ReliaQuest

Building a Better Query Builder

ReliaQuest’s internal platform is called GreyMatter. It is used by security analysts to manage, and investigate security threats to organization’s servers and data. My task was to make a query builder that they could run a single search against multiple technologies, all while making sure they would always pull back the data they were looking for by checking against available data servers.

AGENCY + CLIENT

In-House – ReliaQuest

ROLE

UI/UX Design, UX Researcher

PLATFORM

Desktop, SaaS

We Make Security Possible

Creating a platform that helps secure what matters most to our clients’ business. ReliaQuest’s GreyMatter was initially built to create efficiencies for our customers.

the problem

When security analysts needed to search different technologies they could only run them against one at a time. They would then have to remake the same search query and run it against another technology. This was a time-consuming process and in the world of cyber security, every minute counts.

Another issue was when they put their search query together, there were no restrictions as to what they could or couldn’t search by. This resulted in them running a search (which can take 10+ minutes) that wouldn’t pull back any data.

RELIAQUEST

saving the user from themselves

Building a Better Search

complex logic

Using the logic of and/or statements is nothing new, but adding in the factor of giving the user two different ways of creating their query presented its own challenges. We wanted to give them freedom with their search, but add in ‘safe guards’ that made it so they would always succeed.

usability testing

Often in the world of UX we don’t have the time needed to do proper research and usability testing. This was one of those rare times where I was able to flush out my designs fast enough to do robust research and validate my ideas.

We started by doing moderated testing with our in-house security analysts. I set up four different tasks and intermixed a few questions. Each moderated test took about an hour, and provided valuable insights into their needs and wants. After six tests though, it becomes time-consuming and expensive for the company to have employees not doing their daily tasks.

From there I moved to unmoderated testing using Maze. I set up the same tasks and questions for different analysts to work through. By sending them a link and sending them a message to make sure they were up to doing our test, I was able to get another 13 tests back. This meant we had a total of 19 results to make our conclusions.
Using a site named Dovetail I was able to make a comprehensive report that I presented throughout the company, showing that not only did the query builder do what we needed it to, but it made the analysts faster at finishing their investigations.

trust the data

Everyone has their own opinions on what they think is the best way to design this or interact with that. Using the data that we collected from our interviews and usability tests meant that we didn’t need to fight those battles. Our users not only validated the designs, but they also applauded the experience as well.

the takeaway

This project was a challenge from the start. There were many curveballs thrown in, but I was able to concept, design, and validate my ideas into something that not only checked all the boxes but improved our security analysts’ day-to-day workflow. I can say this with confidence based on the results of my user interviews and usability testing. One comment from my PM was “making decisions is so easy when you have confidence in the data.”