Market Problem
Folder management today is performed as template management/assignment. It's current challenges are that it cannot adapt dynamically to a user's changing needs for organizing files.
Goal
We want to make it easier for customers to file and find documents in ad-hoc folders, as users would be able to organize electronically stored information for any matter using a structured, ad hoc folder management system that is flexible based on user needs.
The Old
Users of CounselLink had to rely on the folder structure set by the corporate users. Often times these folder template are generic and don't fit the need of the user to manage and organize multiple documents. To add a folder to a matter, a corporate user would need to log into the corporate settings, create folder template. Within that folder template the user has to create the necessary folders. This template appears on all matters associated with the corporate user. Often times a corporate user has no idea what folder structure the law firm user would like to use.
My Role
To initiate the discovery process for this project, I worked with product management to asses the initial requirements for adhoc folders. Using the internal collected data, I was able to gain a lot of information on the pain points associated with the current folder system. Using that data and feedback from the product team, I was able to solidify a Prototype.
I then tested that prototype with people around the office randomly. I asked the users to perform simple task related to folders, such as "How might you create a new folder?" or " How would you move a folder into a sub-folder?" What I found was that most users want to simply drag and drop to rearrange their folder structure. It was also unclear to them that clicking create folder while a folder was selected would create a sub-folder. With these findings I was able to iterate on my design and present what i learned to stakeholders, and the development team.
The Result
Working with the development team, we were able to launch the new folder design within the application. It has been widely well received by our users. We have seen an increase in the use of folders on matters since its implementation, and consider the folder redesign a success. We have made a few more iterations since its release and have plans int he future to implement a document previewer.
