Streamlining After-Sales Operations for 37,000+ Stores: A UX Revamp
Exploring collaboration experience strategies inside a Fortune 500 manufacturing enterprise
Services
Product Design
Year
2022
My Role
UX Designer, Researcher, Prototyping
Overview
Imagine this: a designer sketches a blueprint. An engineer builds it. A salesperson follows up. A driver delivers. A technician installs. In a global manufacturing company like Midea, this kind of cross-role, cross-region collaboration happens every day — at scale.
Midea Connect was built to support it all. With over 100,000 daily users, it functions as the backbone of internal communication, task coordination, and workflow execution. In theory, it connects people and information.
In practice, we kept hearing the same feedback:
“The experience is poor.”
“Collaboration feels difficult.”
“There are too many processes.”
Despite a full feature set, Midea Connect often fails to support the diversity and complexity of real-world work. As the organization becomes more global and roles more fragmented, the platform’s value has become harder to define.
As UX researchers, we went back to the context. We wanted to understand how people actually use this platform, what gets in their way, and how a tool so embedded in daily operations could start truly supporting collaboration — not just simulating it.
Midea Connect: A Brief History
Launched in 2013, Midea Connect began as a simple internal messaging tool. Its goal was clear: reduce communication barriers, help employees reach the right people quickly, and get work done faster. The early version offered just the basics — 1:1 messaging, group chat, and file sharing.
As the company expanded, messaging wasn’t enough. The platform grew to include contact directories, task reminders, calendars, approval flows, and integrations with ERP and HR systems. What started as a lightweight IM tool evolved into an all-in-one digital workplace.
But growth brought complexity. The experience became harder to navigate — especially on mobile and for frontline or cross-functional users. For many, Midea Connect shifted from a helpful tool to something they had to “work around.”
So we began asking: how is it really used? Where does friction appear? When do people rely on it — and when do they avoid it?
This became the starting point for our research — and our effort to reposition the product: not just as a tool for communication, but as a system for making information and people visible.
What we learned: Insights from the collaboration experience
We studied how employees across roles — from factory floor to head office — interact with Midea Connect in real scenarios. Using interviews, behavioral analytics, surveys, and heuristic audits, we uncovered three core experience gaps: information discovery, message awareness, and collaboration flow.
1 “I can’t find what I need — or who I need.”
Search was among the most frequently used features — and one of the most frustrating. People often entered keywords, waited, then left without clicking anything. In interviews, users described search as a guessing game. Behavioral data showed a high bounce rate within 10–15 seconds. Information was scattered across group chats, individual messages, files, and business systems — but there was no clear map of what lived where, or what could be retrieved. The problem wasn’t just the interface. It was a lack of system-level intelligence.
Make search contextual, not just functional.
I proposed improving relevance through behavioral signals — such as user history, chat context, and relationship graphs — to prioritize results that actually matter. Semantic parsing and auto-suggestions help lower the barrier to entry, especially for users who don’t know exact terms. Separating “people,” “files,” and “conversations” into visible categories gives structure and direction to the search journey.
2 “This feature seems useful — I just didn’t know it was there.”
Search was among the most frequently used features — and one of the most frustrating. People often entered keywords, waited, then left without clicking anything. In interviews, users described search as a guessing game. Behavioral data showed a high bounce rate within 10–15 seconds. Information was scattered across group chats, individual messages, files, and business systems — but there was no clear map of what lived where, or what could be retrieved. The problem wasn’t just the interface. It was a lack of system-level intelligence.
Design for discoverability, not just access.
I recommended improving the visual prominence of filters and notifications using clearer icons, consistent placement, and supporting text labels. Contextual prompts like “Too many updates? Filter unread messages” can be introduced during high-volume chat activity. Progressive onboarding or lightweight tooltips can reinforce these tools without disrupting workflow.
3 “I opened the chat — and then got lost.”
The message window — the core space for collaboration — frequently left users confused. Interviews and click maps showed low interaction rates with built-in productivity tools like file requests, polls, or quick approvals. Tools were inconsistently labeled and scattered across devices, requiring repeated relearning. Heuristic audits flagged issues with clarity, consistency, and grouping. “I didn’t even know that button was for meetings,” one user said. The space was full — but cognitively empty.
Restructure the chat space around user tasks.
I proposed a task-first layout with three clear zones: messaging, contextual tools, and action shortcuts. High-frequency features like file sharing and meeting invites should be prominent; low-frequency tools grouped under expandable menus. I also emphasized parity between desktop and mobile to reduce learning effort. Better layout isn’t about adding more — it’s about making the right thing show up at the right time.
4 “I want to know what they’re working on — but there’s nothing here.”
The personal profile page was heavily visited — and just as frequently exited. Users expected basic work context: What’s this person working on? Are they online? How can I reach them? But most profiles only offered names and titles. As one team lead put it, “We’re in the same project group, but I honestly don’t know what she does.” In a distributed organization, relationships need more than just contact. They need cues for connection.
Bring work context into contact pages.
I proposed redesigning personal profiles to surface relevant signals like current role, project alignment, availability status, and team relationships. Lightweight integrations with OKR tools or scheduling systems allow quick visibility into shared priorities. Adding fields like “works with X team” or “handles contract approvals” can make collaboration smoother and more intentional — especially across functions.
Zooming out — where do we go from here?
Effective collaboration in a manufacturing enterprise isn’t just about communication. It’s about visibility, alignment, and trust — across time zones, functions, and tools.
Midea Connect is meant to support this system. But when it doesn't reflect how people actually work, it becomes invisible in the wrong way: present, but no longer helpful.
As UX researchers, I led the discovery process, helped define product north stars, and advocated for experience to be treated as a measurable organizational asset. We mapped UX strategy to business outcomes and built a long-term roadmap across functions — shifting collaboration design from a support task to a strategic capability.
Bringing user thinking into digital transformation revealed something deeper: Poor experience isn’t just frustrating — it’s operationally expensive.
As collaboration becomes more dynamic, our challenge isn’t adding features — it’s designing for context. We need tools that adapt to roles, predict intent, and stay out of the way when needed.
In modern work, being seen is just as important as being connected. Sometimes, it’s the missing link between coordination and chaos.