The goal of this project is to design a digital space tailored for FordLabs employees, addressing the need for a more efficient and cost-​effective solution for recognizing birthdays, accomplishments, milestones, and other events. This tool would allow teams of various ​sizes to recognize each other’s life events and accomplishments.

The team researched and learned more about the needs of Ford Labs employees’ needs and wants for their digital workspace. We did ​this by getting a demo of their current system, Kudoboard, along with other organizational practices.

Kudoboard Findings

• Kudoboard is a paid service utilized by organizations like Ford.
  
• It facilitates celebrating and recognizing colleagues.
  
• Users create digital boards on which they post messages, photos, and other content.
  
• Kudoboard serves as a virtual space for sharing positive sentiments and acknowledging achievements.
  

The three sources we then further into that ​helped us make design decisions were Keka, ​Airspeed, and Microsoft.

Takeaways

Interviews

The goal of our interview was to interview 5 FordLabs employees to understand their current interactions, identify needs for virtual ​celebrations, explore existing systems like Kudoboard, Slack, and Webex, and uncover any pain points in their celebration processes.

Takeaways

We discovered Fordlabs employee experience with Kudoboard

• Employees appreciate various features that allow them to express their personalities inside time constraints.
  
• They prefer websites with simplicity for easy navigation so that it’s quick and easy to find what the user is looking for.
  
• The social culture includes virtual games and lunches.
  
• There are diverse perspectives on the gifts they value most.
  
• Communication is currently facilitated through WebEx and Slack for this virtual company.
  

Our goal for the "Sketches and Ideation" phase was to generate innovative ideas by drawing inspiration from our primary and ​secondary research. Specifically, we want to identify functionalities that could enhance our digital platform model.

Takeaways

• Efficient Exploration: Our approach allowed us to efficiently explore a wide range of ​ideas by drawing insights from diverse digital platforms.
  
• Fostered Creativity: Through sketch sessions, we encouraged creativity among ​team members, leading to the identification of novel features.
  
• Enriching Digital Design: The exercise helped us identify innovative functionalities ​that could enhance our digital design space model.
  
• Solid Foundation: This process laid a strong foundation for the subsequent ​development and refinement of our potential solution.
  

My sketches

To kickstart this phase, our team initiated the site flow process to systematically identify and organize the website screens, ensuring they ​cater effectively to our target audience.

Site Flow

Our Takeaways

• Realized the need to ​categorize screens into three ​main sections:
  
• Homepage
  
• Viewing board
  
• Creating a board
  
• This organization simplified ​screen design, making it ​straightforward.
  
• Discovered more features to ​improve usability for ​Fordlabs employees.
  

Our Findings

• Home Page:
  
• Discovered the need for a side menu containing Templates, Departments, and Upcoming Events
  
• Identified the necessity of filter boards and profile links for Help and Settings features
  
• Decided to include a Requests section with active/pending status and a calendar
  
• Viewing a Board:
  
• Found the importance of adding a preview pop-up, headline post, and contribution posts
  
• Recognized the usefulness of a side menu featuring contributors and teams
  
• Create Board:
  
• Identified the requirement for a template section with a search bar and categories
  
• realized the necessity of an edit section for names, recipients, anonymous toggle, schedule sends, and board preview