Zoom is missing this one important feature!
By: Peter Liu
Tags: Zoom, Covid 19, Startup, Product, Product Management

And I wrote a Product Requirements Document for it.

What is the goal?

The objective is to add a lounge space feature on Zoom to foster small talks and pre/post zoom call connections.

What problem does this project solve?

Zoom as a video conferencing software has elevated to a verb status over the course of the COVID pandemic. However, as people spend more and more time on zoom, zoom fatigue has become more noticeable. Genuine human connections such as small talks, coworker connections, student interactions that would have happened in real life have disappeared or diminished. By creating a zoom lounge, it will bring back some of the genuine interactions lost and make zoom more competitive in the long run.

What is the vision?

Zoom Lounge will allow conversations to happen outside of the main meeting. It allows people to stick around post-meeting and experience the “hallway experience” students and professionals alike enjoy in their study and work environments.

Competitors such as Google hangout, Microsoft, and Facebook have their eyes on the market and are aiming to carve out their own shares. These competitors all have a strong ecosystem and allow users to integrate video calls within Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, or Facebook chats. However, Zoom needs to develop more features to provide a better user experience to stay on top of the game.

User Personas:

The following are the four key user personas that will use the Zoom Lounge feature.

1)Working Professional

2)Meeting Host

3)Young End-User

4)Zoom Business Customer

User Stories:

As a working professional, I want Zoom meetings to feel less transactional so my meetings flow more naturally. I want to mingle with coworkers from other teams so work is not just about work. Nevertheless, I don’t want something mandatory that I have to attend or requires me to talk to people I don’t share common interests with.

As the meeting host, I want to give space for Q&As and after meeting connections to occur more organically. I want a space where my participants can form small groups or connections to leave contacts with each other because I want to foster connections. I also want participants to have a chance to know each other beforehand so my meetings can be more productive.

As a young/social/educational meeting attendee, I want to grab people after the meeting ends to talk to so I can get specific help/resources I need. I want a space where I can have a small talk with my friends before the meeting starts. I want to make new friends through zoom meetings so that I am happier during COVID.

As a Zoom Business Customer, I want to get the most out of what I am paying for. I want to make sure my organization/school/etc. get the most out of my purchase. Specifically, I want to boost productivity and user experience without sacrificing privacy and security.

Requirements & Features

Sitemap:

Pre-Meeting

Post -Meeting

Page Descriptions:

Wireframes/Mockups:

Pre-meeting Lounge Room(with right-click buttons)

End Meeting Prompt

Transition Page

Lounge Space with chat and video call functionalities

Non-Functional Requirements

Scalability:

The Lounge must be able to host as many sessions as there are meeting sessions for millions of users simultaneously.

The application must be able to meet the maximum attendee allowance based on the hosts’ zoom plan

Privacy:

Messages should be encrypted to maintain privacy.

Only people with an invite link or room code can initiate “create a lounge space” or join the Lounge after the meeting.

Robustness: Chats should be stored on an online database if a user’s device crashes.

Connectivity: Messages should be sent and received instantly.

Usability:

The app needs to ensure users understand that chat/video conversations in the lounge room are public to the people in the room including the host. But the chat history will disappear after the lounge session ends.

End users should be able to exit the Lounge with one click.

The interface must be responsive (work well and look good on all screen sizes)

Text, image, and files should be able to be received for all users with different internet connectivity

Risks

Hosts have the option to enable Lounge Room functionality without attending the lounge room themselves. The risk associated with unmonitored conversations of underage children needs to be accepted by hosts if they choose to enable the functionality. Since this functionality is only available for 15 minutes before and after meetings, chats will not be stored under the chat tab after sessions expire. This might lead to the loss of important conversations or file sharing if users are not aware of it. The time and resources taken to design and implement this feature might outweigh the immediate financial return from this functionality.

Future Iterations

Reference: Template from scalablepath.com