Conversation Starter: improved usability
Redesigning Zivver’s guest experience with a more intuitive Conversation Starter.
Seamless secure communication meets a user-friendly 2FA flow, enhancing access and reducing friction.
Project overview
Context
Zivver provides secure communications for 10,000+ organizations across finance, law, healthcare, and government.
The Conversation starter add-on (used by 700+ clients) enables external users to initiate secure chats—without needing an account.
The problem
Despite its innovative concept, Conversation Starter's poor usability confused end-users, increased support calls, and strained client relationships.
My role
Led the end-to-end redesign, including:
Design strategy & team alignment,
User and competitor research,
Usability testing & prototyping,
UI design & UX copy.
Team
1 Product Designer (me), 1 PM, 2 POs, 10 developers (4 Front-end, 1 Back-end)
Project type
Business impact
The redesign drove a major client to upgrade 434 instances to v2.0, cutting end-user inquiries by 70%. Other clients report consistently positive feedback.
SaaS, Webapp, Data Security
Duration
May-Oct 2023
Challenges
Data privacy
Compliance to data privacy standards and security of users should be ensured
Usability & customization
The improved solution needs customizable and intuitive, even for clients who may not be tech-savvy
Accessibility
Meeting the diverse needs of guest end-users by adhering to the accessibility standard of WCAG 2.0.
Solution results
Complete re-design
Enhanced user experience across contact forms, 2FA verification and conversation components
Breathe simplicity
Clean and intuitive interface using consistent design patterns, removed clutter, clearer language
Happy users
A major client upgraded their 434 Conversation Starters to v. 2.0 and saw a 70% drop in user inquiries
REDESIGN
Before & after
Conversation starter re-design: personal details page (unbranded)
Before & after of 'Enter code' screen (unbranded)
Conversation Starter v2.0 (Branded)
MY APPROACH
How I solve problems
I kicked off the project with deep discovery—asking questions and holding sessions with product, engineering, support, and security teams. My goal was to understand the current product and its users before identifying pain points.
I uncovered a key constraint: email subjects aren’t encrypted, so users must avoid including sensitive information.
WHY REDESIGN?
Initial version: confusing experience
I analysed several user interview recordings to deeply understand the problem. These were the most common issues people experienced with the initial Conversation Starter:
Senders unsure whether their secure message was sent
Senders forgetting conversation access codes
Recipients confuse messages due to default subjects
Limited sender verification
'To' field appearing empty while sender drafts their message
Confusing copy and outdated visual design
"We have many people that send an email via the Conversation Starter multiple times, because it's not clear for them if the message is sent or not. They are not familiar with Zivver."
- Annonymous municipality officer-
MARKET RESEARCH
2FA best practices: SMS & authenticator apps
As the project involved 2FA, I reviewed best practices for authentication. SMS verification and authenticator apps consistently emerged as the top recommended methods.
2FA screens of Microsoft, Amazon and Google
INITIAL SOLUTION
Scoping the problems & designing initial solutions
After reviewing user pain points, I tested the current solution and immediately encountered confusing copy.
Additionally, there were branding inconsistencies, with some parts still using the old blue branding. I also identified and addressed several usability issues in the redesign.
The previous version of Conversation starter relied on single-use email codes, which users often lost. To improve usability, I added SMS verification and made email codes available on request. Given the elderly user base, I excluded authenticator apps due to their complexity.
New identification method selection screen
USABILITY TESTING
Validating design decisions
To validate the new design, I conducted prototype testing in Maze with 11 testers. I prepared targeted questions to evaluate ease of use and security. The results were both informative and encouraging:
11
Testers
4.6/5
Ease of sending a secure message
4.2/5
Perception of platform security
IMPROVING THE SOLUTION
Insights from data analysis refined the final solution
By analyzing the collected data, I uncovered key insights that helped refine the final solution.
"Why would you allow to skip the sms code from a security standpoint? If it's skippable why have it at all"
- Annonymous tester-
DISCOVERY: #1
Testers were surprised that you can skip the SMS code
Although it’s "just copy," the phrase "Skip this step next time" diminished the sense of security. I updated it to "Remember me for 30 days" to enhance security perception and use a familiar design pattern.
Before 'Enter SMS code' screen
After 'Enter SMS code' screen
DISCOVERY: #2
Users forgot to enter phone number before proceeding
To solve this, I created several versions and weighed the pros and cons of each. I selected the option below, using a simple UI trick to highlight the crucial phone field, as it was both technically feasible and effective.
Improved 'Enter SMS code' screen
DISCOVERY: #3
The majority of testers were trying to edit the recipient
Since the recipient is known, I implemented a 'read-only' state to clarify that the text is not editable, enhancing clarity and preventing unintended modifications.
Improved 'New message' component
IMPACT AND RESULTS
Feedback after launch
70% decrease in support tickets
Shoutout from Technical consultant to the PM
Improved usability
Shoutout from the PM to our team
Improved copy and product quality
Positive feedback from large customers
LOOKING BACK
Learnings
Through multiple iterations and feedback, I have gained extensive knowledge about the technicalities of Zivver product and the most optimal ways to deliver the best user experience.
LOOKING FORWARD
If I had more time, I would...
Due to time constraints, some issues have not been resolved yet. Going forward I would like to look into to enabling guest users to start a conversation with the intended recipient as well as providing improved methods for recipients to manage and gather accurate data.
