Mini Study: Microsoft
Microsoft Support Center Redesign

Client: Microsoft
Project: Microsoft Support Center Redesign

Responsibilities: Research & Discovery, Stakeholder Interviews, Competitive & Comparative audit and analysis, Task Flows, Site Architecture, Wireframes, Design direction
Challenges: Microsoft is a large company with many siloed business groups that make sharing customer data difficult resulting in a painful customer support experience. Experiences left customers frustrated, negatively impacting the Microsoft Brand.

The problem:
SMC team recognized that getting help on Microsoft.com was harder than it had to be due to the siloed nature of individual business units, resulting in one inconsistent experience after another. Additionally, SMC knew customers were forced to spend more time and effort than necessary managing their various accounts–no central location existed where all account information was easily accessible. With the growing consumer interest in different devices types and subscriptions, it was imperative that Support be more customer friendly and knowledgeable than it’s current state.

Discovery: Audit and analysis

Discovery phase consisted of the following tasks:
  • Stakeholder interviews
  • Competitive audit support sites with final analysis
  • Microsoft Support IA audit and analysis
  • Microsoft Support task flow audit and analysis

Site Hierarchy, Information Architecture
and Content Strategy

The customer profiles, payment, subscription and device data required an secure, elegant, and progressive solution to make it easier for customer to confidently access and manage their information, regardless of entry point. I was tasked with mapping the depth and breadth of the experience to ensure proper information hierarchy and subsequent linking strategies. From  high-level site architecture to page level sections,  “No dead ends” was the mantra.

Sketches > Wires > Comps

Rapid iteration with high level sketches jump-started ideation with designers and clients alike. We were able to rapidly review and discard patterns that didn't work and lean into solutions that were easy to templatize and manage, reducing churn and rework.

Final experience

The resulting redesign focused on the site purpose, removal of unnecessary clutter, simplified decision trees and process flows. The content redesign resulted in a a uniform, recognizable visual hierarchy to make the content easier to digest and understand. The site was also updated to work across different screen sizes and operating systems, ensuring greater access for customers.