Outlook Mail Migration
Move 350K+ IBMers from a 20-year-old legacy mail system to a new platform, partnering with stakeholders to create communications that would provide users the critical information they needed to successfully migrate while minimizing loss of productivity.
The assignment: IBM’s legacy mail system, Notes, had been the email delivery system at IBM for 20 years. To move 350K+ IBMers to a new platform required a content strategy that would not only provide critical information to ensure users would take the actions necessary to migrate, but also reassurance that the support needed to allow them to continue accessing their email before, during and after migration was in place. Ultimately, the goal was to minimize loss of productivity during the migration.
My role: Lead content designer assigned to work with a 55-person, cross-functional team to create a cadence of communications for an enterprise-wide campaign. I worked closely with stakeholders to craft communications aligned with their expectations. The team began with small pilot programs to test effectiveness of communications. We iterated based on user surveys and feedback, and I collaborated with UX designers to continually improve the user experience.
Case Study: The final mail communication
The fourth and final communication in the mail migration cycle provided critical information to ensure users could hit the ground running after the setup of their new email account. As increasingly larger teams were taken through this process, more was learned about open rates and click-throughs. This case study demonstrates how research was used to create a better user experience for IBMers, and ultimately boost the success of the project.
Before
In the pilot programs, we learned from user questions that anxiety was high over how quickly the user would be able to send and receive emails after the migration. While a bulleted checklist and links to information provided answers, the steps were not well-defined, and users were overlooking elements of the list. The message needed to be simplified.
After
The mailer was redesigned to provide users with visual cues to help walk them through the checklist.
This simplified design pared down messaging to essential, critical information. It also served to communicate visually, by virtue of the shorter text and numbered list, that this process truly was nearly complete, easing anxiety about how quickly users could get back to doing meaningful work.