On behalf of the Miro async collaboration team, I am beyond thrilled to share that our first async recording feature — Talktrack has made it out of beta and into the canvas of every Miro user.
Talktrack allows users to record interactive walkthroughs of their Miro boards, but the magic lies in the fact that the recording is “in” the board. When viewers watch the recording, they are literally on the board, following the movements of the recorder from the past. They can interact with the board content, add comments, and make edits directly, all in the same space.
This concept enables seamless communication and collaboration in one place, creating an immersive experience that feels like two people are working together at the same time, even when collaborating asynchronously. With fewer unnecessary meetings and increased engagement, Talktrack has been proven to significantly improve the way teams work and interact.
Talktrack prioritizes collaboration, which is at the heart of Miro. Whether you’re working synchronously or asynchronously, it’s all about collaborating effectively. In fact, the better async collaboration experience that Talktrack offers also adds value to synchronous meetings because collaborators in come in more aligned and ready for well-informed discussions.
Since its beta launch, people have been using Talktrack in creative ways. Presenters use it for meeting pre-reads, so they can focus on meaningful discussions, rather than wasting time on parts of the presentation their audience is already aligned on or is not interested in. Anxious presenters find Talktrack to be a great alternative for them to share information in a way that feels comfortable. And remote teams use Talktrack for async updates that feel more personal.
READ MORE ABOUT HOW PEOPLE ARE USING TALKTRACK.
We also found a very interesting use case for async workshops, and partnered with Jake Knapp on creating a guided walkthrough of his renowned design sprint process on his Talktrack power template. You can access it for free in Miroverse.
Talktrack stands out as a unique and innovative addition to Miro, and I am honored to be involved in its creation alongside my amazing team. The experience of bringing it to life has been incredibly gratifying on both personal and professional levels.
At its inception, Miro was built primarily for collaborative brainstorming, workshopping, and other synchronous collaboration use cases. However, over the years we found our users were using it async as much as sync, and the trend was on the rise.
After conducting a longitudinal study on participant activities at work, we defined a concept of the “async loop.” It’s a way of collaborating where you create content, explain it to others, call them to action, and seek feedback and confirmation in an asynchronous way that is agnostic to collaborations in Miro.
During our conversations, we learned that users often struggled with the initial stage where they have to communicate context. Think of coming to a complex board and not knowing where to start and reaching out for more clarity.
To address this without creating more meetings, we saw an opportunity in audio and video. They make communication more relatable, human, and efficient.
Together with our users, user research, and design teams, we established the three UX principles to guide our development for the async experience in Miro:
- Async and sync experience
- Board is the star
- Simplification over addition
Knowing that Miro is the ultimate playground of collaboration, we quickly identified that we wanted a solution that went beyond a passive viewing experience like a screen recording.
During a design sprint, one of our engineers asked: “What if, instead of having a recording of the screen, we let the viewer follow the recorder inside the board as if it was a real-time, in-board, experience?” So they can easily follow and take the next step, directly on the board, as if they are working together.
We generated various concepts and put them to the test with our users. The winning solution, the Talktrack experience as we know it today, aligned perfectly with our principles. It allowed seamless collaboration, with the board at the center, eliminating the need to switch tabs while watching recordings.
In late 2022, we released the beta version to iterate on the experience with our users, incorporating their valuable feedback. We gradually introduced it to a small group of enterprise users and then to a wider audience. Today, we are confident in rolling it out for everyone to use.
Talktrack embodies a hybrid way of collaboration that is inclusive, productive, mindful, and, above all, more human. It effortlessly blurs the lines between synchronous and asynchronous collaboration, revolutionizing the way teams interact and produce remarkable results.
Are you ready to bring your Miro boards to life with Talktrack? Embrace the power of immersive collaboration, and let’s redefine how we work together!
WATCH A TALKTRACK IN ACTION HERE. THEN, CHECK OUT THIS HELP CENTER ARTICLE TO DISCOVER HOW TO RECORD YOUR OWN TALKTRACK RIGHT AWAY!
