Structured Meetings — Aditi Gunna

aditi gunna

Aditi is a product designer working at the intersection of people and technology.
She recently graduated from Parsons School of Design.

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STRUCTURED MEETINGS: AGENDAS IN ZOOM

[USER RESEARCH]
[UI/UX DESIGN]

How can we help users stay on track during a meeting, despite distractions?

Over the last few years, Zoom has become ubiquitous in our lives. It has revolutionized remote working, creating a virtual space that enables collaboration beyond just video calling. However, remote working (especially for those working from home) has unique challenges that we don’t completely acknowledge.

These new quasi-work spaces are often physically located in people’s homes, blurring the previously clear boundary between work and home - creating opportunities for elements to seep beyond their designated spaces.

With most meetings online, there is a need to integrate other aspects of a meeting (like agendas or minutes) into the platform. This design exercise delves into seamlessly integrating an agenda into the Zoom interface. By reimagining the information architecture, this project aims to create a more adaptive and inclusive virtual workspace.

Project

Designed at
Parsons School of Design

Time Frame

2 Weeks, November 2023

My Role
Research, Ideation, Visual Design, Prototyping [Individual Project]

Design Solution

The project's goal was to seamlessly integrate an agenda into the existing infrastructure of the Zoom App.

The design process, detailed below, included an exploration of different user personas, an analysis of the existing information architecture and iterations of the proposed information architecture.

Scheduling a meeting

Users can add items to the agenda while scheduling a meeting, specifying the amount of time for each item as well.

During the meeting,
start timers

Users(the host of the meeting) can start timers for each item on the agenda, ensuring they don’t lose track of the meeting.

During the meeting,
add notes

Users(host and participants) can add notes under each item of the agenda for future reference.

Design Process

The process began with understanding the target audience, users who might need this feature the most. I worked on creating three user personas who might benefit from the feature.

Image generated by Midjourney

Noah
Freelance Accountant & Primary caregiver to their 2 year old toddler.

Works from home, has to juggle between taking care of the baby and taking client meetings.
Only takes meetings when he has a baby-sitter but is often distracted due to space in their house.
Wants to give his best to his clients, even if he might be distracted at times.
His meetings are often short because of his schedule, conversations often lose their focus and become waste of time.

Image generated by Midjourney

Rita
Senior Management, Consulting

Hybrid work schedule, works 3 days from office; works as a bridge between different teams - attends several meetings in a day.
Company has offices around the world, most teams are spread across different places - meetings are usually online.
Wants to be able to organise notes and information as she jumps between different calls.
Meetings often run long, she loses out on prep time - wants a system to help her stay on track.

Image generated by Midjourney

Sarah
Software Engineer

Works from home, goes into the office for events or important meetings; lives with roommates.
New to the workforce, building a routing for herself - understanding how to manage her ADHD while working.
Wants to be able to take important notes while attending meetings while also actively participating.
When leading meetings, wants to be able to stay on track, while covering all the items on the agenda in the limited time.

⁤These user personas delineate the different possible users who could benefit from an agenda tool integration in the Zoom interface. While they are not exhaustive, they present a starting demographic of users. I used these personas to help inform design decisions.

Information Architecture

Following that, I designed a diagram illustrating the information architecture, and the points of intervention where the new feature will be integrated.

Interface to schedule meeting, with an option to add an agenda.

Interface during meeting, option to access agenda and add notes.

Prototypes

Using the information architecture diagrams as a guide, I sketched out what the interfaces may look like with an integrated agenda. The design ensures adherence to Zoom’s design language and visual style.

Then, I developed the sketches further and created Figma prototypes of the feature.

The final design proposal included the option to add items in to an ‘agenda’ in the meeting information.
Users can set time limits on each item of the agenda and run timers during the meeting. They may also take notes under each agenda item during the meeting without having to open another application or tab.
Figma prototypes are linked below.

The wireframes are built using Zoom’s design resources.
Link: https://developers.zoom.us/docs/zoom-apps/design/design-resources/

Note: This project is an academic endeavor, undertaken as part of coursework in Parsons School of Design and does not have any commercial intentions.

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