Google Drive Usability Test
As a college student and throughout the semester you will do so many assignments, paper works, projects and etc. All of these files that you are currently working on or already finished will be stock in your computer hard drives until the very end of the semester. When the next semester come, you will almost the same amount of files again. The problem is how you will store most of your important files and securing it. One solution is expand the capacity of your hard drive, but it is not that secured because we all know that it is prone to viruses that can cause you losing your files. Another solution is burn your files to CD’s but still you don’t have the assurance that you will not lose it that is why there is this called Google Drive where you can store files on the cloud.
I've been using Google Drive since my first year in college because it helps me a lot in securing my files. I can access my files even if I’m not using my own computer because it is uploaded on the cloud which helps me a lot especially in backing up my important files. I also use this in sharing files with my friends.
Objective
The objective of this experiment is to identify weak points from the said application and identify some improvements.
Test Tasks
- Upload a file
2. Download Google Drive Test File.txt.
3. Share the file Google Drive Test File.txt to a friend.
4. Move Google Drive Test File.txt to a folder.
5. Check if Google Drive Test File.txt is already synced in Google Drive folder in my computer.
6. Check if Google Drive Test File 2 that I copied in Google Drive Folder in my computer will be uploaded into the web.
7. I don’t want some of my files to be synced in my computer.
8. Search a file.
9. Sorting
10. Edit a document.
Analysis
- Upload a file
I successfully uploaded the file Google Drive Test File.txt and didn’t encounter any problem.
2. Download Google Drive Test File.txt
The file was successfully downloaded and still haven’t encounter any problem.
3. Share the file Google Drive Test File.txt to a friend
Upon confirmation, my friend successfully receive my file and it is good that I can set what my friend can do with the file.
4. Move Google Drive Test File.txt to a folder.
Moving a file to a folder is very simple, you can just drag it to a folder or you can use the menu and choose your desired folder. No problem occurred.
5. Check if Google Drive Test File.txt is already synced in Google Drive folder in my computer.
After checking the folder, the file was already synced and still I haven’t encounter any problem. It is easy because the files that you uploaded is automatically synced to the folder on your computer.
6. Check if Google Drive Test File 2 that I copied in Google Drive Folder in my computer will be uploaded into the web.
I put the file Google Drive Test File 2.txt into Google Drive folder and waited until it is uploaded. When I check my drive on the web it is already uploaded.
7. I don’t want some of my files to be synced in my computer.
Luckily they have that feature that you can only choose what folders can be synced.
8. Search a file.
They also have a feature that you can just search by file extension that is really helpful when you forgot what the filename is.
9. Sorting
These are only the options in sorting but what if I wanted to sort by file type.
10. Edit a document.
You can edit a doc like editing it in Google Docs and it will automatically save in your drive.
Findings
While using this application, I only encounter very few errors I think because it is a product of Google that is why it is almost perfect. I only want to suggest in sorting part to have option that enable the user to sort by file name. I also want to add some feature that open zip files and able to extract them on the web. The simplicity of the apps design was okay to me and I have nothing to say.
