Microsoft Edge on Surface Duo
Surface Duo is an Android-based mobile device from Microsoft, scheduled to launch in the holiday season of 2020. As one of the pre-installed apps and the default browser for the Duo, Edge brings an enhanced experience for customers, boosting their productivity on this dual screen device.
UNDERSTANDI worked closely with the Program Manager to prepare and facilitate a kick-off meeting and brainstorm sessions with stakeholders from different disciplines, including PMs, designers, developers, and Marketing Specialists, to understand business goals, hardware capabilities and constraints, system support and limitations.
Dual screen hardware guidelineWe have shared user insights and ideated based on user needs. I worked with the program manager to synthesize and prioritize input from the sessions and share it with the broader audience for review.
System app guidelineAfter the initial design sprint, dev investigation, and review meetings, I worked with the PM to scope and prioritize the feature lists for design sprints based on the schedules.
Synthesized data from cross functional team meetingsSecondary research
One of the biggest challenges as the app team designer was that we were not given much information due to confidentiality in the early stage of the project. I proactively reached out to cross-functional teams and summarized and synthesized existing research insights to make sure design directions stayed customer-centric.
User Insights
User Needs & Pain Points
Feedback On The Go
Feedback tools require a desktop;
Cross-referencing requires screen real estate.
Quick Context
Information is distributed;
Relationship recall is hard.
Flexible Idea Capture
Multiple devices required;
Can't plan for inspiration.
Mobile Engagement
Video conferencing is desktop-only.
Static decks aren't engaging.
Multi-Presence
Context switching takes time;
Post-meeting processing & sharing takes work.
Seamless File Operability
Transferring files requires multiple steps;
Different applications require different actions:
Mobile Multi-Tasking
Finding the right app is slow;
App switching is cumbersome
Multi-Application Visibility
Missed conversations;
Stuck on certain applications and sites.
Sprint 0
Before the design iterations, I conducted design explorations based on initial meetings, which helped engineers to do early investigations. I have also collaborated with other app design teams to run sketch sessions.
High level flow covers most common user cases and happy pathsI worked with motion designers to create high level flow for review meetings with SVPs and high-level management team.
Low fidelity prototype to demonstrate interaction patternsDesign Fundamentals
Windowing & Spanning
Optimize dual screen experience through Enlightened Panel
Manage tabs on dual screen
Redefine tab management in tab center for Duo.
Enlightened panel
Quickly organize and access to sites you like
Key User Flows and Corner Cases
Usability Testing
As a research advocate, I have been pushing to make research happen in the early stage of the product cycle.
After the engineering team provided a workable APK on a real device, I worked closely with the research team to conduct usability testing.
The findings not only helped to validate design assumptions but also inspired future explorations and marketing ideas.
Key Takeaways
Within Edge, participants had few issues with typical browsing tasks.
Inconsistent gestures across the system affected basic functionalities such as getting a separate browser window on each screen, closing a window, moving, and spanning a window.
The current build could be very 'buggy' at times, making it difficult for any sort of learning or muscle memory to form.
Double Portrait as default posture; other postures for specific tasks as delighters; Spanning as an extended window received poor marks due to the seam.
Next Steps
Participants are excited about the possibilities that the dual-screen device brings, but in its current state, they are unable to manipulate the device the way they want.
“The biggest hurdle for me was... I have two screens, which to me is very powerful... I could not get these two screens to do what I wanted them to do”
Before implementing new features, options, etc., we need to test again with all touch gestures and postures working as designed. This includes: Closing a window, spanning across screens, accessing all open apps, closing open apps, and working in Single Portrait mode.
Product differentiations
Quickly capture inspirations
Collect any content online that inspires you, from a link, pure text to rich media.
Interact with other apps
Move content directly from the browser to other apps to organize and communicate without losing context; Simply drag and drop to do a quick search.
Reading mode on dual screen
Turn a readable website into a book! Enjoy immersive reading mode with no ads or other media distracting you.
Third-Party Recommendation
Share latest news instantly by browsing feed while chatting with your friends
Spotify
Listen to your favorite music while reading lyrics/stories behind it or watching the music video, without losing the context of which list you are at