Giovanni Valcarenghi | MonetDB Cloud Interface case

A new way to manage your databases in the cloud

UX/UI improvements on MonetDB cloud interface

The 10 seconds case 👇

(for people really in a hurry)

The Problem

My Solution

The End 🎉

Of course, the whole project took a "little" more than just those 10 seconds.
So, how did I make the decisions?
Continue reading the case to discover more.

40 seconds of the final result

I also supervised the marketing part of the product launch, in addition to the redesign and programming of the application, including the previous teaser.

The "a bit longer" case 👇

(for people less in a hurry)

The project in a nutshell

Manage your MonetDB databases with a modern interface

MonetDB Cloud Interface is a Cloud admin tool to manage MonetDB databases. Without considering the application's intended consumers, the first prototype of the web application was created using a conventional design template. Resulting in a bland interface with numerous usability issues and a stock interface.

My responsibility in this project was to improve the UX/UI of the application by compensating for the lack of a poor user-centered design.

The team comprised one UX/UI Designer (me) and one Backend Engineer.

The challenge

Improve the web application

My role

UX/UI Designer

The solution

Figma, HTML, CSS, JS

Prototype assesment

Usability study with Think Aloud protocol

Phase 1

analyse

Old pages problems

1

Too many clashing elements increasing the visual complexity, and therefore the user cognitive load

2

Use of colors that are inconsistent with the brand identity

3

Too much detail and omission of pertinent DBs information

4

Links and actions, not descriptive, lead the user to a higher probability of errors

5

Repetition of the same actions in multiple pages, leading to an overmelming and not oganized structure

6

The feature for history and schema, intended to be secondary actions, takes up half of the interface - bad hierarchy

Phase 2

IDEATE

Due to the creation of the prototype without considering the final users, it end up being too complex and with too technical terms that could bring users to confusion.

Having in mind the final user for MonetDB Cloud Interface I have performed the following improvements:

Definition of a User persona
Font and Palette definition to keep consistency
Specific usability improvements to simplify the usage
Test of the new interface with a Usability Study

The Redesign

1

Scaling principle to give the databases more prominence as the 'main character'

2

Improved experience with a standardised typeface and color scheme

3

DBs' system status always accessible and actions organized in a dropdown menu

4

Definition of primary and secondary buttons and design of precise hierarchy

5

Larger area for the SQL queries (as primary action)

6

Extra information regarding the run query

7

Functionalities for history and schema are now secondary buttons - lowered cognitive load

8

Information about query history increased

Phase 3

LET's test it

Usability Study

5 participants

Of whom: 4 Database administrators and 1 Data scientist

11 user tasks

Requiring to retrieve information displayed in the dashboard

Think aloud protocol

Qualitative analysis. Effectiveness, measured as the result of task completion

Thematic analysis

The data has been clustered into themes to find usability issues

This user study aims to evaluate the new dashboard with real users to understand how they interact with the interface and their cognitive responses. A total of five participants have been selected, with different backgrounds, to even out possible biases. I have chosen to use a qualitative analysis approach to directly identify the main usability problems in the dashboard, as suggested by Nielsen and Norman Group's article and by Stanton's work. The evaluation method that has been chosen is the Think Aloud protocol, largely used in qualitative evaluations, and the metrics that have been evaluated are effectiveness and usability. The data gathered has been studied and clustered through the Thematic Analysis method, which consists of reading through the scripts of the interviews and identifying patterns in meaning across the data.

Phase 4

Wrap up

The results

Overall, all the tasks were successfully completed, and people liked the application. However, some scenarios created problems for the participants. Interestingly, those scenarios were just the trigger to more significant usability problems found in the interface. After classifying the specific issues through Thematic Analysis, I have noticed a few elements as the most critical ones, that will be fixed in the next interation!

Challenges faced during the project

Among all..

Think aloud protocol limitations

Even if I have used one of the most popular methods for qualitative analysis, the Think Aloud (TA) protocol has a few limitations. Among others, I remember that this is not a “natural” method for the user and that most of the time, users comment on what they do rather than on what they think. Moreover, it is difficult for many users to interact with the program and talk about it. Lastly, most of the time, instead of having users say things as soon as they come to their minds, they reflect on their experiences and provide an edited commentary after the fact, which filters the feedback.

What I have learned

Thanks to this project, I have improved my skill in managing a redesign project from start to finish, including working with cross-functional teams and operating professionally on Git Hub.

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