Poised - Inspiring Clear & Confident Communication in Online Meetings For Work Professionals

When I joined Poised, our meeting assistant tool was struggling despite having advanced AI speech analysis technology. Our user retention was declining as users weren't seeing meaningful improvements in their communication habits. As a former basketball point guard, I approached this challenge with a court vision mindset—looking for patterns and opportunities others might miss. Through user interviews and usability testing, I discovered three key issues:

Through leading concept testing with users,  we learned that that real-time feedback mid-conversation was distracting and anxiety-inducing. Partnering with our ML engineer, I proposed a key adjustment: analyzing speech every 15 seconds instead of every second—aligning with natural conversation flow. This change boosted accuracy by 30% and unlocked deeper insights, like speaker detection and contextual patterns, ultimately shaping our entire product strategy.

Real-time feedback limitations, in which users could only process so much information during meetings, shined a light on a hopeful path forward (Poised 2.0 pivot). Speech coaches informed us that to truly improve communication, it would take sustained effort outside of meetings.

When user behavior pointed one way, leadership initially pushed the opposite direction, a GenAI in-meeting assistant, shortly after.

Insights from our previous technical breakthrough inspired me to challenge leadership's push for Poised to be a complex, yet "powerful" in-meeting communication assistant. I proposed that we mirror Grammarly's strategy, which started with grammar detection before moving to tone, by focusing on clear and concise verbal communication first. I got leadership-buy-in by visualizing a feature audit (ineffective or inaccurate features denoted in red) that demonstrated how we were spread thin from serving too many types of communication.

To help our team shift our product focus, I developed and received buy-in for a comprehensive four-phase strategy:

Inspired by the Fogg behavior model for successful habit-building, I designed a new feedback loop to encourage users to improve their communication.

Feedback from users paints a vivid picture of the impact: many laud the revamped UI for a smoother user journey, while others highlight how Poised has bolstered their confidence in public speaking, transforming them from meeting bystanders to active contributors. A recurring sentiment is the newfound ability to navigate conversations with clarity, minimizing common pitfalls like hedging or rapid speech, and truly capitalizing on the essence of communication.

I initiated a team exercise to refine our feature set, spotlighting those that were anchors to the user experience. In collaboration with our PM and engineering team, we meticulously evaluated each feature, considering user engagement, technical complexity, and financial implications, leading to a strategic 75% feature reduction. This tactic guided our Product Designer in reshaping the product’s information architecture, crafting a streamlined, intuitive user interface, simultaneously reducing engineering efforts by 10% and decreasing operational costs.

Incorporating the Fogg Behavior Model and motivated by user feedback, we implemented a behavior-change loop strategy to enhance communication habits and user experience in Poised.

From our beta testing, were recognized our initial approach to providing goal-based suggestions during meeting prep was falling short; they were too generic and misaligned with the users’ rapid, free-form preparation style. Our PM proposed relocating our goal-based suggestions from the meeting prep phase to the post-meeting feedback, thereby enhancing their relevance and impact.

With an objective to craft a unified and action-centric experience on Poised's platform, I spearheaded a brainstorming session, ensuring we enhance both homepage actionability and site structure. Mockups are ideas — meant to mirror users' routines and encourage users to take actions like prepping or reflecting — generated from the brainstorm.

A redesigned, engaging design style was introduced and seamlessly executed by our other Product Designer — ensuring engineering efficiency and a cohesive design system. Through rigorous user testing and a shift from a passive interface, we achieved a coherent aesthetic across the platform, with optimized site architecture that prioritizes user actions and streamlines their journey through preparation and feedback.

With an upcoming Product Hunt launch, our focus was a swift yet comprehensive introduction to Poised for new and returning users. In close collaboration with a content designer, we curated clear and engaging onboarding content that underscored the platform's core features. Rather than opting for time-consuming interactive demos, we chose a straightforward onboarding approach to ensure readiness for the launch. Our other Product Designer adeptly crafted the onboarding flow, which, aligned with Poised's rejuvenated style, offered users an efficient gateway to our enhanced platform capabilities.

Our soft launch aimed to gather crucial user feedback on the renovated Poised. Users lauded the goal-based feedback, valuing the insights into the “why” of their behaviors. However, some users found it challenging to locate the option for manual recording and to navigate past feedback, upcoming meetings, and notes in a unified view. In response, I enhanced the discoverability of the manual recording feature and segmented past feedback, upcoming meetings, and notes into distinct tabs, streamlining user navigation and prioritizing feedback review.

Although we've made significant strides, only 30% of users complete the onboarding tour, indicating an area ripe for enhancement. Initial user interviews reveal that while we have solutions to their challenges, many are unaware, underscoring the need for better educational content tailored to specific use cases. Moving forward, our vision encompasses a more personalized experience based on user roles, and a richer display of progress, emphasizing growth and offering more intelligent insights over time. In addition, automated feedback was too costly due to volume of GPT tokens. We decided to automate for the first 5 meetings and discussed the potential of being more intelligent about which meetings to automate.

At Poised, I discovered the multi-faceted power of design. It wasn’t just about shaping interfaces but reshaping our company culture. When our goal-based feedback faltered in its initial stages, the emotional investment felt heavy. Yet, in steering it towards our post-meeting framework, I saw firsthand how repurposing could turn setbacks into successes. This experience was more than a product pivot; it was a personal lesson in resilience and adaptability.

But growth wasn’t limited to design choices. In spearheading brainstorming sessions and deep-diving into one-on-ones, I realized the profound impact of truly listening and empathizing with team members. Our vibrant design discussions weren't just about features—they revived morale and painted a clear picture of our shared mission. And as feedback highlighted the positive shift in our company culture, it became evident that my role as a designer had transcended its traditional boundaries. At Poised, I learned that a designer, armed with passion and purpose, can be a potent force for organizational transformation.