Blocbox Case Study
Blocbox Prototype
OVERVIEW: Blocbox is a SaaS (Software as a Service) responsive web application that allows users to collect and store information in a single platform.
PROBLEM: There is no single solution that provides users with the ability to save links, images, and notes all in one place, allowing users to easily access the data from any device, and share and collaborate with other users, or groups of users, in real-time.
SOLUTION: Blocbox allows users to collect information and store it in a single place. A user can create documents, store images, links to websites, and collaborate with others in real-time. Blocbox offers three pricing tiers (Free, Pro, Expert) which allows users to choose the data storage capacity, amount of collaborators, whether they would like the real-time collaboration feature, and how many folders/groups/boxes they would like to create. This cloud-based solution can be accessed from any device, and it is easy to upgrade at any time.
USER RESEARCH: User interviews and surveys were conducted to understand how users save, access, and share information such as links, photos, and notes, for both personal and business use cases. The results helped establish user behaviors, what tools were being used, and the pros and cons of the features for each tool.
75% of users say that when it comes to saving content, they utilize tools that are fast and easy, but they seek greater organization of the saved content.
70% of users would like the ability to share saved content with other users or groups, while collaborating in real-time.
80% of users would prefer to use a single cloud-based application for saving information across multiple devices.
50% of users would like the application to include personal and professional account options.
MARKET RESEARCH: A competitive analysis was conducted to understand how competitors such as Box, Dropbox, & Citrix ShareFile are positioning themselves, primary and target audiences, key differentiators, and what features seemed to attract users. All of the opportunities and weaknesses were documented. Here are some of the key findings:
Many of the competitors were targeting enterprise level users only.
Cloud based storage was the most important feature being emphasized.
Rich collaboration features were not provided by competitive solutions.
Lack of features to support information organization and management.
USER STORIES: Developed by analyzing every possible path that a user would need to take to complete a certain task. User stories were created for both new and returning users. The tasks were prioritized to create the minimum viable product. Here is a sample of the user stories:
USER PERSONAS: The personas were guidelines for the overall design of Blocbox, and led to the creation of a tiered service solution for casual, professional, and expert level users. Here is a sample persona:
ORGANIZE - SHARE
AGE: 31
LOCATION: New York
GENDER: Male
TIER: Professional
MOTIVATIONS: Alexander loves saving recipies from the web, taking pictures, and making up his own recipies. He needs a better way of saving the content across multiple devices, organizing it, and sharing it with others. For example, he would love to create a folder of meatball recipies and be able to keep it extremely organized by the ingredients used, source, date, and recipe feedback from his friends, family, and colleagues.
GOALS: Save content in one place, organize content, and share content with others.
FRUSTRATIONS: Keeping track of different types of content across multiple devices, no organization, no single solution to share content and collaborate with others.
BIO: Alexander is a culinary student and is passionate about creating his own recipies and also finding culinary inspiration from others. He collaborates with a lot of his classates, and enjoys sharing recipies with friends and family. It is important for him to be able to organize all of his recipies so that he can keep track of his favorite dishes and pull up a recipe quickly.
WIREFRAMES: Low-fidelity wireframes were created in Balsamiq providing rough sketches to display content placement options for the stakeholders. High-fidelity wireframes were then created in Sketch to provide exact sizing of each element, and to allow for further testing on the user flow and design.
RESULTS: Testing of the interactive prototype provided insightful feedback on the main landing page and the dashboard. The users confirmed their experience with Blocbox was very positive, and described the site as being user-friendly, trustworthy, and organized. User competency was measured through their success rate of completing different tasks (such as adding a link, or downloading an image), and by monitoring how long it took to complete tasks. Iterations of the navigation and placement of elements continued until the users flowed through the tasks seamlessly, and an optimal user experience could be verified. User testing videos are available upon request.
TAKEAWAYS & KEY LEARNINGS: Blocbox succeeded in creating an intuitive and responsive application for saving and sharing files. It has a simple design with rich collaboration features that will be sure to please users who are looking for ease of use and greater functionality. The real-time collaboration feature provides the greatest differentiator for the product. Research suggests that users are seeking increased organization features, which competitors have not been able to provide. It is my recommendation continue research and testing efforts around the features and functionality associated with organizing information.
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Copyright 2018 | Designed & Developed by Emily Wilson