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The modern design team is a complex web of roles: UX designers, UI designers, web developers, and content strategists, all working together toward a shared goal. But when it came to meetings—especially hybrid ones—something always seemed to get lost in translation. Having been in those meetings myself, I knew the feeling: tools like Mural were meant to make collaboration seamless, yet friction still existed.
That curiosity sparked the focus of this research: Why weren’t digital tools like Mural working effectively for design teams in synchronous, hybrid meetings? I wanted to dig deeper, beyond the technical challenges, and uncover the underlying "felt needs" of these teams. The goal wasn’t just to propose new solutions, but to understand the real pain points first.
Research Focus
This study zeroed in on design teams using digital collaboration tools like Mural during synchronous meetings—where team members work together in real-time, either remotely or in-office. I wanted to explore how these teams used Mural and uncover what features were either helping or hindering their collaboration. Specifically, I aimed to answer:
The discovery phase was pivotal in understanding these issues from a human perspective. I started with 1:1 interviews, conducting five Zoom interviews, each lasting 15–30 minutes. The goal was simple: let the participants share their experiences using Mural during meetings, focusing on how the tool impacted their team dynamics.
Each interview brought something new to the table. One web developer described Mural as “more of a necessary evil” when working remotely. A UX designer mentioned the tool worked well in fully remote settings but fell short in hybrid meetings. This qualitative feedback was a treasure trove of insights.
I then launched a qualitative survey with 14 respondents. Here, the focus was on capturing a broader view of how teams worked together in hybrid meetings. The participants shared detailed responses based on their most recent experiences with Mural, revealing recurring challenges and frustrations. I learned that unfamiliarity with Mural was a major hurdle for many, and other tools like Miro and Figma often came into play to fill the gaps.
Methods Approach:
To ensure the research was well-rounded, I took a staged approach. I started with interviews to gather early insights, which helped inform the survey questions. By collecting both qualitative and quantitative data, I could paint a more comprehensive picture of the collaboration landscape.
Participants were recruited through various methods, including work community lists, relevant subreddits, and word-of-mouth. The final pool included employees aged 18+ who were either part of a design team or frequently collaborated with designers, both remote and in-office.
Once all the data was collected, I began my analysis:
Surveys
Google Forms helped generate summary graphs and diagrams, which I exported into a spreadsheet for deeper analysis. This allowed me to pinpoint specific patterns, especially around the difficulties of hybrid collaboration.
Preconceived Notions
Through this process, I took care to avoid letting my own experiences with Mural affect the data. This was crucial to maintaining objectivity and ensuring that the findings were truly reflective of the participants' perspectives.
As the patterns emerged, several key themes stood out:
The survey reinforced these findings, with participants mentioning the use of additional tools like Miro and Figma to complement Mural during hybrid meetings. This layering of tools seemed to be a workaround for Mural’s limitations in these settings.
This research highlighted that the challenge wasn’t just about Mural’s features—it was about how teams structured hybrid meetings. The tool works best in all-remote environments, but hybrid formats introduce participation challenges that need addressing beyond technical fixes.
While my sample size was small, the findings consistently pointed to the need for rethinking hybrid collaboration. Mural can’t solve structural issues on its own—it’s about creating environments where team dynamics thrive.
Send me a message if you would like to connect! I would love to hear from you!
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