File Upload Request

Improving the vault experience with quicker uploads
Context
During my first internship, I worked at FutureVault Inc., a tech startup that aims to provide solutions in financial services and wealth management. They provide a digital safety deposit box for clients to store critical documents, data, and information.

As a UX/UI designer, I had the chance to work on various design projects such as creating graphic assets, making powerpoints for clients, and improving the product's UI. I also got to design a whole new feature that is now implemented and considered one of the best product feature of FutureVault: the File Upload Request!
Team
1 Designer (me)
1 Developer
1 User Researcher
Skills
Prototyping
Wireframing
Product Thinking
Visual Design
Persona Mapping
Duration
8 Weeks
Tools
Figma
Draw.io
The Problem
Advisors are having difficulty requesting their clients to upload necessary documents into their vault. There were currently no solutions to do this efficiently within the application, and clients without a FutureVault account had to register for one to do so.
The Objective
Design a product feature that allows users to request files in a specific folder, and a page for recipients to upload them without an account.

> Empathize

Summary
To give us a better understanding of who the users are and their pain points, I looked through feature request forms and the user researcher's findings. These findings derived from competitive analysis and multiple user interviews. After, I created a user persona to have a better grasp of what the users' needs, goals, and experiences are.
User Pain Points
01 Mandatory Account
When users are asking someone to upload files into a vault, the uploader MUST have a FutureVault account to do so.
02 External Sites
Users have resorted to external sites to notify someone of file requests, such as emailing or calling.
03 Manual Work
Users must manually move all the uploaded files into the desired folder location within the vault.
Persona

> Define

Process
There are two separate experiences users can go through during the file upload request: one being the requester's experience and the other being the file uploader's experience. Hence, two user flows were created for this project. Since we had a strict timeline, we had to decide what to show as the minimum viable product (MVP) to clients.
User Flow - Requester
User task: Use the file request feature and ask others to upload their files within a specific folder of the user's vault.
User Flow - File Uploader
User task: Use the received file upload link and upload their files in the dropbox.

> Design

Key Wireframe - Requester
The requester is able to access this feature by right-clicking the folder they wanted the uploaded files to go to. A pop-up form would then appear for easy request-making! This addresses their pain points of always manually moving the uploaded files into their folders, as well as easily sending notifications to the people they request from.
Key Wireframe - File Uploader
The file uploader is able to upload their files into the requester's vault by clicking on a link sent to their email. They would be brought to a page that asks for their name and email as verification. After, they can upload the requested file and send it. This addresses their pain point of needing to create a FutureVault account.

> Test and Refine

Summary
I conducted two rounds of usability studies, one on co-workers and one on stakeholders.

The first study helped me realize the features I missed (due to my lack of understanding) and helped finalize the user flow diagram.

The second study used an iteration of the high-fidelity prototype to further reveal what needed to be refined or changed again.
Usability Study: Round 1 Findings
1. Users want to be able to request multiple files within one request
2. Users want to send a personal message to recipients to easily state the reasoning behind the file request
3. Users want an option to make sure that only the recipients are able to upload files (want password on file upload page)
Usability Study: Round 2 Findings
1. Users want the option to resend email reminders to certain individuals instead of the whole recipient group
2. Users want to name their request to easily know what the request may have been sent for
3. Users should not be able to edit a request after a request has been sent, as that can impact the recipient’s user experience

> Solution

Hi-fi Prototype
Click here to try the prototype (It will appear on a new tab)
Specific File Request and Email
Requester can ask for specific files to be uploaded in the folder they chosen. Hence, any file uploaded from the people requested will all appear in that folder. Additionally, after the request is created, users will also get the opportunity to send an email about the request to the recipients on the web app.
Generic File Request
Requesters can create a generic file upload link for a folder. This means that there are no specific files being demanded, so users with the link can upload anything they want into the folder. The requester will be able to see all the contacts and emails who have uploaded something under "Submissions".
File Uploading
Users will not need to have a FutureVault account in order to upload file. They simply need to enter their full name, credentials, and password (if the requester made one). After that, they are able to upload as many files as they want for each request.

> Takeaways

Impact
Four months after the implementation of this product feature, FutureVault Inc. has seen a significant boost in administrative user engagement by 30%. Additionally, clients showed an 80% increase in response time due to its user-friendly nature.
What I Learned
  • Since the release of this product feature was set in a tight deadline, I learned how to design with the developer in mind. Instead of creating whole new components, I would go to a component library and find components that are very similar to what I initially thought up. This allowed the developer to implement the design much quicker.
  • While designing this product feature, I was surprised at the amount of thought needed for a seemingly small feature. The user flow diagram clearly showed just how messy this can get, as the edge cases were revealed during our team meetings slowly.
  • Asking for the team's design opinion really helped me broaden my ideas. Even though I was the designer for the team, they still provided really good perspectives from their fields that helped me think outside the box.
Next Steps
  • Conduct more usability testing on users to ensure the user pain points are addressed.
  • Reiterate on mock-ups depending on user feedback from clients.
  • Make the designs more equity-focused and accessible
Hope you enjoyed the quest's journey as much as I did!
Want to chat? I am just a click away! :)
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