Design Solutions to Reduce Miscommunication in Videoconferencing Meetings

Project length: 9 months

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Sector: For-Profit, B2B

My role: UX designer & researcher

Supervisor: Dr. Luanne Sinnamon, Associate Professor at UBC's School of Information and DFP Co-Director

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Utilized skills: ​​

• Problem space and design space identification through literature review

• Qualitative analysis with semi-structured interviews

• Design needs assessment and requirement generation using Reflexive Thematic Analysis

• Solution design using Speculative Design and Design Workbook methods

Project summary:

Videoconferencing (VC) meetings are prone to miscommunications due to participants’ lack of co-presence, limited non-verbal communication and common technical difficulties. Miscommunication, including misunderstandings and misattributions, between participants are likely to occur in this setting, thus impacting the quality of communication. Moreover, miscommunication impacts virtual teams’ collaboration in terms of team performances, social relations, and team members’ wellbeing. Though society has started to “return to normal” two years into the pandemic, VC meetings have become the new norm in the workplace with the new era of hybrid work and the continuity of remote work. Past research on miscommunication in VC meetings are limited; researchers have only scratched the surface of this phenomena - common technical issues and human factors have been found to be the factors of miscommunication in such meetings - and none have dived into the details of the miscommunication experiences occurring specifically in VC meetings and possible design solutions. Therefore, this study aims to fill this research gap by using a Design Workbook method to investigate users’ attitudes and expectations for design solutions to reduce miscommunication in VC meetings. Data analysis is ongoing.

Research presentation:

Poster presented at the 2023 UBC's Designing for People Research Cluster Design Showcase​