR solution
Research and Insights
I conducted evaluative studies to understand user expectations and needs when activating a Microsoft product through VIVR. Key findings identified primary pain points, such as difficulties in resolving issues during the activation process and the time commitment required.
Heuristics Eval
Design Process
I started by creating initial wireframes based on user research and feedback. These wireframes served as the foundation for developing the prototypes, ensuring that the design was user-friendly and met the project goals. After finalizing the wireframes, I moved on to developing initial prototypes.
Testing
Usability tests were conducted by the User Research team to evaluate the effectiveness of the VIVR solution, gathering feedback on the initial desktop and phone experiences.
- There are too many numbers: The participants shared they were too many numbers to be entered on the desktop and vIVR phone experience. They felt confused and worried about making mistakes when typing the numbers to activate their product.
- Help find my installation ID and Help button are not helpful: Participants shared they would like to have access to different options when trying to find help within vIVR. Currently users are required to go through the troubleshooting experience first, if troubleshooting doesn’t work, they are directed to the product key.
- Going back and forth between the computer and vIVR phone experience is confusing: Participants said they felt confused about switching between the vIVR phone experience and the computer experience, because it didn’t feel the two experiences were integrated.
Results
The VIVR solution was successfully implemented, allowing users to activate their products through a visual interface. The new VIVR solution reduced costs by eliminating reliance on third-party providers and improved productivity by streamlining the process for making changes.
Users reported a smoother and more efficient activation process, with fewer issues and a reduced time commitment. The visual design also received positive feedback for its modern and accessible approach, catering to users who require hearing or speaking assistance.
Challenges Faced
During the project, several challenges were encountered:
- Integration with Existing Systems: Integrating the new VIVR solution with existing systems and workflows proved to be complex and required significant coordination with various teams.
- User Adoption: Encouraging users to transition from traditional voice support to the new visual interface required extensive user education and support.
- Technical Constraints: Addressing technical constraints, such as ensuring compatibility across different devices and platforms, was a significant challenge.
- Feedback Incorporation: Balancing the incorporation of user feedback with project timelines and resource constraints required careful prioritization and decision-making.