FireEye Data Explorer

Role: Lead UX Designer

Data Explorer, a powerful big data management, visualization, and analysis tool, was acquired by FireEye and later sold as a cybersecurity product. It enables users to handle vast amounts of machine-generated data (such as log data) in real-time.

Image courtesy of Phil Puleo

Project Highlights

  • Worked as a member of a small, collaborative team of highly skilled UI engineers.

  • Partnered with product management to define and design new functionality and improve existing workflows.

  • Enhanced UI visual design, and designed a UI component library for use by engineering teams across FireEye.

Refactoring the
”Add Data Table” Workflow

  • Improved the data table creation wizard by reducing the number of workflow steps from five to three.

  • Implemented a new visual design system

  • Defined a set of reusable components for inclusion in the UI component library.

Image courtesy of Phil Puleo

Process

  • Collaborated with subject matter experts.

  • Analyzed customer feedback.

  • White-boarded and sketched with engineers and PM.

“Add Table” Workflow

While there are various methods to add data to the system, the “Add Table” wizard simplifies the process of manually creating and populating a table.

Initially, the wizard consisted of five steps. However, after analyzing customer feedback and reprioritizing critical functionality, we refactored the workflow, reducing the number of steps from five to three.

From the Table view, the user clicks the “Add Table” button to launch the wizard, initiating the process of adding new data.

Step 1: Add basic table information and metadata.

Step 2: Data files are uploaded from a local repository.

Step 3: The user is able to preview the resulting table.

Step 3 (optional sub-step): Expert-level users can make on-the-fly edits to the XML file that defines how uploaded data is parsed into the table. They can then test the results of these changes. Once the “Create Table” wizard is closed, the user is returned to the table list view, where they can see their newly added data table.

Data Explorer
Component Library

Collaborating closely with the UI engineering team and the project manager, I designed the UX for a comprehensive library of reusable components that could be leveraged by both our engineering team and the other engineering teams across FireEye.

Key Takeaways

  • I was able to jump into a completely new (to me), complex product space, get up to speed quickly, and make impactful UX improvements to a highly technical product.

  • Being effective in this role required constant and close collaboration with engineering, technical stakeholders, and subject matter experts. This is something I both enjoy and at which I excel.