Overview

https://embed.figma.com/proto/5KoJKBIAuNCNNgS1nz5X08/Idle-session-timeout--21-10-24-?page-id=22332%3A6468&node-id=22332-7738&viewport=3029%2C-1129%2C0.3&t=ify0Z2QTN7iIAXAg-8&scaling=scale-down-width&content-scaling=fixed&starting-point-node-id=22332%3A7738&hide-ui=1&embed-host=notion&footer=false&theme=system

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COMPREHENSIVE ALERT SYSTEM THAT PREVENTS TESTERS FROM LOSING WORK

New Feature | B2B SaaS | < 2 weeks (Released December 2024)

I designed a notification system that helps testers on BrowserStack App Live keep their work safe. BrowserStack is a platform where quality assurance (QA) testers can remotely access real mobile devices to test apps and websites.

These testers frequently need to switch between their testing session and other applications to research issues or collaborate with team members. However, our platform would automatically close inactive sessions to free up devices for other users, causing testers to lose all their work.

My solution uses a smart, layered approach: first showing subtle visual cues (flashing browser tabs, animated icons), then escalating to system notifications, and finally playing audio alerts as a last resort. This system intelligently selects the most appropriate alert based on the user's current situation, preventing work loss.

Contribution

• Led comprehensive problem identification through user research and customer feedback analysis
• Designed intelligent multi-modal alert system that escalates from visual to audio notifications based on context
• Created user-tested audio notification system with optimized sound selection and duration
• Conducted internal user testing to validate notification preferences and effectiveness

Impact

• Successfully grabbed users' attention in 35% of critical moments, prompting them to take action
• 24% of sessions that would have timed out were prevented, saving significant testing work
• Steady increase in system adoption with 60 new users enabling per day
• Transformed the testing experience by allowing QA testers to work confidently across multiple tools without fear of losing progress </aside>

Discover how we designed this feature from problem identification to solution. I'll explain our brainstorming process, notification research, and multi-modal alert approach development. You'll learn about the carefully crafted audio alert system and how we measured its effectiveness through comprehensive testing.

Context

Meet Joe (the QA)

We all have a Joe in our lives. Joe is extraordinary because he makes sure the things we build, reaches the people we build it for in its best quality. But Joe’s work is not simple. He needs to do the following things

• Understand the PRD
• Write test cases
• Test different scenarios