What's the Adobe database? The Adobe database is a resource for organizing, searching, and accessing tens of thousands of digital resources: web designs, photos, documents, and even videos and audio files. The database is essential for people across the enterprise ecosystem at CrowdStrike (10,000+ people) to search and find the digital assets they're looking for. CrowdStrikers need the resources for numerous use cases, including web design, print design, and events around the globe.
What was my role in the project? I served as the project manager and SME (subject matter expert) for the Adobe database project. As the SME, I studied the existing processes, conducted user research, and implemented UI features based on my research. I worked cross-functionally with web developers, visual designers, marketing teams (SEO, UX design, accessibility, content creation) to implement design best practices for the database. I educated teams across the organization about how to navigate the database and I continually improved the user experience based on their feedback.
What challenges did I experience and how did I navigate them? The core challenge with building the information architecture was working around existing UI elements and infrastructure. While some elements were customizable, some product features were not yet available. I provided valuable user feedback to the Adobe team to shape the future product roadmap of Adobe Assets. I discovered creative ways to work around the product limitations and shared these insights in my documentation for future users. My workarounds resulted in user-friendly and efficient workflows.
What did I learn from this experience? From building the Adobe database project, I learned firsthand how user research informs navigation design. I designed UI elements that provide users with the environment that they need for finding essential digital resources. I innovated a completely new process: before, users had limited tools to search and locate files. I developed, documented, and delivered a system that has 100% search-ability. In addition to building the database design, I created interactive educational materials for various teams across the organization.
What's next for the project? The Adobe database continues to be used daily by CrowdStrike, an enterprise software company that serves 62 of the 100 Fortune 100 companies. Because of my work in creating a fully operational experience, people can now search for and quickly locate the resources they need.
Skills: UI design, navigation elements, visual design, product design, agile teamwork, Kanban, SCRUM, UX design, collaboration, software documentation, product road map, user research, iterative design, design thinking
Software: Adobe Experience Cloud (Experience Manager, Assets), Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign). Google Suite (Slides, Sheets)
