Microsoft –
Internal social
platform

Julie Larson-Green, leading the Microsoft Office division, sought to create a platform that would make leadership insights, documentation, and team information more accessible to the Office Experience Organization (OXO).
The goal was to empower employees to better understand organizational objectives, celebrate achievements, and stay aligned with the team's vision and goals.

Objectives

Designed and developed an information-curation site for the OXO organization, leveraging SharePoint to deliver an engaging and user-friendly experience.

Design platform:
Utilized the existing SharePoint design platform to build a site tailored for organizational content sharing.

Content creation:
Enabled users to create and publish posts in multiple formats, including videos, text, images, and links.

User experience:
Crafted a layout emphasizing easy navigation, clear readability, and smooth scrolling.

Dashboard:
Integrated a dashboard feature allowing teams and individuals to curate and save posts of interest for quick access.

MS Commons Landing page

MS Commons Dashboard

My role

Lead UX/Product Designer focused on creating the platform using a user-centered design approach. Responsibilities included designing intuitive interactions, improving the platform through user testing and feedback, and collaborating with partners and peers to ensure a seamless user experience.

Design Approach 

Initial designs and research were conducted to define the design architecture, layout, formatting, and branding. Multiple sites were reviewed and tested to understand how users would find posts and the best practices for writing them. Naming research was also carried out within the organization. The project aimed to leverage internal platforms and components to create an MVP solution for preliminary testing.

Research Examples

Design Concepts

Initial designs and research were conducted to define the design architecture, user flow, layout, and aesthetics.
Multiple sites were reviewed and tested to understand how users would find posts and the best practices for writing structure. Naming research was also carried out within the organization. The project aimed to leverage internal platforms and components to create an MVP solution for preliminary testing.

Design architecture & user flow:
Conducted initial designs and research to define the overall site structure, user navigation paths, layout, and visual aesthetics, ensuring a cohesive and intuitive experience.

User testing & benchmarking:
Carried out organizational research to determine clear and consistent naming conventions for sections, posts, and features, improving user comprehension.

Naming research:
Strategically increasing the visibility of underutilized features, like the rewards/points calculator, through improved hierarchy, visual cues, or onboarding experiences.

MVP development:
Leveraged existing internal platforms and components to create a minimum viable product (MVP), enabling preliminary testing and early feedback collection for refinement.
 

Low fi Concepts

Wire-framing / Layout concepting

Posting / Card Design concepting

User flow: how a user would create a post

Early user flow & design concepting

Refinement
Working closely with cross-functional teams and the C-suite, I iterated on the landing page to make the aesthetics more cohesive with the brand and enhance card functionality. Additional design updates focused on simplifying user interactions, improving navigation clarity, and boosting overall visual appeal. I also incorporated insights from internal A/B testing to ensure the changes effectively addressed user needs.

Concept Review & Approval
Finalized designs were presented to senior leadership, demonstrating how users could:

• Access the site directly through their personal Office Teams dashboard.

• Create and publish posts to increase visibility and engagement.

• Stay updated and learn about organizational news, initiatives, and events.

The presentation highlighted how the design supported user goals while aligning with company branding and operational workflows, securing leadership approval for implementation.

Final user dashboard

Conclusion:

The project was well recieived from internal leadership, the project went on to be used for a short time, then cut.

Lessons learned:

The project ultimately did not become a primary resource for information due to several factors. Similar platforms were being developed by larger teams within Microsoft, which had more dedicated resources. Additionally, users expressed that they did not need yet another platform to find information.

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