top of page
PeepalDesign - head banner

Overview

While working as a UX Researcher at a leading design consultancy in 2019, I led a foundational research project for a global technology client exploring the feasibility of integrating messaging experiences across three major social media platforms.

 

The goal was to evaluate user expectations, mental models, and uncover usability gaps and concerns surrounding a unified messaging system.

Objective

  • Understand how users navigate and emotionally experience private messaging across multiple social app platforms.

  • Identify pain points, overlaps, and inconsistencies in perception, usage, and terminology.

  • Explore expectations and concerns around a potential unified messaging interface—particularly regarding privacy.

  • Provide strategic direction based on behavioural differences across user segments.

  • Guide internal alignment on messaging strategy through user-centred research — helping teams rethink assumptions and avoid costly missteps.

Approach

  • Conducted 1:1 in-depth interviews across diverse demographics to map messaging behaviours and mental models.

  • Facilitated focus group discussions (FGDs) across urban and rural regions, covering varied age groups, gender identities, and occupations.

  • Organised co-creation workshops to explore users’ expectations for a unified messaging experience—focusing on message segregation, boundary-setting, and privacy needs.

  • Mapped cross-platform messaging workflows and terminology inconsistencies to uncover user friction.

  • Conducted internal insight alignment sessions to guide product decisions with empathy and evidence.

Key Insights

  • Users regarded messaging as a deeply personal and emotionally driven experience, but perceived each platform's messaging tool differently.

  • User behaviours and mental models differed significantly across geographic and demographic segments.

  • Rural users, particularly teenagers, expressed strong concerns around privacy. In households where a single mobile device is shared among family members, the idea of consolidating messages across platforms felt intrusive and threatening to personal boundaries.

  • Many younger users preferred platform-specific messaging because it allowed them to maintain distinct social identities (e.g., family on one app, friends on another).

  • Urban users valued consistency and ease, but still raised concerns about how message segregation would work in a unified system.

  • Terminology like “DM,” “inbox,” and “chat” had different associations depending on the platform, adding to the cognitive load.

Impact

  • Research challenged the initial product hypothesis and provided evidence-backed rationale against unifying the messaging ecosystem in its originally proposed form.

  • Insights shifted internal conversations towards platform-specific enhancements, rather than full integration.

  • Privacy and segmentation emerged as critical user values, particularly in shared-device contexts, leading to redefined product priorities.

  • The work reinforced the importance of contextual user research in shaping inclusive and respectful digital communication systems.

Reflection

This project was a powerful reminder of the importance of designing with—not just for—users. While the initial brief leaned heavily towards validating a business hypothesis, our research surfaced deeper, often overlooked, socio-cultural dynamics that fundamentally challenged the direction of the product.

​

One of the most impactful moments for me was listening to rural teenagers voice their concerns about shared devices and the fear of losing private spaces. It highlighted that privacy is not just a technical feature—it is a deeply personal, contextual experience that can vary drastically depending on one's environment and social setup.

​

Collaborating closely with users through co-creation workshops and FGDs helped ground the design strategy in lived realities rather than assumptions. It also reinforced my belief that successful products are those that honour the complexity of human behaviour, even if it means pivoting away from a well-resourced initial vision.

​

This experience deepened my commitment to ethical, inclusive research and strengthened my confidence in influencing product strategy through empathy and evidence.

bottom of page