How would you improve the MS Teams search functionality as a Search PM at Microsoft Teams?

Product Description:

Microsoft Teams is a tool that makes it easy for people to communicate with each other in a much collaborated, comprehensive and simplified way. Inside Microsoft Teams, the Search feature is crucial as it helps users find the information they need & complete tasks in reasonable amount of time

By the way, for everyone's reference, I've already downloaded Teams, checked it out a bit, and created two IDs. I had a chat to get the hang of it!


Approach:


#1: Clarification Questions & Assumptions:

1: When you hear "Search PM," does it mean I can make things better in both searching and moving around in Teams?
Interviewer: Yes

 

2: Microsoft Search team already has enough people and resources, and there are no problems with that aspect...

 

Interviewer: Yes

 

3: When we talk about customers, are we talking about the people who use the free version or the ones who pay for it? IMO, I want to concentrate on those who are paying for the services.
 

Interviewer: Okay

4: Are we thinking about both web and mobile?

Interviewer: You say

Response: MS Teams is widely used on both computers and phones, it makes sense to make sure it works well in both. So, we'll pay attention to both.


#2: Objective:

I always categorise users using AAAERRR (Awareness, Acquisition, Activation, etc.). We've already figured out awareness, acquisition, and activation for this. Now, we're discussing how to make our existing product better, and one key thing is getting more people to use its features.

I would like to people actively using and engaging with the features to make sure they find them valuable. So, paying attention to Engagement and keeping users interested in our product is crucial.


#3: User Groups and Persona: Teams for Individuals/Business

Active Users:

Casual Users:

Passive Users:

Regarding Search, I will opt to address the needs of active users as active users are likely to use Search regularly for effective communication and collaboration

#4: User Journey:

- Head to the search bar.

- Search to find the person a user wants to chat/call, filtering out chats based on specific keywords, find the relevant info a user wants to see
- Press enter.

- The needed information will pop up.


#5: Pain points:


Time-consuming Searches: Looking for documents or chats using keywords can be time-consuming because the user has to type everything.

Lot of steps involved to complete action for the user: Currently, there are 1-2 extra steps when searching for a chat using keywords or documents
 

Lack of Guidance in Search Results


#6: Solutions:
.
6.1: AI Powered Voice Search: Right now, MS Teams Search doesn't have this feature, but if we add it, it can make the user more productive and save them from typing a lot. This would cover everything like text, documents, and chats based on keywords. For example, you could say, "Please open the document with the word 'Roadmap' shared by XX person." OR search for the chats after 13th November from XX person

 

6.2: Real-time Translation: Integrate real-time language translation capabilities into the search function, allowing users to search for and understand content in multiple languages

6.3: Preview Feature in Search: Implement a search preview feature that provides a snippet or preview of the content.
Right now, when I type a keyword, I don't see a preview of chats with those keywords. For example, if I search for "roadmap," I have to type it, press enter, and then see the relevant chats. I suggest showing the relevant chats as I start typing to save time when looking for documents or understanding information. If there are a lot, show the top 5 using a current ranking algo, and then press enter for more results.

6.4: Lack of Guidance in search results:

6.4.1: Predictive Search: Leverage machine learning algorithms to predict a user's search intent and proactively provide relevant information before the user initiates a search. This could be based on historical data and context.

For instance, if I talked with someone (let's call them A), and we decided to set up a call, when I go to the Search Bar, it should remind me in recents to schedule a call with A because it's an important thing to do.

6.4.2: AI Powered Advice during Navigation: Similarly, during navigation with multiple results, if I want to schedule a reply, we can have a button saying "Reply with GPT," and GPT can suggest what to say next. Or, if having a dependency on sender, GPT can suggest what action to take.


#7: Prioritisation:

I'll use RICE Prioritization and feedback/opinion from relevant stakeholders to decide what's most important. Here's my final list based on my own thoughts and experience.
 

#8: Trade Offs:

As of now, considering the position of AI: Predictive Search and AI Powered Advice during Navigation seems crucial. However, it's a lot of work because it involves complex machine learning and requires careful consideration of challenging use cases. So, for now, we're focusing on AI powered voice search and the Preview feature in Search because they give quick results with less work."


#9: Success Metrics: Listing the measures of top 4-5 success metrics for the most important features (P0).

 

Please note:  The metrics I mentioned earlier are like big-picture measures. We can dive deeper into specific use cases and technical details to get a better understanding


#10: Summary:

To sum up, my primary objectives are engagement and retention. I'll concentrate on users who actively use the product frequently. I'll prioritize the AI-powered voice search and the Preview feature in Search because they address issues like time-consuming searches and the need for a lot of steps to complete a desired action.