"Memo" Feature for Sygma
A User-Centered Approach to Streamlining Note-Taking and Collaboration for Engineers
Overview
In hardware engineering, productivity often hinges on efficient organization and streamlined collaboration. However, many teams face challenges with scattered notes, redundant administrative work, and a lack of centralized documentation, hindering their ability to focus on core engineering tasks. Recognizing this gap, Sygma—a project management platform tailored for hardware engineering teams—set out to address these issues through a user-centered design approach.
Our mission was to create a robust "Memo" feature that would simplify note-taking and integrate seamlessly into the workflows of engineers and project managers. By allowing users to link notes to individual issues, tag team members, and assign tasks, we aimed to reduce engineers' time managing notes and increase overall productivity by 70%.
Role & Duration
UX Designer
Led the user-centered design process, from research to prototyping, to create an intuitive, efficient note-taking feature tailored for hardware engineering teams.
April - August 2024
Team
Co-Founder, CTO, Software Engineer
Current Problems
Engineers faced issues with disorganized notes, causing missed details in projects
Non-engineering tasks, like updating notes and coordinating, took up too much time
.png)
Information was scattered across platforms, making it hard to find key details quickly
.png)
Limited options for targeted sharing of updates slowed team communication
.png)
Lack of a link between notes and tasks led to lost productivity from manual tracking
Our Objectives
Streamlined Management
Consolidate note-taking, task management, and document sharing within Sygma
Centralized Notes
Provide a single, accessible location for all project-related notes
Enhanced Collaboration
Allow team members to tag, assign tasks, and share updates within notes
Linked Tasks
Integrate notes with issues for easy assignment and follow-up
Organized Access
Structure notes for quick, easy access to essential information
Our Challenge
01
Integrated Memo Features
02
User-Friendly Advanced Tools
03
Seamless Note-Task Linking
Sygma Users & Audiences
Hardware Engineers
Product Design Engineers
Global Teams
Industrial Designer
Product/Project Managers
User Personal
Alex Johnson
Hardware Engineer
Motivations
-
Keeping projects on track and meeting deadlines.
-
Streamlining workflows to minimize interruptions and administrative work.
-
Enhancing team communication to ensure everyone is aligned and updated.
Age: 34
Location: San Francisco
Biography
Alex is a senior hardware engineer who collaborates with cross-functional teams, including designers, project managers, and mechanical engineers. Known for his technical expertise, he often leads the development of high-priority projects. He spends significant time managing project documentation and coordinating with team members in different time zones.
Behavior
-
Uses digital tools like Google Sheets, Slides, Smartsheet, and project management software to stay organized.
-
Documents meeting notes, project updates, and technical details, though managing notes across platforms feels cumbersome.
-
Prefers concise, actionable notes linked to specific tasks or issues.
-
Collaborates remotely with global teams, making clear and accessible communication essential.
Goals
-
Streamline note and project management to reduce platform switching.
-
​Make project tasks and notes easily accessible and shareable with the team.
-
Reduce time on administrative tasks to prioritize technical problem-solving
Frustrations
-
Disorganized notes spread across different tools and platforms, leading to wasted time in searching for information.
-
Linking notes to specific tasks or issues causes a lack of context.
-
Limited collaboration options in traditional note-taking tools, impacting project alignment with team members.
The Design Process
01
DISCOVER
Our Challenge
In hardware engineering, productivity often hinges on efficient organization and streamlined collaboration. However, many teams face challenges with scattered notes, redundant administrative work, and a lack of centralized documentation, hindering their ability to focus on core engineering tasks. Recognizing this gap, Sygma—a project management platform tailored for hardware engineering teams—set out to address these issues through a user-centered design approach.
Our mission was to create a robust "Memo" feature that would simplify note-taking and integrate seamlessly into the workflows of engineers and project managers. By allowing users to link notes to individual issues, tag team members, and assign tasks, we aimed to reduce engineers' time managing notes and increase overall productivity by 70%.
Project Management Solutions for Hardware Teams
Most project management platforms are designed with software engineering or general business use cases in mind, leaving hardware engineers underserved. This gap results in engineers having to adapt general-purpose tools.
Lack of Centralized Note Management
Engineers commonly take notes on various platforms, resulting in a lack of centralization. This disorganization can lead to lost or duplicated information and an increased time spent searching for relevant details across platforms.
Challenges in Staying Organized
Engineers face difficulties staying organized with information and notes spread across disparate systems. The lack of integration and sync between tools creates a significant barrier to maintaining efficient workflows, especially when information needs to be quickly accessible or updated.
Fragmented Tool Usage
Many hardware engineers rely on multiple platforms—from general note-taking apps to specialized tools for task management—leading to fragmented workflows. This multi-platform approach makes it challenging for users to keep track of individual projects, documents, and notes, which are often scattered across different applications.
Competitor Analysis
We conducted a SWOT analysis comparing Sygma with popular competitors—Asana, Monday.com, Basecamp, and Notion.
02
DEFINE
User Interviews
To gain deeper insights into hardware engineers' needs and pain points, we interviewed 10 engineers from various companies. Our objective was to understand how they currently track issues, organize notes, assign tasks, and what platforms they use in their workflows. Below are the questions we used and key findings from these interviews.
Interview Questions
-
How do you keep track of project issues?
-
Where do you store your meeting and project notes?
-
How and where are tasks assigned within your team?
-
What platforms or tools do you use to manage your work [e.g., Excel, Basecamp, Notion, Google Doc/Slides]?
Key Findings
Issue Tracking
Many engineers rely on ad hoc tools like Excel, Google Slides, or customized sheets to track issues, often leading to fragmented workflows
Note Storage
Notes are dispersed across multiple platforms [e.g., email, spreadsheets, slide decks, personal notes], making it difficult to find information quickly
Task Assignment
Task assignments are managed inconsistently, with some teams using email and others using separate project management tools, causing gaps in visibility and accountability
Platform Usage
Most engineers use a combination of tools, including Excel, Word, Slides, Basecamp, and Notion; none fully support the needs of hardware-specific workflows, leading to inefficiencies
03
Design
User Flow
After gathering insights from user interviews, I quickly developed a user flow to map the ideal journey for hardware engineers using the new "Memo" feature. This flow outlined users' steps to add, tag, and assign notes within the platform, ensuring that key actions were intuitive and accessible.
How It All Started
With the user flow as a guide, I sketched initial ideas for the "Memo" interface. These sketches served as quick visual explorations of layout and functionality, focusing on integrating note-taking, tagging, and task assignment elements.
.png)
I developed an interactive prototype in Figma based on the refined sketches and low-fi wireframes. These prototypes incorporated detailed UI elements, real data samples, and clickable interactions, enabling stakeholders and test users to experience the functionality firsthand.
04
VALIDATE & DELIVERY
Usability Testing
To validate our design, we conducted usability testing with hardware engineers, focusing on how well the "Memo" feature addressed their needs for efficiency and organization. The results were highly encouraging:
Project Outcome
Project OutcomeThe "Memo" feature successfully enhanced productivity and efficiency for hardware engineering teams. The feature reduced the time spent on administrative tasks by over 50% by centralizing note-taking, task assignment, and issue tracking. Engineers now have a more streamlined workflow, allowing them to focus on high-priority technical work rather than manual coordination.
​
This project provided valuable insights into the unique needs of hardware engineering teams, especially around managing workflows that require precision and clear communication. One of the main takeaways was integrating specialized features—like task-linked note-taking—into a broader project management framework. Hardware engineers often work with fragmented tools that aren't designed with their specific needs in mind, highlighting the value of designing with a deep focus on user context.
​
A critical lesson learned was the significance of seamless integration with users' existing tools. Users highly valued that the "Memo" feature could sync with their current platforms, reinforcing the need for compatibility and flexibility in design. Moving forward, I will emphasize interoperability and look for ways to ensure that any new features I design can be smoothly incorporated into users' established workflows. I'm excited to bring these insights into my next projects to create more targeted, impactful solutions.
Improved efficiency
Users completed administrative tasks 50% faster, finding that the streamlined note-taking and task assignment capabilities significantly reduced time spent on routine tasks.
Seamless Integration with Existing Tools
Users appreciated the memo feature's ability to sync with their existing platforms, allowing them to keep all project notes and updates centralized without disrupting their established workflows.
Enhanced Issue Tracking and Collaboration
Test participants found it much easier to track project issues, share notes with team members or executives, and assign tasks directly within their notes, resulting in more organized and collaborative workflows.
