top of page
Project
Project File Management System
Designed a web application for employees to store, manage and find old project data files
As part of my summer internship capstone project at World Wide Technology, the digital interns were tasked with developing a solution for managing project files. Our solution focuses on providing a user-friendly system that simplifies file management while improvising the process of locating past project files to match the unmet needs.
Info
Role
UX Designer
Team
2 UX Designers
2 Project Managers
2 Developers
Duration
10 weeks
Overview
Challenge
How might we streamline the process for the digital team to locate past project files, eliminate the need for manual searches across multiple applications, and reduce reliance on team members to provide project context due to inconsistent file naming?
Solution
A project directory application with an intuitive interface simplifies finding past projects. It allows users to compare files and connect with peers, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing.
The invention of this application resulted in
Time saved while documenting project files
Reduced manual effort in finding project files
Faster and increased collaboration
User research
Initial data gathering
To understand the current process of finding information about a past project, we initiated conversations with different teams to understand how they gather information related to past projects.
Hearing the responses from the team members, we identified use cases in which these activities were happening repeatedly.
Current work arounds
Use cases
I am a new employee getting onboarded on an old client project
I am an employee looking for past projects related to healthcare
I am a team lead organising all previous project files in a drive
User quotes
"I reach out to my manager or post a message on slack or teams channel inquiring about the project."
"I scan the current project files in different applications to find a similar project for reference."
"I have to upload all the projects by myself or keep reminding team members to upload their project files."
Insights
Unstructured Project Information Storage
Users spent significant time seeking project files across various applications. Inconsistent file organisation methods made it difficult for external members to locate files.
Inability to Track Project Updates
Project leads had no control over team members updating the files in the drive. They had to follow up with past team members or manually upload files to appropriate folders.
Time Wasted Opening Multiple Files
Users had to open and often download multiple files from previous project members to validate their relevance. They would repeat the process if files weren’t useful.
Archetypes
Project leads
Needs
-
Guide members to upload files
-
Provide quick references
Pain points
-
Cannot track file uploads
-
Follow up with team members
-
Download multiple reference files
-
Too much time spent documenting
Project members
-
Wait for relevant responses from team
-
Time spent in documenting
-
No documentation guidelines
Pain points
-
Save time and storage
-
Find old project files in one place
Needs
Ideation & Concept testing
Thoughts to sketches
We used quick wireframes to help visualise our ideas and iterated based on the feedback
Creating wireframes enabled the team to visualize concepts, provide feedback on features, and identify potential implementation challenges early, helping us stay on track with the project timeline.
Insights from concept testing
Documenting
Lack of accountability
Track and assign tasks to team members
Finding
Greater learning curve
Utilise automatic in everyday features to do time consuming tasks
Reviewing
Too many files to preview
Personalise the experience of viewing project files
Feature mapping
Based on the feedback received during concept testing, we created a feature map to help us design the final designs. This was a collaborative effort between the project managers, backend developers and stakeholders of this project.
Value
Accountability
Efficiency
Feature
File request
File upload search
Impact
Streamlines project management by ensuring timely documentation and reduces the risk of missing or outdated files
Saves time and frustration while locating relevant information by quickly identifying similar projects or parent project folder
Convenience
Quick preview
Eliminates the need to download multiple files or numerous tabs to quickly preview files in one place
Clarity
Compare
Reduces time spent on manual file comparisons by facilitating quicker decision-making to identify the most relevant file
Efficiency
Upload web links
Reduces redundancy and streamlines the workflow of uploading project files by eliminating the need to download and re-upload files from different applications
Organization
Label projects
Improves productivity by providing quick access to essential project files, eliminating the need to repeatedly search through directories
Final concepts
Step 1
Request files from the relevant user
Tracking file uploads and repeatedly requesting project members to upload files through Teams or Slack was time-consuming for managers. A centralized system ensures files are uploaded in the correct project folders, reducing scattered uploads and saving managers time in following up after project completion.
Step 2
Search file by uploading
Finding similar projects and the people who worked on them in a database of over 10,000 files can be difficult. Uploading a reference file enables the smart search function to scan the database, identify similar projects, and pull up a list of past team members.
Step 3
Quick preview & compare
Comparing project information by downloading and toggling between multiple files is time-consuming and cumbersome. By adding a selection of relevant files, users can compare them in a single view and download only the most relevant one.
Measuring impact
Files created every quarter
The total number of files uploaded and new projects created every quarter would signify an increase user adoption.
Upload requests resolved
An increase in resolved file upload requests will indicate the ease of usability, leading to higher user adoption.
Increased communication
Increase in employee conversations for collaboration and knowledge sharing would indicate ease of finding team members.
Learning & Takeaways
Adopt fast
A project does not always go as linearly as it was planned. Adopting quickly to the changes, turn arounds helps keep the quality of the project delivered in time
Conduct workshops for active collaboration
An idea discussed sparks a connection leading to more ideas. Collaborating with team members makes everyone feel valued in the project and leads to stronger foundation of the project ideas.
Prioritise and de-prioritise
Always keep the problem statement and the user needs the central focus to keep the project on track and not deviate from the expectations of the final outcome. Prioritise and de-prioritise to reach the intended outcome.
bottom of page