BACKGROUND
"Balancing Advanced Features and Privacy in File Storage"
Cloud storage services provide powerful organizational tools and seamless data access, enhanced by generative AI integration. However, privacy concerns and data misuse deter some users from fully adopting these platforms. Traditional local storage, while secure, lacks advanced functionality. Understanding user needs and challenges is key to designing a feature-rich, privacy-focused alternative tailored to local environments.
RESEARCH
60 mins
structured interview
8 Professionals
1 - 10 years work experience
Online
To gain insights into interviewees' file management interactions and enable follow-up questions, the research employed online observational semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom and Google Meet. To protect interviewee privacy and foster trust, no recordings were made. Participants could choose not to answer specific questions or respond verbally. Key points from the conversations were documented in spreadsheets for analysis.
Understand the challenges users face in managing their personal files and the struggles they encounter when managing files within a company setting. And their thoughts about privacy and program assistant.
SyNthesis
"Unveiling Insights Through Synthesis"
Leveraging interview data, scripts were grouped and transferred to Figma, clustering actions into four key file management practices: Storing, Organizing, Retrieving, and Sharing.
Storing - Creating | Downloading | Uploading | Filing | Naming Convention
Organizing - Folder Hierarchy | Moving | Deleting | Re-naming | Tagging
Retrieving - Navigating | Searching | Revisiting | Editing
Sharing - Internal Sharing | Sending
This structured synthesis revealed compelling practices within the first cluster, shedding light on critical user behaviors and opportunities for innovation.
Freelancer
Win | OS
I work with multiple companies, and renaming files is my biggest struggle because each has its own naming conventions. Almost every time, I have to browse previous projects, copy, and revise.
Designer
Win
Sometimes my colleagues don’t fully follow the naming structure. Even minor typos can cause files to be slotted in a chaotic order.
Sales
Win
Tight schedules prevent me from organizing properly. Most of the time, I just leave all files on the desktop, though I try to group them in one place.
Sales
Win
I work for a design company, and sharing files with clients is challenging. Navigating in and out of multiple folders, especially ones I don’t need, makes the process even harder.
Designer
Win
I work for a small consultancy with a very basic filing structure. Each designer is responsible for their own folders and uses their own ‘naming rules.’ You can imagine how chaotic the folders are.
"reorganized into new categories, enabling more effective analysis"
During the second phase of clustering, scripts were ranked based on the level of struggles experienced. The data was then reorganized into new categories, enabling more effective analysis. This process revealed clearer patterns, as illustrated in the accompanying diagram.
Filing - Filing | Folder Hierarchy
Naming - Naming Convention | Renaming | Tagging
Navigations - Navigating | Searching | Moving
Editing - Editing | Deleting
"delving deeper into each type of action"
The final clustering phase focused on delving deeper into each type of action. Building on the first and second categorizations, distinct patterns became evident at first glance.
Four strong patterns emerged from this analysis:
INSIGHTS
Both Window and OS Users find significant challenges related to renaming files.
Addressed the renaming and save as actions stop participants from storing and organizing files in the first place.
Addressed navigation is one of the main resistances to file retrieval.
