Workspaces
Secure Storage
BlackBerry Workspaces (previously Watchdox) provides secure storage, synchronization and sharing for your files. Whether you need to enable personal productivity, facilitate team collaboration, or mobilize and transform your entire business, BlackBerry Workspaces is the best choice for secure file collaboration.
RESEARCH / UX / UI Design
1.
MY ROLE
As lead UX Designer my role was to design wireframes and prototypes for Workspaces new look and feel. This required a combination of research, QA iteration and concept testing in order to release the final product to our many clients around the globe.
2.
THE CONCEPT
Develop an onboarding experience for new and existing users of Workspaces web platform. The biggest challenge was designing a quick and easily understandable onboarding experience that would allow users to understand and begin using the platform almost instantly.
Research and Exploration
1.
RESEARCH AND COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
I began with an in depth look at the current file sync & sharing market. Examining top competitors such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Mega, box, iCloud, OneDrive, Citrix and Syncplicity. I then conducted interviews with both new and existing users to gather feedback and better understand their wants and needs.
2.
EXPLORATION OF IDEAS
White boards are an excellent tool for keeping track of many ideas in a short amount of time. It is also an easy way to collaborate and brainstorm with colleagues. Sessions like this helped with solving problems and making decisions like the decision to keep things simple, understanding that too many displays in the onboarding process was not providing a good user experience.
The Challenge
1.
THE PROBLEM
My biggest challenge was to introduce and explain how to navigate our product to a user in as few steps as possible. The problem was with Workspaces platform and having to simplify a product that was developed over many years and had many pre-existing functions and tools.
We determined that the average user does not have patience for more than a few screens before getting tired or frustrated and choosing to skip the onboarding experience altogether.
2.
THE SOLUTION
Users prefer short and easy to grasp instructions when it comes to onboarding. Majority of the competitors products that I analyzed where introducing their products in as few as 5 to 10 screens maximum. I decided to use this model as well and keep the initial focus on our products main feature: secure file sharing. This decision allowed any user to start enjoying the benefits of our product right from the get-go after completing the now shorter onboarding process.
Prototyping
of Onboarding
Design a Quick and Easy Onboarding for New & Existing Users
Taking into consideration all of the insights gained from the exploration phase, I started prototyping and user testing the onboarding journey. For this, the main tool I used was Balsamiq. The user testing resulted in a lot of helpful information and valuable insight on how to improve the onboarding experience. This new information allowed me to change and improve the prototype as necessary. Keeping the focus on the products main secure file sharing feature.
Detailed Design
Once I managed to come up with working solutions for the identified problems, I began designing the final onboarding journey.
With the knowledge that most of our target audience works mainly on desktop computers, I made the decision to start designing for larger screens first. I used these larger templates as a guide to later create and duplicate them for the smaller screens such as tablets and smartphones.
OVERALL Takeaways
Research is the base for everything
I couldn’t have designed an easy to use product without the help of the people who will actually use it. In the field of UX this always holds true. Taking the time to research what has worked in the past and explore what users suggest for the future will ensure successful results time after time.
Small things can have a huge impact
Changing the shape of a pop-up or adding a more visible skip button don’t seem like much, but I have learned that small changes can produce big results when addressing user frustrations.
Dare to experiment
Taking chances on a real project might sound scary, but big risks can mean big rewards. For example, starting our onboarding journey with an animation sounded like an exciting and useful technique that was worth trying. but I was hesitant since animations can also be time consuming and difficult to develop. Sometimes the only way to know is to commit to the idea and try it in a live situation. The results may surprise you!