Introduction

At Xero, even internal tools play a big role in our people’s wellbeing and efficiency. This case study covers the redesign of Xero Snooze, an internal mobile application used by the Customer Experience (CX) team to report absences like being sick, needing rest, or being late. Originally a side project by a former employee, the app was beloved for its simplicity, but as the company evolved, so did its needs.

Problem

Xero Snooze was outdated, visually off-brand and functionally underperforming. The Snooze function had become spammy and redundant. Another important feature was hidden in the UI behind the Xero logo. Overall, the app lacked accessibility improvements and no longer aligned with internal scheduling expectations.

Original Design

Solution

Clean, modern, and brand-aligned interface

The Snooze function was repurposed in place of Bounce. Snooze has real world context and universal meaning, which made more sense as a label in the context of this application. This change reduces the potential for confusion and makes it easier to understand when on-boarding new users.

The email manager function was made more prominent as this functionality’s use has been growing but was previously hidden.

Maintained the simple core layout and color contrast that users valued.

The Process

Understanding Usage

I connected with CX team members and leadership to better understand how the application’s use has varied since its inception.

• Leadership:
  • highlighted the Snooze feature either went unused or was discouraged from being used. Using Snooze emails a specialist’s manager, which became spammy.
  • recognized the functionality to send an email to a manager was hidden but had become increasingly more valuable.
• Specialists:
  • thought the app could benefit from a visual overhaul.
  • appreciated the application’s simplicity, especially those with color vision impairments.
  • confirmed the Snooze function went unused.
  • noted they were either unaware the email a manager function was there or discovered it by mistake. They also confirmed they leaned on the functionality often to quickly connect with their lead.

Define the Problem

• Obsolete Functionality:
  • Snooze alerted managers that an agent would be 30 minutes late—but this flexibility was now standard, making the feature redundant and resulting excess notifications.
• Hidden Functionality:
  • The option to email a manager was tucked behind a tiny logo in the corner—confusing for new users, despite increased use.
• Accessibility:
  • Color-blind users appreciated the simple, high-contrast design.

Ideation & Design

Ideate

User Flow