Microsoft · Usability evaluation

Evaluating Focus Sessions, a Windows productivity timer, before launch

Focus Sessions brought a focus timer and Microsoft To Do together for the first time, inside the Windows Clock app. Before launch, I evaluated whether the integration worked for real users, and what the first release needed.

The problem

Two teams shipping one experience, with open questions about the core flow and a costly Summary View.

My role

Lead researcher across both teams; owned scope, design and synthesis.

What I did

Moderated usability and concept evaluation with 8 information workers.

The impact

🔒 Shared with password

The Focus Sessions welcome screen in the Windows Clock app
The Focus Sessions welcome screen in the prototype people tested.
  1. 01The question
  2. 02How I studied it
  3. 03What we learned🔒
  4. 04From insight to decision🔒
01 · The question

Would people understand how the timer and tasks connect, and was the Summary View worth building?

The integration asked people to learn a new model: a timer that works alone but is most useful tied to a task. With launch close, the teams needed to know where the core flow broke down, and whether the Summary View was worth building now.

  1. Question 1 · The basicsCan people sign in, add and edit tasks, and link a task to a focus session?
  2. Question 2 · ConfusionWhere do people get stuck or misread the design?
  3. Question 3 · Summary ViewDo people understand it, and do they see value in it?
02 · How I studied it

Moderated sessions, scoped to the launch decisions

I aligned both teams on the decisions the study had to inform and designed realistic tasks with the designer. The prototype was early, so I moderated every interaction and treated discoverability findings with caution.

I sampled three levels of experience, since habits from To Do and other timers shape expectations. Several key findings traced back to those habits.

ScopingQuestions prioritized with both teams
TasksRealistic scenarios designed with the designer
Sessions8 information workers, an hour each, moderated remotely
ReportFindings and recommendations, checked against an earlier cognitive walkthrough
3new to focus timers
3Microsoft To Do users
2users of other focus timers

Findings and impact are password protected

To respect client confidentiality, the rest of this case study is shared on request.

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