None?
also none
Understanding the Opportunity
The Government's vision for the Golden Thread focused heavily on ensuring critical project information remained:
- Accessible
- Accurate
- Traceable
- Up to date
- Available to relevant stakeholders
During research, several themes emerged repeatedly:
- Document version control
- Audit trails and change history
- Permission management
- Cross-company information sharing
- Evidence that documents had been reviewed and acknowledged
While these requirements were being discussed across the industry, many construction companies lacked practical tools to manage them effectively.
This presented an opportunity to position Bolster as more than a documentation platform and move closer towards becoming a central source of truth for project information.
The Challenge
The existing Document Library served a relatively simple purpose.
Administrators could upload documents and make them available to other users within their organisation.
However, it lacked many capabilities required for regulated information management.
Questions such as:
- Which version of a document is currently active?
- Who has access to this information?
- Which project does this document belong to?
- Has this document been reviewed by site workers?
- What changes have been made over time?
could not be answered easily.
The challenge was designing a solution that introduced these controls without overwhelming users with complexity.
Designing a Flexible Document Management System
Rather than treating document uploads as a simple file-storage action, I reimagined the upload process as the point where governance and accountability would be established.
A new upload workflow was introduced that allowed administrators to define:
- Which service the document related to
- Whether it applied to specific projects
- User, company, and guest permissions
- Viewing and editing rights
- Whether acknowledgement signatures were required
- Availability dates and expiry periods
This transformed document uploads from a basic storage task into a structured management process.
Importantly, the system was designed to remain adaptable as requirements continued to evolve.
Improving Information Architecture
As the library expanded to support more document types and greater levels of organisation, navigation became increasingly important.
To improve visibility and orientation, I introduced a breadcrumb-style hierarchy that mirrored patterns already used elsewhere within the platform.
This allowed users to:
- Understand where they were within the library
- Navigate backwards quickly
- Maintain context when moving between folders and documents
The approach aligned with existing user mental models and improved consistency across the wider platform.
Making Information More Actionable
The existing document table primarily displayed file information.
As part of the redesign, I reworked the structure and prioritisation of information presented to users.
Additional context such as permissions, status, ownership, and document activity became more visible, allowing users to make decisions without needing to navigate through multiple screens.
To support this, I designed a dedicated document information panel that consolidated key metadata into a single location.
This provided users with immediate access to the information most relevant to document management and compliance workflows.
Encouraging Better Resource Management
One recurring issue identified during discussions with customers was limited awareness of storage usage.
The existing experience displayed storage as a numerical value that provided little meaningful context.
To improve visibility, I introduced a visual storage indicator showing used and remaining capacity.
While relatively small in scope, this change significantly improved users' ability to understand and manage their available storage.
Creating a Consistent Mobile Experience
Document access was not limited to desktop users.
Site workers regularly viewed documentation through the mobile application, yet document-related experiences had evolved independently over time.
As a result, several areas of the app presented documents differently despite serving similar purposes.
As part of the project, I redesigned the mobile document experience to create a consistent interaction pattern across all document-related workflows.
This improved usability for field workers while reducing complexity within the broader product ecosystem.
Contributing Beyond Design
Alongside my design responsibilities, this project marked a significant step in my development as a product designer.
Between Bolster Plus and the Document Library initiative, I had invested considerable time learning React and modern front-end development practices.
By this stage, I was actively contributing to implementation under the guidance of Bolster's newly formed internal engineering team.
This included front-end work across the Document Library and other product initiatives, allowing me to better understand technical constraints, collaborate more effectively with engineers, and help bridge the gap between design intent and delivered functionality.
Outcome
The redesigned Document Library transformed document management from a simple storage feature into a structured information management system.
Users could now:
- Control access and permissions
- Track document history and ownership
- Manage project-specific documentation
- Capture acknowledgement records
- Navigate complex document structures more easily
- Better align their processes with emerging industry expectations
More broadly, the project established a foundation for Bolster's wider Golden Thread strategy and demonstrated how regulatory requirements could be translated into practical tools that delivered value beyond compliance alone.
Reflection
One of the most interesting aspects of this project was designing for a problem space that was still evolving.
Unlike many feature requests, there was no definitive specification to work from. The legislation was still developing, industry interpretations varied, and customer expectations were continuing to emerge.
Success therefore relied less on implementing fixed requirements and more on creating flexible systems capable of adapting as the landscape evolved.
The experience reinforced the importance of balancing immediate customer needs with longer-term strategic thinking, particularly when designing products influenced by regulation and industry change.
