When I got this question, I started by reframing what “improving Microsoft Teams” really meant. Teams already does a lot — chat, file sharing, meetings — so I wanted to narrow it down to a specific goal. After a quick discussion, I decided to focus on improving the on-call experience, since that’s where most users face real friction day-to-day.
My goal was simple: make video calls more seamless, productive, and less cognitively tiring for users who constantly juggle multiple screens, chats, and documents. I defined success as increasing engagement and reducing friction during live meetings — essentially, longer, more focused calls with fewer interruptions or missed cues.
To scope users, I segmented Teams’ audience into three broad groups:
Internal teams like finance or operations who mainly use Teams for status syncs.
Cross-functional teams like PMs, designers, and engineers who collaborate deeply using shared tools.
Client-facing teams like sales or marketing who frequently meet external stakeholders.
I chose to focus on cross-functional teams, specifically product managers who collaborate with designers and engineers daily. They live in Teams calls — reviewing designs, screensharing PRDs, managing feedback — and yet, their experience often breaks down in simple moments like missing chat questions or raised hands while presenting.
Here were the key pain points I identified:
When sharing screens, it’s easy to miss raised hands or chat questions.
No easy way to view comments or feedback without toggling windows.
Context-switching between tools like Figma or Docs during calls is distracting.
With those issues clear, I brainstormed a few ideas:
Picture-in-Picture (PiP) Hand Viewer – a small floating strip for presenters showing raised hands and participant thumbnails.
Comment Viewer Toggle – a collapsible sidebar for seeing live chat messages while screensharing.
Smart Meeting View – auto-focus on active speakers or people raising hands to improve meeting flow.
If I had to pick one, I’d prioritize the PiP Hand Viewer, because it directly addresses the most frustrating gap — losing context mid-call — and it’s technically feasible with moderate effort.
To measure impact, I’d define success using:
North Star Metric: Average uninterrupted meeting duration (proxy for engagement).
Supporting metrics:
% of calls where raised hands were acknowledged.
Reduction in screen switches per user.
Frequency of PiP feature usage.
Counter metric: Number of false positives (e.g., too many PiP pop-ups becoming a distraction).
In summary, improving Teams isn’t about adding new bells and whistles — it’s about preserving context for users who are already multitasking. A lightweight PiP view and real-time visibility for presenters can make calls smoother, reduce missed interactions, and turn Teams into a more confident, frictionless collaboration space.