Problem Statement
Database administrators (DBAs) often face a trade-off between minimizing storage costs and maximizing the number of restorable points for data recovery. Full backups can be costly and time-consuming, especially when performed frequently. Without an efficient solution, maintaining frequent recovery points becomes unsustainable at scale.
To address this, the project introduces incremental backups to YugabyteDB’s cloud offering—an enhancement that allows storing only the changes since the last backup, significantly reducing storage usage while enabling more frequent recovery points.
Target Audiences
The target users for this feature vary based on expertise:
Developers: Those with limited database knowledge who need a simple, ready-to-use solution with minimal complexity.
Database Administrators (DBAs): Experts with specific expectations regarding database backup and restore functionalities.
My Role
Turned the feature requirements into an intuitive and engaging user experience.
Organized design reviews and build consensus with the team and company leadership.
Prototyped and validate ideas quickly, pivoting or adjusting based on usability tests' feedback.
Collaborated with engineering and PM to design, build, and launch the feature.
My Process
Discover
Define
Ideate
Design
Discovery
Understanding user needs and expectations was crucial in shaping the feature. Key research questions included:
What are the reasons customers choose to use incremental backups?
Are there scenarios where customers should avoid using incremental backups?
What key messages do we communicate to customers about incremental backups?
Challenge
How might we make the backup setup flow and restore flow super clear and straightforward for the users.
How might we effectively communicate to users...
The backup object model.
The benefits and impact of incremental backups.
Their backup configurations.
Their restore options.
UX Objectives & Goals
Based on the analysis of users’ goals and challenges and collaboration with stakeholders, I decided that the main focus for this project includes:
🎯 Ensure the feature is accessible to both users with and without prior background knowledge.
⚡ Create clear and efficient workflows to support users in completing relevant tasks.
🏗️ Ensure the design patterns and components align with the existing product.
Major Screens
Empty State
Create a Backup Policy
View Backup Policy and Backup List
View Individual Backup Details
Restore - Step 1
Restore - Step 2
