Background

Microsoft’s Office 365 Volume Licensing program offers discounted licenses and enterprise support to organizations purchasing five or more licenses. It is a key driver of Microsoft’s B2B revenue, supporting large-scale license management for resellers and partners. However, the legacy system relied on over 30 disconnected tools, resulting in fragmented workflows, approval delays, and a poor user experience. Licensing deals took an average of 53 days to fulfill, more than twice as long as competitors with similar business models.

To address this, Microsoft launched VL Central, a unified platform that consolidates tools, streamlines workflows, and drastically reduces turnaround times across the Volume Licensing ecosystem.

My Role



I worked on three key VL Central modules: Notifications, Agreement to Invoice, and Organization Details Management, collaborating with a peer designer under the guidance of a Principal Designer. I partnered with architects, product owners, developers, and stakeholders from discovery to design sign-off, ensuring the solutions were user-centered, technically feasible, and aligned with business goals.

Problem

As we began consolidating over 30 tools into VL Central, we anticipated two major challenges: managing the volume of notifications across workflows and supporting users through the shift from fragmented tools to a unified platform. To uncover real pain points, we conducted interviews with sellers, partners, and internal stakeholders involved in licensing operations. From these conversations, four key user stories emerged:

"I prefer using email because all the tools send their notifications there. I don’t have the time to open each tool individually just to check for updates." - 9/12 Participants

"I keep getting copied into deals that have nothing to do with me. With so many irrelevant emails and notifications, it’s hard to stay focused on what actually matters." - 8/12 Participants

"Everything looks the same to me. Whether it’s something urgent or just a routine update, I can’t tell what really needs my attention." - 5/12 Participants

“I'm usually on the move during work hours and since the tools only work on desktop, I rely on email to keep up from my phone." - 4/12 Participants

User feedback revealed key issues with the notification system. Many were overwhelmed by irrelevant messages, struggled to identify critical updates, and found it inefficient to check multiple tools for information already available in their inbox. The lack of prioritization and centralized visibility hindered focus and timely action. Some also favored email for its convenience while working away from their desks.

It was clear that relying solely on in-app notifications wouldn't work. We needed a system that reduced noise, prioritized relevant updates, and delivered information through the most effective channels, starting with email.

Solution



To move from fragmented communication to a cohesive, user-centric notification system, we grounded our design process in the realities uncovered during user research. The goal was not just to consolidate tools but to rebuild trust in notifications by making them relevant, timely, and easy to act on.

What followed was a multi-layered approach. We restructured how notifications were delivered, who received them, what they looked like, and how they could extend beyond the platform. Below is a breakdown of how the system evolved to meet real user needs.

1. Unifying Fragmented Communication with Centralized In-App Notifications

User pain point addressed:

“I prefer using email because all the tools send their notifications there. I don’t have the time to open each tool individually just to check for updates.”

Users had come to rely on email not by choice, but out of necessity. With over 30 disconnected tools in the previous system, staying informed meant logging into multiple platforms to check for updates. Email became the default channel simply because it allowed users to access all notifications in one place, even if that meant sorting through irrelevant or duplicated messages.

To change this, we first analyzed how communication occurred across the legacy system. Notifications were scattered, unprioritized, and often inconsistent. We addressed this by categorizing every notification using four key dimensions: source (which workflow it originated from), type (actionable, informational, or announcement), delivery channel (email or in-app), and behavior (urgency and relevance).

This structured classification became the foundation of a centralized notification framework within VL Central. With all tools now integrated into a single platform, users could access and manage all their updates from one place, eliminating the need to check multiple systems. Routine and informational updates were delivered through in-app notifications, while high-priority messages that required immediate attention or action were sent via email and other supported channels. This not only reduced noise but also encouraged users to rely on the in-app system for day-to-day visibility while staying informed through channels that suited their working context.

2. Defining Notification Rules Based on Scenarios

User pain point addressed:

“I keep getting copied into deals that have nothing to do with me. With so many irrelevant emails and notifications, it’s hard to stay focused on what actually matters.”

To eliminate irrelevant or misrouted updates, I collaborated with product owners across workflows to define clear and actionable notification rules. For each use case, we answered four essential questions:

• What triggers the notification?

• Who should receive it?

• At what stage in the workflow should it occur?

• Which channel is most appropriate?

These answers were captured in detailed scenario matrices tailored to specific user roles such as Microsoft Partners, Commercial Executives, and Desk Operations. This helped ensure that notifications were role-aware and context-specific, meaning only the right users received the right updates at the right time.

3. Reframing Notification Design with the Harmony Toolkit

User pain point addressed:

“Everything looks the same to me. Whether it’s something urgent or just a routine update, I can’t tell what really needs my attention.”

While the Harmony Toolkit provided a strong foundation, it lacked components necessary for notification clarity. I extended it by adding urgency badges, consistent icons, and contextual call-to-action elements. Notifications were redesigned with a modular structure that included:

• Sender or system as the initiator

• Object (e.g., deal, org)

• Action performed

• Timestamp

• Action prompt

To improve prioritization, we introduced two user-facing categories: Focused for task-critical updates that require action, and Announcements for general or informational updates. A filtering system was added to allow users to sort notifications by workspace and type, giving them control over how they viewed their updates.

Visually, high-priority messages were marked with red "Action Required" tags, and unseen notifications displayed a count badge in the top-right corner of the header. These visual cues helped users immediately distinguish between critical and routine updates, especially during high-volume periods.

To support discoverability, the notification icon was placed in the top-right corner of the VL Central header alongside other primary actions, with a red badge indicating the number of unread updates, ensuring users could immediately recognize when their attention was needed.

4. Extending Notification Logic Beyond Desktop

User pain point addressed:

“I'm usually on the move during work hours and since the tools only work on desktop, I rely on email to keep up from my phone.”

Although VL Central was built as a desktop-only platform, we recognized that many users checked updates on their phones throughout the day. Instead of designing a mobile interface, we focused on making notifications actionable outside the product.

High-priority updates were delivered through responsive email templates optimized for mobile readability. Where possible, we enabled actions like approvals or rejections to be completed directly from the email. We also developed modular message templates with embedded links and metadata, designed to support future delivery via SMS, Microsoft Teams, or other messaging platforms. To support this, we worked with architects to define fallback behaviors for routing across channels.

Conclusion

The redesigned VL Central notification system streamlined fragmented communication into a clear, role-aware experience. By centralizing updates, improving visual hierarchy, and limiting emails to high-priority actions, users could focus on what mattered without overload. The system is also built to scale across future channels like SMS and Teams

Impact

The new notification system improved both the user experience and system efficiency, delivering measurable outcomes:

• 42% reduction in notification overload through role- and scenario-based delivery logic

• 58% faster response to critical updates enabled by prioritization and urgency cues

• 70% reduction in emails sent to users by limiting delivery to only high-priority actions and removing irrelevant notifications