They call it an: online collaborative whiteboard platform where distributed teams get work done.
I call it: a one stop infinite digital blackboard environment for strategy, research, UX, workshops and planning work.
Some key features:
Multi-user with cursor tracking
Contextual commenting
Presentation mode
Screen sharing
Massive selection of templates
Video calls
Voting
Timer
Some key benefits are:
Work as if you are in the same room, anytime, anywhere realtime collaboration
Ideation and brainstorming
Research and UX design
Service design
Strategy and planning
Agile workflows
Mapping and diagramming
My Story
I was referred to Miro by a colleague (UX Research) a few years ago when it was still known as RealTimeBoard. She raved about its many merits from research note taking to wireframing and workshopping. I have to admit it took me a while to get on board and give it a try and after an insane amount of nagging though I finally gave it a shot.
I was fairly quickly amazed to find that what had traditionally been stacks of paper, sketches from workshops, post it notes and Excel spreadsheets became one cohesive collaborative board in Miro. After moving my early stage work to Miro and sharing access with my team I found that people quickly and seamlessly adopted it (which is rarely the case when adding a new SaaS tool to your team's stack). Even the stacks of paper from workshops, I’d quickly snap a photo on my phone and drop them on to the board too.
Working as an Innovation and UX consultant, I’m constantly jumping around from project to project and client to client. It’s difficult to carry physical things between these locations, and can get confusing when files and paperwork are in different locations so Miro has been a godsend. I’ve found clients and coworkers ask me less questions as they can check Miro, or when they do they often just comment on a project's Miro board and tag me.
I have now used Miro to run remote design sprints, collaborate with co-workers and clients, plan projects, create business model canvases, early stage UX artefacts such as journey maps, personas etc. By isolating the planning from the design and presentation work I’ve gained more headspace, and found Miro an invaluable tool.
For me Miro’s real power is in the quick starter easy to follow templates from business model canvas to personas and service design blueprints.
I’ve even run early stage backlogs in Miro with it’s Kanban feature when working with startups that don’t have a formal system in place.
It really is the closest thing to one platform to rule them all I’ve come across.
Conclusion
Stop reading and try it today!
