Bridging the Gap Between Slack and Email Users

Slack brings the right people, information, and tools together to get work done. Normally, team members can invite one another to Slack via email invitation. Invited users can accept the invitation to activate their account, but if they don’t, then their team members can’t collaborate with them. To solve this problem we created Email Bridge:…

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Madhu Balakrishna
•8 min read•intermediate•
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Overview

The article discusses the development of Email Bridge, a feature that allows Slack users to interact with invited users who have not yet activated their accounts, facilitating communication and onboarding. It outlines the architecture of Email Bridge, its implementation, and the lessons learned during its rollout.

What You'll Learn

1

How to implement Email Bridge for better user onboarding in Slack

2

Why discoverability of invited users is crucial for team collaboration

3

How to manage email notifications effectively to avoid overwhelming users

Key Questions Answered

How does Email Bridge improve communication for invited users in Slack?
Email Bridge allows invited users to receive notifications and respond to messages via email before they activate their Slack accounts. This ensures that they can participate in discussions and access important information immediately, enhancing the onboarding experience.
What are the main components of the Email Bridge architecture?
The Email Bridge architecture consists of three main modules: discoverability of invited users, an email interoperability service for sending notifications, and an email reply system that routes responses back to the appropriate Slack channels.
What challenges were faced during the rollout of Email Bridge?
The rollout of Email Bridge faced challenges related to the complexity of the Grid user flow and the need for careful testing. A gradual rollout strategy was implemented to identify and fix bugs with minimal impact on users.

Technologies & Tools

Backend
AWS Simple Email Service (ses)
Used for sending email notifications to invited users.
Backend
System For Cross-domain Identity Management (scim)
Facilitates automatic user provisioning for large customers.

Key Actionable Insights

1
Implementing Email Bridge can significantly enhance onboarding for new users by allowing them to engage with their teams via email before activating their accounts.
This is particularly beneficial for large enterprises where quick onboarding is essential for productivity.
2
Ensuring that invited users are discoverable in Slack can help teams collaborate more effectively and reduce the time it takes for new members to get up to speed.
By marking invited users as such, teams can include them in discussions and channel activities, fostering a sense of inclusion.
3
Batching email notifications can prevent users from being overwhelmed by individual message alerts, improving their overall experience.
This approach is crucial in fast-paced environments like Slack, where conversations can generate numerous notifications quickly.

Common Pitfalls

1
Failing to account for the complexity of user data models when implementing new features can lead to significant issues in data tracking and reporting.
This often happens when teams do not anticipate how changes will affect existing systems, leading to inaccurate metrics and confusion.