In collaboration with Huma-Num, a CNRS entity (French National Centre for Scientific Research), NAKALA emerged as a cloud-based file storage platform tailored for social science researchers.
This public initiative, supported by CNRS, introduces seamless data management, cost-free access for French academic researchers, voluminous data storage, secure infrastructure, and a commitment to long-term archiving through CNRS's IN2P3 Computing Center.
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Nakala, a platform empowering social science researchers in structuring and valorizing their data, underwent a transformation from a complex, expert-oriented tool to an intuitive, user-friendly interface.
The challenge centered on optimizing seamless data management, spanning data enrichment, sharing, and valorization. I tackled complexities related to data structuring and information architecture, prioritizing simplicity, intuitive workflows, and effective information design.
Nakala Platform before (left) and after (right) redesign.
I executed the optimization of the interface, ensuring seamless data management from enrichment to sharing. I prioritized simplicity, intuitive workflows, and effective information architecture.
Uncovering Nakala's technical complexities and expert-centric limitations, a decision was made to initiate a ground-up redesign. The goal: transition from a non-user-friendly state to an intuitive platform, fostering seamless usability for social science researchers.
I engaged in focus groups and interviews to deeply understand user needs, pain points, and expectations, shaping the design around researchers' workflows and data lifecycles.
Data from user research was transformed into personas, capturing diverse use cases and addressing various needs associated with the Nakala platform.
User workshops provided valuable insights into researchers' workflows and data life cycles, with users actively contributing to the creation of diagrams and flowcharts, sharing and discussing their processes.
Nakala's refined positioning resulted from a thorough competition analysis and a strategic UX workshop that fostered alignment among project stakeholders.
In a field where many platforms position themselves as general-purpose repositories, Nakala positions itself as a working tool, offering comprehensive support to social science researchers throughout their entire research lifecycle, from data structuring to long-term archiving.
Nakala's competitive review emphasized competitors' information architecture, examining data structure and integration timing in relation to researchers' processes.
How Might We ensure Nakala's continuous support throughout the entire research process, enhancing efficiency from data structuring to impactful data valorization? The emphasis was on creating a collaborative working tool that actively contributes to the advancement of scientific research.
Defined data structuration strategies, introduced collections for flexible organization, and created a dual-section platform for public exploration and private workspace.
Extensive Diagrams, UX Maps, and flowcharts crafted for defining and organizing Nakala's data, platform, and features—fostering stakeholder alignment and accelerating backend development.
Nakala's architecture is divided into Open Explorer for public database exploration and a Private Workspace for personalized data and project management.
The platform introduces "Collections" for flexible data organization, allowing researchers to group data in multiple ways.
Within NAKALA, I designed the private workspace as a dedicated realm where users have exclusive control over their data, shared resources, and ongoing projects. This personalized space ensures a seamless and efficient data management experience, allowing researchers to navigate and organize their information with precision, streamline their workflows, enhance collaboration and advance their scientific endeavors within a secure and user-friendly environment.
Confidentiality is paramount in Nakala, offering researchers features such as private uploads, embargoes for delayed data disclosure, and secure private data storage. Within the team, I played a pivotal role to design those functionalities in order to ensure that ongoing projects maintain confidentiality and researchers have control over the privacy of their data.
I improved data exploration, simplified upload forms, introduced batch actions, and implemented features for confidentiality, sharing, and data valorization.
Streamlining Batch Uploads with a Dedicated Form and CSV for Metadata Import.
Empowering Actions: Seamlessly Edit, Enrich, and Export Data in Batches for Maximum Efficiency.
Within Nakala, I played a key role in introducing features like unique identifiers, web links, and varied export formats. These enhancements empower researchers to make the most of their data, promoting accessibility, citation, and collaboration in a straightforward manner.
I seamlessly integrated Nakala's graphic charter into the design, balancing visual elements to maintain a professional and uncluttered visual hierarchy.
In the end, Nakala evolved from a complex, expert-oriented tool into an intuitive interface, empowering researchers in their scientific pursuits.
