FlexConnect: Support Hybrid Work at Enterprise Scale
An internal platform enabling workspace planning, booking, and collaboration for a global workforce.
An internal platform enabling workspace planning, booking, and collaboration for a global workforce.
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Category: Hybrid Work
Role: Lead UX Designer Client: Internal (SAP) Duration: 2021 - 2022 Platforms: iOS, Web, Android (container app) Team: Product Management, Lead UX Designer, Associate UX Designer, UX Design Intern, Engineering, HR, Legal, Communications |
Overview
As SAP transitioned to a global hybrid work model under its Pledge to Flex initiative, teams needed a reliable way to plan in-office work, reserve spaces, and stay connected—while meeting complex privacy and regulatory requirements. FlexConnect was created as a single internal platform to support these needs across regions, roles, and work styles. The work required close collaboration across product, engineering, HR, legal, and communications to ensure the solution was usable, feasible, and scalable. Impact at Glance
Early indicators following pilot rollout included:
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Challenges
SAP’s existing internal tools lacked the flexibility, transparency, and ease of use employees needed to navigate hybrid work. Teams couldn’t easily see who would be on-site, where colleagues were working, or how to stay connected across regions.
Designing FlexConnect required navigating several practical constraints:
SAP’s existing internal tools lacked the flexibility, transparency, and ease of use employees needed to navigate hybrid work. Teams couldn’t easily see who would be on-site, where colleagues were working, or how to stay connected across regions.
Designing FlexConnect required navigating several practical constraints:
- Ensuring consistent experiences across iOS, Android, and web platforms
- Aligning stakeholders across global departments and regions
My Role
I worked as a Lead UX Designer embedded within a cross-functional product team. My focus was on supporting discovery, clarifying requirements, and translating research and constraints into design direction that engineering teams could implement.
I worked as a Lead UX Designer embedded within a cross-functional product team. My focus was on supporting discovery, clarifying requirements, and translating research and constraints into design direction that engineering teams could implement.
- Conducted user research and interviews across regions to understand hybrid work needs and concerns.
- Created journey maps, wireframes, and prototypes to explore and communicate solution options.
- Partnered closely with engineering to ensure designs were feasible and aligned with platform standards.
- Supported usability testing and accessibility reviews to validate designs before and after launch.
- Contributed to post-launch iteration by reviewing feedback and analytics with the team.
Research & Insights
To better understand how hybrid work was experienced across regions, we conducted interviews with employees in North America, Europe, and APJ.
To better understand how hybrid work was experienced across regions, we conducted interviews with employees in North America, Europe, and APJ.
- Employees lacked clarity about when colleagues would be in the office.
- Many sites had inconsistent booking systems or none at all.
- Remote workers felt disconnected from in-office colleagues.
- Privacy concerns made users hesitant to share their work location.
Ideation & Concept Design
Based on our research, we identified four key opportunities to improve the hybrid work experience:
Based on our research, we identified four key opportunities to improve the hybrid work experience:
- My Day – Get a clear snapshot of your day, including your location, meetings, and lunch options.
- My Visit – Reserve workspaces and meeting rooms effortlessly.
- Circles – Stay connected with teammates, see who’s on-site, and coordinate meetups.
- Search – Easily navigate office layouts and find colleagues or resources.
Prototyping & Testing
We iterated through multiple design rounds in Figma, following SAP Fiori guidelines (web and iOS) and the iOS Human Interface Guidelines where appropriate, ensuring alignment with UX standards.
We iterated through multiple design rounds in Figma, following SAP Fiori guidelines (web and iOS) and the iOS Human Interface Guidelines where appropriate, ensuring alignment with UX standards.
Design & Engineering Collaboration
Prototypes were used both for design validation and to support ongoing collaboration with engineering. We partnered closely with engineering to ensure design interactions were technically feasible and aligned with the intended user experience. To maintain alignment throughout the process, we:
Prototypes were used both for design validation and to support ongoing collaboration with engineering. We partnered closely with engineering to ensure design interactions were technically feasible and aligned with the intended user experience. To maintain alignment throughout the process, we:
- Shared annotated design specs and accessibility guidance to support implementation and review.
- Collaborated in daily standups and sprint reviews with product and development teams
- Validated builds to ensure UX fidelity before QA handoff and production release.
Launch, Iteration & Impact
The MVP launched in Q3 2021 across pilot sites in Palo Alto, Stuttgart, and Montreal, and by 2025, the application had scaled for global use.
After launch, we established a continuous feedback loop using our internal feedback tool and analytics tracking to guide ongoing improvements.
Over time, the product became a core part of SAP's hybrid work experience, supporting broader digital workplace strategy and future employee experience initiatives.
The MVP launched in Q3 2021 across pilot sites in Palo Alto, Stuttgart, and Montreal, and by 2025, the application had scaled for global use.
After launch, we established a continuous feedback loop using our internal feedback tool and analytics tracking to guide ongoing improvements.
Over time, the product became a core part of SAP's hybrid work experience, supporting broader digital workplace strategy and future employee experience initiatives.
Planning my day using FlexConnect
- Early flow exploring how employees plan office visits day-to-day.
- Reservation flow designed to work across regions and workspace types.
- Circles feature supporting lightweight coordination without exploring sensitive location data.
1. Kim is planning her week, by tapping the dates in the calendar she can decide which day to go into the office and meet up with some of her team members.
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2. Kim makes a snap decision to go into the office on the current date instead of planning ahead.
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3. Kim doesn’t have an assigned seat, she will need add a workspace. She chooses to add from her Favorites, which is near her other team members.
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4. Kim’s favorite desk is available, she makes a reservation to save her place.
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5. Kim navigates to Circles after reserving her workspace to check if her colleagues from the Discover Team are in the office, they are located in a different country
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6. Kim realizes she needs to go to the Palo Alto office tomorrow, she uses Search to check the floor plans and find a good place to host a meeting.
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Jane checks the My Day tab to see who is coming into the office today. She sees that 10 of her colleagues are expected to be in the office. She decides to make a reservation for the day.
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Jane goes to the My Visits tab to schedule her December office visits so she doesn’t miss out on her favorite workspace.
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