ux-portfolio-mwkuse

Can You Ditch Your File Cabinet with Drive?

By: Maxwell Kuse

05/07/2023

Nowadays everything is done online, whether it is banking, writing emails, or storing documents. The need to store documents, photos, and other media without fear of losing them is an ever-growing necessity in the world we live in today. This is what lead me to explore the user experience associated with the service, Google Drive.

Google Drive is a cloud-based storage service that allows users to store and access files online, both from a computer and from a mobile device. The fact that there are other companies that provide a similar service, says a lot about Google Drive being among the most popular. I, along with many others, use Google Drive daily to complete homework assignments and store files. I use Google Drive in lieu of similar services because it is efficient, effective, and useful.

In terms of user experience, an application is defined as efficient if it is able to be used to complete tasks both quickly and correctly. This is clearly demonstrated in Google Drive when navigating the homepage, which is called the “My Drive” page, after logging in. I would categorize the layout of the Google Drive service as efficient because it draws your attention toward suggested documents enabling you to access documents that you have opened recently or frequently.

Not only does it give you easy access to suggested documents, but it also allows you to upload an existing file or create a new document, presentation, spreadsheet, or survey. This demonstrates that the service is effective because it allows the user to be able to accomplish a variety of tasks under one service. The “New” button is easily seen from the “My Drive” page and allows you to create a new file, upload an existing file, and create a new folder to organize your documents. The combination of these features in an easily accessible and prominent place is one of the reasons why this service is effective.

Another important feature of Google Docs is the collaboration feature which allows you to simultaneously make edits to the same document as another user. This is a feature that isn’t present in other cloud-based file management systems and can be described as useful because it provides a feature that similar services do not, in a way that people are likely to take advantage of on a regular basis.