adriennepalmer.com | VYSK Communications

Industry:

Startup - Emerging Technology, Encryption

Role:

UX Architect, IC

Challenge:

Create a calling app that complied with HIPPA and GDPR regulations via encrypted private communications in multiple languages with a minimal learning curve / customer on-boarding experience.

Users:

Executives, Law Enforcement
US and EMEA
35-65
Non Technical

Methods & Technologies:

User Inquires
Requirements Gathering
Wireframing
Prototyping
UI Design
User Validation
VQA

Outcomes

On-boarding and activation time-to-set up decreased 80%.
UAT Timezone feature 75% positive / 25% neutral.
UI redesign tied to rebranding efforts and adherence to iOS standards for a consistent, modern experience.

Vysk Communications is a startup that created end-to-end VoIP encrypted mobile communication solutions through a combination of mechanical, hardware, iOS, and software innovations.

As UX Architect, I was responsible for working with Encryption Security, Mechanical Engineering, Firmware, and Application Development teams to help deliver a product that was user friendly without compromising a user’s privacy.

VYSK iOS app with case on an iPhone 6. Loading, Dialing, Handshake.

Client On-boarding & Case Activation, Self Serve

Some of the challenges in pairing a hardware device with a mobile app was in the account creation, device activation and deactivation, and other on boarding and set up activities. Prior to joining VYSK the activation and on-boarding process was complicated, required a lot of manual effort for the client and end user, and also required multiple touch points for internal VYSK administrators.

We were able to create a new portal that allowed for clients to self serve activation, add cases in bulk, and bulk administer activation and features while greatly reducing friction for end users.

Client onboard flow — Process flow for on-boarding new clients. Account portal allows for self service administration by Client and end users. Client administration as well as devices and users can be managed by VYSK as needed.

Client activation flow — Activating cases via self serve greatly eliminated administration burden for VYSK Admins and Client Admins. Client Admins are able to block and remotely wipe employee devices remotely. VYSK Admins can also perform the same functionality if there is a billing or a TOS infraction without compromising the end user's or client security.

Previous design — Previous experience required users to manually add 36 digit UUIDs, a random 9 digit number assigned as primary identifier, or choose a system ID that required the ID to be unique across all accounts. Billing was also per device and did not account for enterprise level billing or device subscriptions.

Calling Screen Iterative Release

With the changes to the account setup and device activation, we still needed to account for devices in the field that were grandfathered in so that there was no disruption to the product's functionality. We updated the calling screens and the "dialer", replacing the dialer with the VYSK Call feature. The iterative release allowed for both contact to contact functionality as well as a number dialer for GEN 1/MVP devices. Taking this approach allowed for less disruption to the user experience for existing users while incorporating new functionality until the older devices could be retired.

Calling screen flow — Changes to the calling flow included: 1) Keeping the dialer icon but renaming it VYSK Call, 2) Replacing the number pad with predictive type in a text box that allowed for numbers, 3) Retain the protocol handshake feedback elements 4) Return users to the VYSK Call screen upon completion of a call.

Timezone, Contact, & Account Profile Features

During conversations with users we discovered one of the unique challenges for us was that the users wanted security and privacy without sacrificing convenience. For users in private wealth management, they wanted to be able to contact their clients easily, but with both parties traveling extensively, missed calls due to time zones was an issue.

To quickly convey appropriate call availability, I created opt-in day and night screens that displayed timezone differences between callers. When the timezone feature was enabled, users could quickly see the time difference relative to where they were without disclosing exact locations.

For users that did not want any location tracking, the timezone option could be disabled in their account settings at any time. When the timezone was disabled by a user, they could still see a contact's timezone and the hour +/- difference via interacting with iOS, but their timezone would not be broadcast.

In addition to the timezone display, through user interviews and prototype testing we learned that our users had differing levels of desired privacy — all of the users desired security, but some wanted anonymity. By using email as primary identifiers, users could easily create an account profile. To contact other users, an invite and accept protocol was created. Contacts had to add and accept each other to make or receive calls, to eliminate open calling across the platform. Additionally users could self administer contact details to make them easier to find in the network, or contacts could be managed at the client admin level through the administration portal.

Settings, Account Profile, and Contact Detail screens.

Explorations

Some explorations I created for the Calling Screen and the Contacts Screen:

VYSK Communications Encrypted Voice Mobile App