Discuss Experience Refresh Release


This release is focused on a design refresh and standardisation of the dicuss experience in session for a range of different items in OpenBlend, including awesome new graphics and a more pleasing UX. Blend Drivers, Wellbeing, Objectives, Evaluate, and Custom Talking Points all now use the new Dicuss layout, with various options for adding notes, recording linked actions, and deciding on a way forward having been improved or redesigned.


Check out our latest Product Webinar for more details and to see all the changes. 


New Layout and UX Flow:

  • Users choosing to discuss one of the target areas listed above will now see a new layout when clicking Discuss.

  • The design is broken up into different aspects still based on the GROW model:

    • Goal: talking point information including title, description, and last updated date.

    • Reality: status of the talking point, information about recent progress, current score etc.

    • Obstacles: this is an entirely new section:

      • Users are initially asked if there are obstacles to be discuss today.

      • They can now add up to three obstacles per session if there are any, and if they have previous added obstacles, those will appear in a History modal that can be called via a button in the top right of this section.

      • Users can now add actions directly from the obstacles they have recorded, however the actions will be linked to the overall Talking Point, not specific obstacles.

    • Way Forward: this section is dynamic based on the Talking Point type, and can include buttons for scheduling the Talking Point for the next booked session (or making it recurring), adding a new/another action, closing (if Talking point is an Objective), and taking no further action.

      • These buttons all now lead to a new modal confirming whatever action has been taken and giving users options for returning to Talking Points, moving to the Discuss page for the next undiscussed item directly, or ending the session if there are no more undiscussed Talking Points.

      • This section also includes any linked actions.

  • Scheduling:

    • All target items in the list above can be scheduled for future sessions in two ways from the Way Forward “Schedule” button:

      • Option 1: User schedules it only for the next session (ad-hoc or scheduled) - it will appear as a non-recurring undiscussed Talking Point as soon as the current session is ended. Users will be able to add a reason for scheduling in this way.

      • Option 2: User can make an item recurring - it will appear undiscussed during and outside of every session, turning on the recurring marker on the Talking Point itself, after the current session is ended. This is existing functionality, but can now be triggered from the Discuss experience.

  • Notes: 

    • Notes are now recorded as attached to a specific target Talking Point from the list above:

      • Notes can be added from a new sidebar during Discussion by either the talent or the leader, and the sidebar will display the 5 latest notes to be added.

        • Only the original author of a Note can edit or delete the note.

      • Notes can also be accessed from a separate tab at the top of the Discuss experience for a more comprehensive view of this feature.

    • Notes now uses a more comprehensive editor which can support HTML, links, emojis, etc. (It is the same editor used for High Fives.)


Blend and Wellbeing:


  • Specific differences on this page include a Blend Progress chart (or a Wellbeing History chart depending on the target item) in the Reality section, and the following Way Forward options:

    • Schedule for the next session

    • Add a new/another action

    • No further action required


Objectives:

  • Specific differences on this page include the status of the objective including any milestone information in the Reality section, and the following Way Forward options:

    • Schedule for the next session

    • Add a new/another action

    • No further action required

    • Close Objective


Custom Talking Points:

  • Specific differences on this page include the details for the Custom Talking Point in the Goal area, no Reality area, and the following Way Forward options:

    • Schedule for the next session

    • Add a new/another action

    • No further action required

Evaluate:

  • Specific differences on this page:

    • Each question in the review template will have its own section which will include evaluate and self-evaluate answers, and a link for Reflection and Development Tips.

    • A section for additional comments during the discussion.

    • The following Way Forward options:

      • Schedule for the next session

      • Add a new/another action

      • No further action required


Other Work

  • Major front end framework upgrade from Bootstrap 4 to 5 - any display issues will likely be a result of this so please raise them with ilia as soon as you spot them or they are reported.

  • We have included more information with any session bookings made from a calendar client like Outlook or Gmail if they are declined by the system - there will now be a reason provided and some logging information.

  • We will now auto-switch the following notifications from Email to IM automatically if the user has not already made updates to their messaging settings in the app. The auto switch will happen as soon as they integrate an IM client:

    • High Five received

    • Team member created objective (or closed/deleted)

    • Team member edited objective (or updated progress)

    • Booked session starting soon

    • Actions due soon

    • Blend updated

    • Wellbeing updated

  • Evalute question descriptions now show in full when completing an evaluation instead of being hidden behind tooltips.