The Mission Critical Push to Talk (MCPTT) project aimed to enhance communication for first responders by providing a simpler, faster, and more reliable way to connect in the field. It leverages specialized cellular networks and dedicated towers to ensure priority access, even during high-traffic situations, enabling first responders to coordinate more effectively and respond to emergencies without delay.

In version 4.5 of the MCPTT application, several UX improvements were identified based on voice of customer feedback. One of the key issues involved the Zone Group feature, which allows users to manage and communicate across different operational zones. Users reported confusion about how Zone Groups functioned within the system and how they related to individual zones, prompting a formal change request to address the usability challenges.

As the Lead UX Designer, I led the investigation into the issue by analyzing the end-to-end workflow and underlying system logic behind Zone Groups. Through this process, I identified gaps between the system's structure and the users' mental model. Based on these findings, I developed design recommendations aimed at improving clarity, simplifying the feature's structure, and helping users better understand how Zone Groups function within their workflow.

WHAT IS ZONE GROUPS?

The intended functionality for the Zone Group feature was to automatically assign users to communication groups based on their geographic location (e.g. nearby fire stations, medical teams, or police departments). This would ensure users are connected to the most relevant operational groups without requiring manual configuration.

However, in version 4.5 of the application, automatic zone group assignment was not yet supported. Instead, the current implementation required users to mannual select their zone, which introduced additional steps and increased the likelihood of user confusion or incorrect group selection.

THE PROBLEM

After conducting a thorough analysis of the Zone Group workflow, I identified that a key source of user confusion was the way Zone Groups were selected within the interface. Users often selected a zone simply to explore which groups were available within it. However, the system interpreted this action as a Zone Group reassignment, unintentionally changing the user's active Zone Group.

This interaction created a mismatch between user intent and system behavior, leading to accidental changes and confusion about how zone groups functioned within the app.