Recent Updates
Designing a centralized in-product updates system for Zoho Sprints
Zoho Sprints needed a way to communicate frequent updates, ranging from product changes and announcements to promotions and subscription reminders directly within the product.
I worked on designing the Recent Updates feature, an in-product system that helps users stay informed without interrupting their core workflow.
Problem
The product needed to surface a wide variety of updates, but there was no clear structure for how these updates should be presented.
Key challenges identified:
- Updates varied in type, priority, and intent
- Some updates required user action, while others were purely informational
- High update frequency risked users ignoring or overlooking important information
The challenge was to design a system that could scale with frequent updates while remaining clear and non-intrusive.
Design Approach
Given the detailed requirement document and evolving inputs, I followed an iterative design approach rather than a strict linear UX process.
The focus was on:
- Structuring information clearly
- Establishing visual hierarchy
- Iterating quickly to arrive at a practical, scalable solution
Understanding the Requirements
I started by reviewing the requirements to understand:
- The different categories of updates (product, subscription, community, promotions)
- The frequency of each update type
- Whether the update was informational or action-driven
This helped me identify the core problem as organization and prioritization, rather than just visual design.
Iterative Exploration
I explored nearly 10 design iterations, testing different ways to:
- Organize and group updates
- Make frequent updates easy to scan
- Balance visibility without disrupting the user's workflow
Each iteration helped clarify what worked and what didn't, and designs were refined based on ongoing feedback from my manager.
I've highlighted a few key iterations that show how the design evolved.
Final Solution
In the final design:
- A centralized update feed within the product
- Clear distinction between different types of updates
- Scannable summaries with progressive disclosure
- Contextual call-to-actions for updates that required user input
Impact
- The icons lacked uniformity in the final design, hence new icon illustrations that match the product's design standards were created during production
- The final design was selected and shipped to production
- Enabled the team to communicate updates consistently within the product
- Created a single, structured source of information for users