Executive Summary
Giving users a UI to control TeleSign's SMS Country Blocking feature was a pivotal advancement in managing international SMS traffic, crucial for global security and regulatory compliance. Users can now efficiently reduce unwanted SMS verification traffic by country through a newly introduced self-service UI. The project was completed within a challenging single sprint (2 weeks) timeline, demonstrating the platform's strategic importance during geopolitical events like the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Inspired by construction blueprints, the design system facilitated rapid prototyping and clear communication. Key features included an easy-to-use country selection based on ISO2 country codes and flags, simplifying the user's interaction and reducing error rates.
The final interface allowed users to seamlessly manage SMS Verify traffic geographically, aligning with international standards and enhancing user and business compliance. This project validated the effectiveness of a minimalist design system under tight deadlines and received accolades from major technology companies for its innovative approach to dynamic messaging and API control.
Outcome: The project successfully implemented an SMS Country Blocking feature in Telesign's platform, significantly reducing spam and scam SMS messages and enhancing user satisfaction and trust. The SMS Country Blocking feature effectively improved our users' independent control of Telesign's APIs, enhancing the user experience and contributing to global economic actions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Highlights: Key achievements included the design and development of the first new feature introduction on our newly introduced self-service UI. We created a minimal design system using construction blueprints as inspiration. This system seamlessly integrates with the existing platform, allowing users to transition smoothly between the legacy and new UI. We also maximized development efforts and minimized scope with creative design solutions.
View Voice Setting | Mid-fidelity
Edit Section of Setting | Mid-fidelity
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Project Information
What is it?: Country blocking is a feature of TeleSign's SMS product that allows businesses to control SMS traffic based on geographic locations. This feature is particularly important for managing international communications and ensuring compliance with various regional regulations and standards.
Role: Lead Experience Designer.
Team: Lead Experience Designer, UI Designer, UX Researcher, Web Designer, CTO, VP of Product, Director of Product Management, Sr. Product Manager, Principal Software Engineer, Sr. Software Engineer, Sr. Program manager, Sr. Technical Writer, Portal Development Team, Data Science Team, Billing Development Team, and Integration Specialists.
Timeline: 3 Days (Late February 2022)
Status: Fully implemented with ongoing optimizations.
Context
Cause: We need to provide users with control over SMS traffic due to security concerns, manage international communications, and ensure compliance with various regional regulations and standards.
Environment: Utilizing a design system inspired by construction blueprints facilitated quick prototyping and clear communication, vital under tight development timelines.
Problem: Users require protection against spam and scam SMS messages. Control over SMS traffic for both inbound and outbound messages independently.
Research
Insights
Compliance and Regulation: Developers need to block SMS messages from specific countries to comply with international laws and regulations. For instance, certain regions may have strict data protection laws requiring messages to be restricted.
Cost Management: By blocking SMS messages to countries with high messaging fees, companies can significantly reduce operational costs.
Security Concerns: Blocking countries known for high fraud and spam rates can enhance the platform's security and protect users from scams.
Market Focus: Companies often focus on specific markets; blocking SMS messages to irrelevant countries helps concentrate resources where they're most effective.
User Experience Optimization: Reducing unwanted messages from foreign numbers can enhance the overall user experience, making services more appealing.
Technical Integration: Developers seek straightforward ways to implement country blocking, preferring solutions that easily integrate into existing systems without extensive development work.
Real-time Management: The ability to swiftly block countries in response to evolving threats or business strategies is highly valued.
Analytics and Reporting: Insight into the volume and origin of blocked messages can help companies understand potential market opportunities or security threats.
User Flows
Analyzed how users interact with SMS API control features. Applied learnings to a new UI design system with product-specific user flows.
Design
Flows: Developed a user interface for SMS Country Blocking using existing form field components within the new self-service UI product-specific navigation.
Interactions: Ensured the interface was intuitive and easy to use despite the limitations. Using an ISO2 country list alongside the corresponding country flag gives users a silent cue regarding which country they are here to add/remove. Key UX interactions proposed: Add/Remove Multiple countries per session. Error prevention with view-only blocked lists.
Visuals: Focused on clarity and simplicity to minimize human error and enhance user experience.
Design System – Inspired by construction blueprints and is designed for quick prototyping with a minimalist style, clean aesthetic, and low fidelity to minimize communication noise.
Test
Prototypes: Created interactive prototypes mostly for stakeholder approval. The limited timeline forced testing internally with the project team.
User Tests: Rapid testing to ensure functionality and ease of use. Limited to testing internally with the project team.
MVPs: Delivered a minimum viable product efficiently, leading to immediate user adoption.
Demo: Remove country from blocked list
Results
Final Designs: A functional and user-friendly interface for controlling which countries can receive your/send you SMS traffic.
Outcomes: Users can now manage product deliverablility base one geographical location, international communications standards ensuring compliance with various regional regulations and standards.
Production SMS Verify Product Page. Users can navigate to "Manage Settings" to access the SMS Counrty Blocking UI.
Production SMS Verify - Settings AKA "Manage SMS Verify" Under "Advanced Settings," Users can configure the SMS Country Blocking feature.
Takeaways
Learnings: This project represents the first major test of our minimalist design system, capable of a wide range of implementations and requirements, all while using a minimal set of components. We now have more evidence to support the importance of flexible design and rapid deployment under tight deadlines.
Reflection: Our team faced the challenge of complex back-end issues combined with limited resources for UI development. This project emphasized prioritizing functionality and design consistency over visual aesthetics. We were able to strike a balance between technical feasibility and a minimal user-centered design, ensuring that the final product meets both business and user needs.
Social Proof
Testimonials: Flagship clients, the largest technology companies in the world, praised the quick release of SMS Verify Country Blocking.
ActiveCampaign: "TeleSign is an identity data solutions platform that helps businesses connect with their customers. With Telesign and ActiveCampaign, you can automate the sending of SMS messages, campaigns, and updating contact records." Full Read
Microsoft Dynamics 365: "SMS messaging through the Dynamics 365 Marketing mobile channel creates new opportunities to connect with mobile users." Full Read
