KRIS is a secure document management system (DMS) designed by SQL View to help businesses manage critical documents while ensuring compliance with regulations. While KRIS offers robust document management features, users faced significant challenges with tracking metadata fields — such as expiry dates or approval deadlines — which were often managed manually using spreadsheets and external tools.
Tracking metadata is critical for maintaining compliance and operational efficiency across large organisations. To address this, we introduced Metadata Subscription, a feature that automates notifications and centralises metadata tracking. The goal was to simplify workflows, reduce manual effort, and support scalability across diverse use cases.
As the UX Designer and Researcher for this project, I was responsible for:
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Validating the problem through user interviews and workflow analysis
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Designing and iterating on solutions based on user feedback
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Testing the final solution with clients and refining it based on usability insights
I collaborated closely with stakeholders, internal teams, and end users to ensure the feature addressed real pain points while aligning with business goals.
Simplifying the experience on tracking expiry dates
Role
Lead Product Designer
Responsibilities
UX Design, Visual Design, UX Writing, Prototyping, Usability Testing
Team
Product Manager, 2 Developers, 2 QA Engineers, 2 Product Designers
Timeline
4 months
Platform
Web
Problems
Managing metadata fields like expiry dates is complex for large organisations handling thousands of documents. The consequences of mismanaging metadata can be severe, leading to financial and operational risks. We uncovered key pain points that highlighted the urgency for a streamlined solution:
Fragmented Workflows
Users relied on spreadsheets, requiring constant updates and monitoring. As deadlines approached, they manually tracked high-priority cases, increasing cognitive load and error rates.
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A finance manager shared that due to a tracking error, they missed key contract renewal dates for several clients, causing delays in renegotiations and revenue loss.
Lack of Proactive Tools
Without built-in notifications, users were forced to manually remember deadlines or rely on others for reminders. This reactive approach often led to inefficiencies and operational disruptions.
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An HR staff member shared that forgetting to renew a work pass on time led to the employee being unable to work legally for several weeks, affecting team productivity.
Role-Specific Needs
Each department had unique requirements, from bulk tracking for Finance to personalised alerts for department heads. Generic solutions left these needs unmet, causing frustration.
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A department head described how missed alerts delayed project approvals, impacting timelines across teams.
"How might we help users track important metadata effortlessly, and prioritise high-urgency cases, while creating a scalable system that supports future use cases?"
Initial Concepts
Based on the research insights, I explored multiple design directions to address user needs, iteratively testing concepts to find the right balance between customisation and simplicity.
The initial design allowed users to customise every aspect of alerts.
Research
The goal of the research phase was to deeply understand user workflows, validate the problem, and explore opportunities to streamline metadata tracking. This involved gathering qualitative insights and studying competitor solutions to lay a strong foundation for the design.
1. User Interviews
I conducted interviews with five users across Sales, Finance and Operations roles to understand their workflows, challenges, and expectations. The key insights can be referred to the Problem Section.
2. Competitive Analysis
I reviewed metadata tracking solutions in competitor platforms:
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Strengths: Competitors offered highly configurable alert systems
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Weaknesses: Many platforms were overwhelming for users, requiring extensive setup.
This highlighted an opportunity to combine simplicity with configurability.
3. User Flow Mapping
To identify pain points and opportunities, I mapped key actions in the metadata tracking workflow:
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Setting up a subscription
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Receiving and responding to notifications
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Viewing and managing subscriptions in the dashboard
Takeaways
Research validates direction
Informal interviews and usability testing were critical in aligning the solution with real-world workflows
Iterative design is key (always!)
Internal testing helped us avoid pitfalls of over-complication early in the process
Simplification matters
This project reinforced the importance of designing with users’ cognitive load in mind. Simplifying the solution made it more accessible and impactful
Initial Concepts
Based on the research insights, I explored multiple design directions to address user needs, iteratively testing concepts to find the right balance between customisation and simplicity.
The initial design allowed users to customise every aspect of alerts.
Next Steps
While the adoption of Metadata Subscription is still in its early stages, it establishes a foundation for addressing key pain points like manual tracking and missed deadlines.
Moving forward, increasing user awareness and tailoring features for diverse roles will be crucial to maximising its potential.
Credit illustrations to Storeyset
Usability Testing
This was the company’s first user research initiative, hence I pioneered the usability testing workflow, i.e. recruitment process, setup of research goals and guidelines. This testing was aimed at validating whether the proposed solution met user needs and solved their pain points effectively.
Set-up Details
Participants: Six users from Finance and HR roles with experience managing metadata manually
Scenarios:
Setting up alerts,
Responding to emails alerts,
Navigating the dashboard,
Making changes to existing alerts
Metrics: Task success rates, and user feedback
Through affinity mapping of all data points, we also discovered some critical insights into areas for refinement before the final rollout.
Key Findings
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Metadata Subscription is overall well understood, with 67% of users successfully completed the tasks without assistance, and the remaining while the remaining 33% of our participants were able to completed the tasks successfully with minor issues.
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Users frequently struggled with terms like “metadata,” “distribution list,” and “repeat.” Simplifying and standardising these terms would improve usability
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Setting default behaviours (e.g., recurring notifications defaulting to "ON", suggesting the date range) reduces cognitive load for users and minimises errors
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Providing supplementary knowledge base articles can bridge understanding gaps for users
Solution
The final Metadata Subscription feature addressed these challenges by these designs. These improvements were validated through usability testing, with 67% of participants successfully completing all tasks without assistance.
Automating Notifications
Users receive recurring alerts for important metadata events, reducing manual tracking efforts
Simplifying Setup
Defaults and minimal configuration options make the setup process quick and intuitive
Centralising Visibility
A dashboard highlights high-priority tasks, helping users stay on top of their workflows
Challenge addressed
During internal testing, users found the design overly complex and time-consuming, even for simple alert setups.
This feedback highlighted the need to rethink our approach to ensure the system remained user-friendly while still addressing key use cases.
Based on feedback, I streamlined the design:
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Reduced Configuration Steps: Focused on essential fields and automated defaults
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Prioritised Common Workflows: Defaults such as recurring notifications set to "ON" reduced decision-making effort
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Deferred Additional Features: Non-essential configurations were deprioritised for future iterations to keep the MVP intuitive and efficient
This refinement significantly improved usability and formed the foundation for the usability testing phase.