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Trello's natural notification

Trello—the Kanban king—is a favorite project management tool because it is very powerful yet so simple. 

Typically, Trello boards are split up into the individual steps of a process, proceeding from left to right. Each card then represents a project—or task—that travels across the board to help teams visualize, collaborate and manage the bigger picture.

Anyone can look at a Trello board and “get it” instantly, and this is important. To keep it intuitive, clean and concise, Trello has to be considerate when making and announcing alterations to their product.

Why this is really good UX:

  • Trello has found a way to fit their update into the user's flow naturally. Aptly, the modal is delivered to the user's notification feed and waits patiently for when the user chooses to read their notifications. This way it is in the right place at the right time and does not disrupt the user in the middle of a task.
  • The notification leads with benefits and not features to tell the user why this change is good for them. Each feature is put into the context of the user's workflow, so they can easily understand how and why these changes will make a difference.
  • To cement the changes and benefits in the user's mind, the modal displays two calls to action. The first—“view your notifications”—gets the user to see the new features in context, straightaway, for it to make sense. And then to avoid leaving the more inquisitive or “extreme” user stranded, they provide “learn more” content for further details.