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Revamp and Unify FIOS and Wireless Community

UX RESEARCH | UX DESIGN | UI DESIGN | USABILITY TEST | MOBILE DESIGN | BRAND ALIGNMENT


This initiative aims on merging two distinct community platforms for FiOS and Wireless customers to create a seamless support experience.


Note: To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have omitted confidential information in this case study. All information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of the platform


Overview


A major telecommunications company aimed to consolidate its separate FiOS and Wireless communities into a unified platform to enhance user experience, drive engagement, and improve customer support.


We focused on streamlining the user interactions, increase engagement, and foster a sense of belonging among community members by providing a unified space for support, knowledge sharing, and peer-to-peer interactions.


Role: Senior UX Designer dedicated to conducting research, developing concepts, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and crafting experiences that align with the platform’s full range of capabilities


Duration: July 2022 – Present


Tools & Technologies: Figma, Figjam, Google suite, Sketch, Invision



"Vision - Bridging Connections: Unifying Communities for Enhanced Telecom Support"

Step 1 - Understand


 

Problem Statement


The fragmentation between FiOS and Wireless community platforms results in inconsistent user experiences, lower engagement, and inefficient support systems. Users faced challenges in navigating separate platforms, leading to reduced satisfaction and higher support call volumes. ​

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The lack of a unified experience hinders content discoverability, community growth, and the ability to efficiently address user pain points. ​

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To meet evolving user expectations and business objectives, there was a need for a seamless, integrated community platform that enhances user engagement, drives operational efficiency, and supports long-term scalability.​


To address these issues, the client sought to unify the communities into a single, cohesive platform that would provide a streamlined, intuitive experience and encourage greater interaction among users.


 

Business Challenge


  1. Increased Operational Costs

    Managing and maintaining two distinct platforms requires additional resources, from technical support to content moderation, leading to higher costs.


  2. Inconsistent User Experience

    With different interfaces, navigation, and support structures, each community provides a unique experience, which can lead to user frustration and dissatisfaction, especially for customers who use both services.


  3. Fragmented Brand Identity

    Having two separate communities can dilute the brand’s identity and create inconsistencies, making it harder to establish a unified brand voice and experience across customer touchpoints.


  4. Reduced Engagement and Retention

    Users who may need to engage with both communities face additional friction when switching between platforms, which can decrease their overall engagement and reduce long-term retention.


  5. Increased Customer Support Demand

    The fragmented structure often leads to user confusion and requires more support, as customers struggle to find information or switch between communities, driving up support call volumes.


  6. Challenges in Data Analysis and Insights

    With separate communities, tracking and analyzing user behavior, engagement, and needs becomes more complex, hindering data-driven decision-making and personalization efforts.



Key Business Priority


  • Unified User Experience

    Create a consistent and intuitive user interface for both FIOS and Wireless users.


  • Enhanced Engagement

    Increase user participation by integrating gamification elements and improving content discoverability.


  • Enhanced Personalization

    Used recommendations and personalization features to provide users with relevant content, resources, and support based on their usage patterns and preferences.


  • Operational Efficiency

    Streamline community management, content updates, and technical support across a single platform to reduce redundancies, lower operational costs, and improve resource allocation.


  • Improved Support

    Reduce the volume of support calls by enhancing self-service options and peer-to-peer support mechanisms.


  • Scalability

    Design a platform that could scale with future Verizon services and handle increasing user traffic


  • Reduce the cost to serve

    Become the primary destination for customers to resolve their issues.


  • Improve Brand Perception

    Establish a unified brand experience which addresses the unique needs and expectations of both FiOS and Wireless users, strengthening brand loyalty.



My Role


My role here was focused on leading the design and strategy for unifying FiOS and Wireless community platforms. I was responsible for creating a seamless, cohesive user experience that addresses the unique needs of both user groups, enhancing engagement, and improving support options.


By conducting thorough user research and collaborating with cross-functional teams, I had developed intuitive design solutions that align with client’s brand identity and business goals.


Additionally, I lead usability testing to validate and refine designs, ensuring the final platform delivers on priorities like scalability, operational efficiency, and user satisfaction.


Conducted in-depth research to understand the behaviors, pain points, and expectations of FiOS and Wireless users, translating these insights into actionable design decisions and then developed the experience design strategy

Core Priorities


  • Design a consistent, intuitive interface that seamlessly integrates the FiOS and Wireless communities, ensuring ease of use and a cohesive brand experience.


  • Implement features like gamification and peer-to-peer support to drive community participation and foster a sense of connection among users.


  • Design features that empower users to resolve issues independently, helping to reduce support call volume and improve satisfaction.


  • Develop a platform that is scalable and adaptable, capable of supporting future services and an expanding user base.


  • Collaborate closely with stakeholders to ensure designs align with client’s strategic objectives and secure buy-in for key design decisions.


  • Lead usability testing and iteration to ensure the platform meets user needs and delivers a high-quality, satisfying experience.




Goals & Objectives





Our aim is to create a cohesive, scalable platform that enhances user satisfaction and reduces operational costs by streamlining support, increasing user engagement, and establishing a consistent, best-in-class community experience across Verizon’s services


Step 2 - Define


 


Priorities

Objective
Key Actions

Identify pain points and create prototypes

Conduct user research, including surveys, interviews, and data analysis,

Benchmark community platform features and engagement strategies in similar industries

Perform competitive analysis

Align on business objectives, user needs, and brand expectations for the unified platform.

Host workshops with stakeholders

Gather key insights, defining user personas, user journeys, and specific needs for both FiOS and Wireless users.

Synthesize research findings

Align these with the project’s core business objectives (engagement, scalability, support)

Map out the platform’s functional requirements

To Visualize user journeys, platform navigation, and feature placement.

Generate wireframes, flow diagrams, and low-fidelity prototypes

To iterate on designs that balance functionality, usability, and branding.

Develop multiple design concepts

To enhance engagement.

Leverage gamification, self-service options, and intuitive content discoverability

Validate key design features and identify areas for improvement.

Conduct usability testing with target users

Focusing on eliminating friction points and enhancing usability.

Gather insights from user feedback and continuously refine prototypes,


Who are the USERS?

  • Fios and Wireless customers
    • The primary users are Client’s FiOS and Wireless customers who actively engage in the online community platforms for support, knowledge sharing, and peer interactions.

    • Secondary users include Client's support agents and community managers who facilitate user interactions, provide assistance, and manage content within the unified platform.







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Super User Interview


User interviews are crucial for gathering deep insights to inform the strategy and execution of an online community revamp. These interviews aim to understand user needs and preferences, identify pain points, gather behavioral insights, and validate assumptions.


Steps taken 

  • Set the purpose of User Interviews

  • Identify Key User Groups to Interview

  • Interview Preparation

  • Introduce ourself and create rapport

  • Conduct the Interview

  • Ending and Follow-up

  • Post-Interview Analysis

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By carefully planning, conducting, and analyzing user interviews, valuable insights can be gathered to ensure the success of the community revamp project.




User Pain Point


  • Fragmented Experience

    Navigating separate platforms for FiOS and Wireless leads to inconsistent interfaces, making it difficult for users to find information and support across services.


  • Content Accessibility

    Users struggle to locate relevant content and resources efficiently, leading to frustration and repeat searches.


  • Limited Peer-to-Peer Interaction

    The lack of a unified community space hinders opportunities for users to connect, share insights, and resolve issues collaboratively.


  • High Dependency on Support Calls

    With limited self-service options and dispersed content, users often need to contact support, increasing both wait times and support costs.


  • Inconsistent User Journey

    Switching between platforms disrupts the user journey, affecting engagement and satisfaction.


  • Confusing Navigation

    Different navigation structures between FiOS and Wireless communities make it challenging for users to find specific features or information, leading to a disjointed experience.


  • Difficulty in Issue Resolution

    Users find it challenging to identify trusted answers or verified solutions within community posts, resulting in repeated issues and unnecessary support calls.




Stakeholders Interview


Stakeholder interviews helped us in gathering insights, understanding perspectives, and aligning the community revamp with user needs and business objectives. 


Steps taken 
  • Set a goal

  • Prepare Questions

  • Introduce ourself and create rapport

  • Conduct the Interview

  • Ending and Follow-up

  • Using the Insights

  • The takeaways

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These helped us in our UX research, ideation, priorities, timeline, resources, and stakeholder-engagement plans.






UX Audit


Scope of UX audit was to identify user experience drawbacks in both Fios and wireless platform 

Area we considered for UX audit


  • Existing entry gates to the community portals

  • Analytics differences

  • Sign-in/Register

  • community activity

  • Navigation

  • search functionality

  • Discussions on each topics

  • Aesthetics

  • Consistency across platform

  • User Profile

  • Leaderboard

  • Help & FAQ's

  • Sales

  • and many more



Entry Gates are less visible
  • The official entry to the platforms is listed on the support page, making it less visible to customers who visit the main website, which affects site traffic.

  • Community link is not listed on footer affecting the numbers 


Impacted Factor : Findability, Severity : High, Where is impact - Less footfall to platforms
Less Priority to Community Activities
  • Community activities are not visible upfront which is a high priority for more engagement and is core component of community

  • Unclear identifier tags makes the posts unclear


Impacted Factor : Creditability, Severity : High, Where is impact - Confusion with unclear identifiers
Navigation
  • Too many choices leads to difficulty in navigating throughout the portals

  • Inconsistency across navigation styles and top boards are to visible


Impacted Factor : Usability, Findability,  Severity : High, Where is impact - difference in style 
Poor Asthetic
  • Void Spaces kills User experience on landing page

  • Carousel effects along with text makes it difficult to read 


Impacted Factor : Usability, Severity : High, Where is impact - Experience is getting hampered with poor visual alignments, look and feel
Search 
  • Advance filters are not as per user's expectations

  • Titles were misleading

  • Search within filter made Bad user experiences


Impacted Factor : Creditability and Usability, Severity : High, Where is impact - Misleading titles & confusion with search increase bounce rate 
Inconsistency across elements
  • Inconsistency in different elements, components make it unclear and cluttered and gives bad user experience


Impacted Factor : Usability, Severity : High, Where is impact - Inconsistency leads confusion and affects brand image


Competitive Analysis


The goal was to understand the core values and engagement models of various community platforms, identify new techniques or features they offer, learn how they provide a better user experience, and discover potential opportunities for us.


AT&T
Google Gemini
Microsoft Copilot

The AT&T Community helps customers to engage, share information, and seek assistance. It serves as a platform for discussion and support, where members can ask questions, offer solutions, and share experiences related to AT&T's offerings, such as wireless services, internet, and TV

The Samsung Community is an online platform for users of Samsung products to connect, share insights, seek assistance, and engage with one another. It serves as a comprehensive resource for discussing Samsung products, services, and technologies.

The Apple Community enhances user experience by offering a platform for support, knowledge sharing, and engagement. It allows Apple users to connect, share experiences, and find solutions to their problems, fostering a strong and supportive community. 



Key features include

 

Discussion Forums, Support and Troubleshooting, Categories and Search, User Interaction and Engagement, Leaderboards and Recognition, Guidelines and Moderation, Exclusive Content and Updates, Events and Challenges

Things to Consider



Journey Mapping


Evaluate the process a user goes through to achieve a goal within community. It outlines each step of the user's interaction, highlighting their experiences, needs, goals, and emotions throughout the journey. 

Problem Framing


  • Global Search

    Distinct presence of global search on landing page and category based search on internal pages. These opportunity to come up with search suggestions/links for effective search 


  • Key components to be revised

    Category sorting, Navigation, Search, Activity, New featured, community page, create new message page, sign-in and register flow and many more needed to be revised


  • Engagement & leaderboard

    A well-thought-out approach for engaging community members in various activities, along with an updated leaderboard that highlights trending activities and top members


  • Low Engagement

    The existing communities lacked incentives for participation and interactivity.


  • Fragmented Navigation

    Users struggled with the disparate interfaces and content structures.


  • Ineffective Support

    Users found it difficult to access the information they needed, leading to frustration and increased support calls.


  • Community Discussions

    Relevant discussions can be easily found using appropriate categories. These discussions include likes, views, and comments. Additionally, logged-in members can participate by commenting on the discussions.


  • Help & Knowledge center

    Dedicated section on portal to get all information related to community which includes FAQ's Disclaimer, policy and other guidelines 


  • Start a discussion

    platform provides standard template of layout for 'start a discussion' Discussion can be initiated with various types


  • Many More....



Generating Solutions


During the ideation phase, the focus was on brainstorming solutions that addressed the core problems. Techniques used included.

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  • Design Thinking Workshops

    Collaborated with cross-functional teams, including UX design team, business stakeholders, product stakeholders, content strategists, and customer support, to generate a wide range of ideas.


  • Sketching & Wireframing

    Created low-fidelity wireframes to visualize the proposed structure of the unified community. The focus was on simplifying navigation and integrating gamification features.


  • Content Strategy

    Developed a content strategy that ensured all information was organized logically and consistently across both services.



Step 3 - Design

 


Design Thinking Workshops




Introducing unified interfaces for both mobile and home users, the platform organizes communities into three key segments: Home, Participate, and Help. Categories are redefined and simplified based on user activity, ensuring a more intuitive experience. The interface is also designed with scalability in mind, allowing for the seamless addition of new elements in the future.



Bringing Ideas to Life


The prototype phase involved creating high-fidelity prototypes based on the wireframes. These prototypes were


  1. Prioritization

    After the workshop , we identified and prioritize the ideas and concepts generated during ideation. we evaluated each idea based on criteria such as feasibility, impact on users, and alignment with business goals. Prioritization helps us focus efforts on the most promising concepts.


  2. Creating IA

    We briefly described the types of menus which defines the structure and organization of content and functionalities within the platform. It includes creating sitemaps and defining navigation paths to ensure users can easily find information and initiate the conversation, answers on other posts 


  3. Tasks Flows & User Flows 

    We worked on the Task flows as well user flows which focus on the detailed steps and interactions required for users to complete specific user tasks. It provide a more granular view, often highlighting decision points, inputs, and outputs at each step.


  4. Conceptualizing

    After prioritizing the ideas, we moved on to explore various ways to implement these ideas. This phase encourages creativity and generates multiple design concepts or solutions. It involves sketching, brainstorming, and sometimes creating rough prototypes to visualize different approaches.


  5. Interactive Prototypes

    Developed using tools like Figma and InVision, allowing stakeholders to interact with the proposed design and provide feedback.


  6. Usability Testing

    Conducted multiple rounds of usability testing with real users from both FIOS and Wireless communities. Feedback was gathered on navigation, content discoverability, and overall user experience.



Component & Composition


Core Components

Categories level, categories description should be fixed. (50% Live fixed components)


Color Theme

Focused on creating the color theme based on brand requirement

Contextual Customizable

Events, Polls, Blog, Announcements which is 40% (contextual customized  components)

Error Prevention and Recovery

Integrated clear error messages and recovery options to customer understand the issues while porting anything on community

Merchandising Customizable

8% merchandising components which can be moved or changed and are flexible 

User Feedback Loop

Embedded feedback mechanisms where customers can rate us and share feedback as per their experience on community

Responsive Design

Ensured the layout adapts seamlessly across different screen sizes and devices (desktop, tablet, mobile) to support customer devices

Breathing Space

2% breathing between each of the components to make it more readable 


Building the Solution


  • Enhanced Navigation and Discoverability

    Implemented intuitive navigation build IA and advanced search to improve content accessibility and help users quickly locate resources.


  • Personalized User Experience

    Leveraged algorithms to recommend content and discussions based on user preferences, promoting relevant engagement.


  • Gamification and Engagement Features

    Added badges, leaderboards, and rewards to motivate participation and foster community connections.


  • Self-Service Support

    Built a robust self-service section with FAQs, knowledge articles, and verified solutions to reduce reliance on support.


  • Peer-to-Peer Interaction

    Created spaces for discussions and peer support to strengthen community bonds and collaborative problem-solving.


  • Content Moderation Tools

    Provided moderation tools to help community managers ensure a safe, high-quality environment.



Data Migration


Ensured a seamless transition by successfully migrating legacy data to the new platform without data loss, maintaining user access to prior content.



Agile Development and Iteration


Worked in an agile setup to incorporate ongoing user feedback and quickly iterate on design improvements.



Responsive and Scalable Design


Designed the platform to be responsive across devices and scalable to accommodate future Verizon services and user growth.







Documentation & Handoff


Design Handoff

Delivered comprehensive design specifications to the vendor, including visual assets, interaction guidelines, and responsive behavior aligned with brand standards.


Community Platform Development

Collaborated with the vendor to build the platform, incorporating all ideated features, unified navigation, and a cohesive interface to integrate FiOS and Wireless communities seamlessly.


Testing & Analysis

Quality Assurance

Conducted thorough QA testing to verify design integrity and ensure a smooth, bug-free user experience.


Performance Analytics and Feedback

Integrated analytics to monitor engagement and gather feedback, enabling continuous platform enhancements based on user needs.




Results


The revamped and unified Client community platform delivered significant improvements

Design Impact
Business Value

Streamlined navigation and simplified layout reduced task completion time 

The unified community platform has seen a 60% annual increase in unique visitors, enhancing both its reach and user engagement

Improved information hierarchy and design consistency led to increase in user satisfaction 

Clear solutions and helpful resources have increased views on accepted solutions by 30%, enhancing user satisfaction and trust.

Consistent UI patterns and intuitive interactions fostered a cohesive experience, building trust and encouraging community participation.

The unified platform deflected routine support calls by up to 20%

Empathy-Driven Experience responds to user needs and emotions, fostering a sense of belonging and community

Cost Savings of $10.4M driven by design changes. New Registration on community increased by 30%

Optimized for mobile and desktop, the platform provides users with a seamless experience across devices, ensuring accessibility for all.

Strategic decisions influenced by design insights led to a reduction in operational costs.



 


Outcomes


Key Performance Metrics

Key Performance Metric
Before Unification
After Unification

User Engagement (DAU/MAU)

DAU/MAU ratio at 15%

DAU/MAU ratio increased to 20%

Content Interaction

Avg. 5 interactions per post

Avg. 9 interactions per post

Community Growth

New sign-ups at 3,000 per month

New sign-ups increased by 1500 per month

Support Call Reduction

Support call volume steady at pre-unification levels

20% reduction in support calls as self-service improved

Content Discoverability

Search success rate at 60%

Search success rate increased to 85%

User Satisfaction (NPS)

NPS score of +20

NPS score increased to +40

Participation in Gamification

10% of users engage with gamification elements

15% of users engage with gamification features


Tracking method

Method
Tool Used
Purpose

Performance Analytics

Adobe

Track handling time and case volume

SuperUser Feedback

Spreadsheets, feedback forms/ mechanism

Measure satisfaction scores

Usability Testing

Internal team

Evaluated interface changes


Qualitative Results


  • Users express greater satisfaction due to the seamless and intuitive interface, streamlined navigation, and cohesive brand experience across both FiOS and Wireless communities.

  • Users feel a greater sense of belonging and motivation to participate, with increased peer-to-peer support and active involvement in discussions, thanks to gamification and a unified experience.

  • Users experience less frustration as they no longer need to switch between separate platforms, improving their perception of Verizon as a unified, customer-focused brand.

  • Users find it easier to locate relevant content, resources, and discussions, which improves their overall platform experience and reduces time spent searching for information.



Key Challenges


1 Balancing Consistency and Customization - It was challenging to create a unified experience that respected the unique needs of both FIOS and Wireless users

2 Data Migration - Ensuring a seamless migration of content without losing valuable information was a significant challenge.

3 Technical Integration - Merging two distinct platforms with different architectures and databases posed significant technical challenges

4 Change Management - Managing the transition for users accustomed to separate platforms involved extensive communication and support


Key Learnings


1 Early usability testing and getting regular user feedback was key to ensuring the platform met user needs.

2 Maintaining continuous engagement with users throughout the project, provided invaluable insights that shaped the final product.

3 Using analytics effectively guided design improvements.

4 Effective communication and collaboration with the vendor were essential for the successful implementation of the designs.

5 Early buy-in from stakeholders helped to streamline decision-making, reduce delays, and avoid significant redesigns later in the process.


Conclusion


The community revamp and unification project successfully delivered a platform that met user needs, improved engagement, and reduced support costs. By applying Design Thinking methodologies, we ensured that the solution was innovative, user-centered, and effective in addressing the core challenges.


The project also highlighted the importance of iterative testing, cross-functional collaboration, and effective vendor management in creating a successful product.


The new unified platform not only served Client's current community needs but also laid a strong foundation for future growth and scalability, ensuring that client could continue to provide exceptional user experiences as its service offerings expand.


Next Steps


  • Post-Launch Optimization: Ongoing user feedback collection and iterative improvements.

  • Expand Platform Features and Integrate additional capabilities

  • Integrating the Chatbot.

  • Building Community on MVA

  • Introducing more gamification features, activities

  • Profile Personalization

  • Super User dashboard and more...

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