Internal toolResearch

Dropbox

Unifying customer research insights

Dropbox's insights lived across spreadsheets and separate tools. As the sole designer, I researched the need, mapped the core flows and designed a new internal tool for adding and finding customer insights — giving leaders a clear view of whether to build in-house, buy a third-party tool or extend what was already in use.

Role: Sole product designer
Worked with: Customer Success & Advocacy Director, Head of Research Insights
Platform: Internal web tool
Scope: Research, flows, sketches, wireframes, testing, handoff

Four screens of the insights tool: dashboard, search, input form and results

The goal

Create a strategy for where to invest in a unified customer and research data management tool. Three directions were on the table: build an internal tool, find a third-party option, or audit the tools already in use internally.

Whatever we chose had to:

Make information transparent across teams
Create a unified language for customers
Make workflows smarter and faster
Democratize access
Merge standards and taxonomy
Surface inconsistencies

Who needs this?

Interviews about the old methods — starting with the very first spreadsheet — confirmed the need for an internal tool and narrowed in on pain points alongside business goals. Two groups emerged:

Internal orgs: the Insights team and the Customer Success team
Most other orgs: product managers and designers

Research synthesis board with interview notes grouped into themes

Design goals

Create a distinct product — different from external products and from existing internal tools
Not too much, not too little: a friendlier dashboard and search with relevant data that isn't overwhelming but leaves room to explore
Focus on prioritization and tags

Competitive analysis

I looked at third-party companies as potential partners: the pros and cons of using an external product, how they work, and which of their benefits to bring into ours.

Two main flows

High-level flows for the two core jobs: searching for insights, and adding new ones.

High-level user flows for search and input

Sketches, wireframes and testing

Hand sketches of the dashboard and search screens

Wireframes of the dashboard and search screens

Final designs

Input form for adding a new insight — Input form

Insights Station dashboard with annotations — Dashboard and search: familiar navigation, a narrower search with filters, and less overwhelming data up top.

Example searches grouped by team, recent additions and business focus — Easy access to examples and current insights guides people to what they need.

Abstract page for a single insight in the repository — Abstract page

Impact

Gave stakeholders and leaders a clear view, so they could make a more confident decision on where to invest.

Learnings

Build in a better understanding of team schedules over the holidays.
Connect with more engineers along the way.

Dropbox

Unifying customer research insights

Role

Sole product designer

Worked with

Customer Success & Advocacy Director, Head of Research Insights

Platform

Internal web tool

Scope

Research, flows, sketches, wireframes, testing, handoff

The goal

Whatever we chose had to:

Make information transparent across teams
Create a unified language for customers
Make workflows smarter and faster
Democratize access
Merge standards and taxonomy
Surface inconsistencies

Who needs this?

Interviews about the old methods — starting with the very first spreadsheet — confirmed the need for an internal tool and narrowed in on pain points alongside business goals. Two groups emerged:

Internal orgs: the Insights team and the Customer Success team
Most other orgs: product managers and designers