Product Overview
Bloomberg Government provides news, analysis, intelligence, and workflow tools for government contractors and government affairs professionals. As senior designer, I led three development teams to create dozens of products for desktop, tablet, and mobile. Below, I will feature the design process for Bloomberg Government’s mobile app “Meeting Notes” feature.
Client Research
To create compelling products, the client must come first. As senior designer, I conducted user interviews, on-site visits, and competitive analysis. Our team produced journey maps, personas, and other resources to keep our clients’ needs in focus. Here, Lauren, a government affairs specialist, needs to stay current with what is happening in Washington on a moment-to-moment basis. It is vital, moreover, that she keeps track of her meetings on Capitol Hill so that her team is always in sync.
Solving the Problem
At Bloomberg, we practiced a lean UX methodology. As senior designer, I led workshops at the start of each new product cycle, which we modeled after Google Venture’s Design Sprints. We discussed the problem, reviewed client workflows, sketched ideas, critiqued solutions, and voted on a path forward. Not only do design workshops produce richer ideas, they also align the team to a common vision. For example, as part of a week-long design workshop, our team sketched ideas for a mobile meeting notes feature. We discovered that our clients needed much more hand-holding than we originally envisioned. This led to developing a step-by-step workflow.
Design & Prototype
To speed the design process, our team created a UI kit and design system, complete with hundreds of UI elements. This enabled designers to quickly produce beautiful, consistent prototypes. Prototypes were then made available to product owners and software engineers for review. After designs were approved, development would begin. The mobile “Meeting Notes” feature was designed to be light, but comprehensive. Users create notes through a step-by-step workflow, organize notes into folders, and access analytical reports about their meetings.
Usability Testing
Every two weeks, our team tested prototypes with clients. As senior designer, I scheduled meetings, facilitated observation, wrote scripts, and conducted interviews. Gathering feedback, correcting false assumptions, and ensuring that we were on the right track was indispensable for our business. Here, we invited clients into our office for in-person interviews. This allowed us to observe their physical behavior, as well as their on-screen behavior. Overall, clients responded well to the designs. We found, however, that it was not easy for clients to discover the “Meeting Notes” feature. We decided, therefore, to make its location more obvious through better labeling and iconography.
Becoming Best-in-Class
After testing, our team discussed what worked well and what needed improvement. Most of the time, our assumptions were validated. At other times, we realized that a complete course correction was in order. Pivots can be painful. Nevertheless, our design process, from beginning to end, helped make Bloomberg Government best-in-class. As a result of our design process, the business decided to drop other work and focus on including “Meeting Notes” in the mobile app’s initial release. The app is now available and can be viewed here.
BLOOMBERG / UX DESIGN
Today, everyone wants to know what’s going on in Washington. Bloomberg Government brings clarity and intelligence.
I was part of an ambitious project to redesign the platform and to create dozens of innovative products to help government contractors and government affairs professionals perform at the top of their game. One of our most recent releases included a BGOV mobile app.
We experienced impressive growth. Our government affairs products affected 160% user-growth over 4 years. Our government contracting products affected 32% year-over-year net sales growth in 2017. And our marketing site, which served as the online face of the business and as the front door for the product, now hosts over 57,000 users daily.
I have omitted and obfuscated confidential information in the case study below. All statements are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloomberg Government.