CLOUD STORAGE PROGRAMS

Dimitri Rebich
Professor Karen Thompson
Project 4: Writing to Report Usability Test Findings

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
Introduction ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 1
Methods ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1
Results_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2
Test 1: Registering for the product ____________________________________________________________________ 2
Test 2: Uploading a file on a laptop/desktop _________________________________________________________ 3
Test 3: Downloading on a tablet/mobile device______________________________________________________ 4
Test 4: Uploading a file on a tablet/mobile device ___________________________________________________ 4
Test 5: Browser Accessibility __________________________________________________________________________ 6
Test 6: Storage Size _____________________________________________________________________________________ 7
Test 7: Linked Accounts ________________________________________________________________________________ 7
Scoring Matrix ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 9
Recommendation _________________________________________________________________________________________ 9

Introduction
This white paper compares the two cloud clients Google Drive and Dropbox. These are the two
most dominant and widely used cloud storage programs today. These programs were made with
the idea of making document sharing easier and more accessible a crossed a number of devices.
Cloud storage has become something necessary to use today and has alleviated the need to carry a
flash drive. These two programs have also made accessibility even easier by allowing you to
download an application on a tablet or mobile device. By doing this they have allowed you to carry
files with you everywhere you go! Almost everyone has phone which is capable of these services.
This test was done in the mind set of someone who has never used a cloud storage service before.

Methods
Both Google Drive and Dropbox are made to be used on any computer I decided to perform these
tests on my personal laptop at home like most people would be using these programs. These tests
were performed on a Dell Vostro running Windows 7 Professional with an Intel i5 Core and 6GB
of RAM. This laptop is a few years old and these specifications can be found on many computers
today that the average consumer would look at buying. For the tests that involve using a device I
tested them on an iPhone 6 running iOS 8.1. To evaluate these clients I used a Likert Scale and
added up their scores to determine which the better cloud storage device is. The Likert Scale was
slightly modified for each test so the scoring was consistent with what was being tested. The
seven tasks performed to determine which the better client is are as follows:

Test 1: Registering for the product

Test 2: Uploading a file on a laptop/desktop
Test 3: Downloading on a tablet/mobile device
Test 4: Uploading a file on a tablet/mobile device
Test 5: Browser accessibility
Test 6: Storage size
Test 7: Linked accounts

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Results
Test 1: Registering for the product
Rating Scale for Test 1: Registering for the products
12345-

Registration was not possible

Registration was possible but difficult
Registration was possible but with some obstacles
Registration was mostly straight forward with some difficulties
Registration was straight forward and easy to accomplish

Google Drive - 5
When registering for Google Drive they
only needed me to sign into my Google
account. This made it very easy to
register for this product since I already
had a Google account. There were no
extra tasked that I needed to complete.
This would make registering for this
product virtually nothing if you already
have a Google account. There are
numerous accounts that are linked to
Google in todays world. You can see
some other accounts that are linked with
the Google platform such as Gmail,
YouTube, Google+, and Google Maps.
You may not realize it but if you have an
account created with any of these
services then you have an existing
Google account. Even in you dont have a
Google account already you just have to
give your email address and create a
password for security purposes.

Dropbox - 5

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Dropbox was also easy to register for you only needed an email and a password. Dropbox
however was not linked to other account so it is entirely independent. This could be something
that a user desires so they can have one account for multiple programs.

Test 2: Uploading a file on a laptop/desktop

Rating Scale for Test 2: Uploading a file on a laptop/desktop
12345-

Uploading was not possible

Uploading was possible but difficult
Uploading was possible but with some obstacles
Uploading was mostly straight forward with some difficulties
Uploading was straight forward and easy to accomplish

Google Drive 5
To upload a file on Google Drive the upload button would take you straight to My Documents on
your computer and you could look from there for the desired file. This made it very easy and fast
to find the file you wanted to upload. The interface that Google Drive uses is the exact same as the
interface used in Gmail. This has been done by Google on purpose so any Google user can use any
of the services offered by Google with ease by creating everything with similar interfaces and
icons.

Dropbox 5
Dropbox also had a very easy icon bar that allowed you to
upload a file. It took only a few seconds of looking around
their interface to find the button to upload files. The same as
the icon on Google Drive once you click the link it takes you to
My Documents and from there you can navigate to the file you
want to upload.

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Test 3: Downloading on a tablet/mobile device

Rating Scale for Test 3: Downloading on a tablet/mobile device
12345-

Downloading was not possible

Downloading was possible but difficult
Downloading was possible but with some obstacles
Downloading was mostly straight forward with some difficulties
Downloading was straight forward and easy to accomplish

Google Drive 5
I was able to find the Google Drive app on the iTunes App Store. The app only required me to
enter my email address and password and I was able to access all of my files that I had uploaded
to Google Drive previously and was able to find everything I had previously done on the browser.

Dropbox 5
The Dropbox app was also found in the iTunes App Store.
This
app asked the same credentials
as
Google Chrome did. Once I
signed into my account all
of my files were there and
it had a simple list with my
files displayed in chronologic
order.

Test 4: Uploading a file on a tablet/mobile device

Rating Scale for Test 4: Uploading a file on a tablet/mobile device
1- Uploading was not possible
2- Uploading was possible but difficult
3- Uploading was possible but with some obstacles

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4- Uploading was mostly straight forward with some difficulties

5- Uploading was straight forward and easy to accomplish

Google Drive 4
Google Drive has a plus in the upper right hand
corner of the app that allows you to create new
documents and at the bottom of the drop down
menu there I the same symbol as what is on a
browser along with Upload Photos of Videos.
The app was very easy to upload photos to your
account. There was little confusion about on the
app and all the icons were fairly easy to find and
understand. The drop down menu had some other
links that would take you to other Google
programs that would create word documents or
spreadsheets, I felt that this was unnecessary to
have. It overcomplicated the Google Drive. It
would have been easier to have Google Drive
linked to the other programs so you could save
your work straight to Google Drive. From the
mobile device app you can only upload photos.
This isnt terrible because I dont know why you
would create whole reports on your mobile device
instead of using a laptop or desktop. However it
would have been nice to have the ability to upload
files if
you
needed
to.

Dropbox 3
Dropbox had an icon in the top right corner that is three
circles that was used to upload files. I wasnt able to find
this immediately and had to do some searching. Once I
did open that drop down menu adding files to Dropbox
was the first tab. A higher score could have been
achieved by having a more intuitive icon. Dropbox also

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experienced the same limitations that Google Drive did with only being able to upload pictures.
Not a horrible setback but this would be nice to be able to accomplish while on the go.

Test 5: Browser Accessibility

Rating Scale for Test 5: Browser Accessibility
12345-

Browser accessibility was not possible

Browser accessibility was possible but difficult
Browser accessibility was possible but with some obstacles
Browser accessibility was mostly straight forward with some difficulties
Browser accessibility was straight forward and easy to accomplish

Google Drive 5
Google Drive was integrated into my browser already since I was using Google Chrome. This made
it two clicks away from being able to access my information. I would click the drop down to see all
of my already installed Google apps. This made accessing Google Drive directly from my browser
the easiest it could possibly be.

Dropbox 4
Dropbox was available as an add-on to Google Chrome which
also made access incredible easy. Once it had downloaded you
could add it to your toolbar so it was only one click away. It was
comparable to the simplicity of accessing Google Drive and had
no tricks. I know that Mozilla Firefox also has the capability to

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have add-ins and Dropbox is one that is included. I am not sure if Internet Explorer has the same
capabilities as the other two browsers.

Test 6: Storage Size

Rating Scale for Test 6: Storage Size
12345-

Storage size was very low

Storage size was low
Storage size was normal
Storage size was high
Storage size was very high

Google Drive 5
Google Drive had a surprising amount of storage for free, they offered 15 GB of memory. This was
much more than I expected most cloud devices of any kind offer 5 GB of free storage at the most.
Having 15 GB of space is more than enough for most users to have.

Dropbox - 1
Dropbox only offered 2.5 GB of space for free and to get more there was a monthly charge. This is
something that greatly hurt Dropbox. For a program like this price is important you can but a flash
drive or an external hard drive to store your files and with advances in technology we are now
able to get more memory into a smaller and smaller package. By only offering 2.5 GB and allowing
competition to offer 15 GB it not only nudges but shoves Google
Drive ahead of Dropbox.

Test 7: Linked Accounts

Rating Scale for Test 7: Linked Accounts
1- Linking accounts was not possible
2- Linking accounts was possible but difficult
3- Linking accounts was possible but with some obstacles
4- Linking accounts was mostly straight forward with some
difficulties
5- Linking accounts was straight forward and easy to
accomplish

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Google Drive 5
Google Drive is a part of one of the most diverse and used companies in the world. This means
that it is not only available as an app and on any browser but if you use Google Chrome it is even
easier to access and use. Google Drive is available in more ways than any other Cloud Storage
program today. While others may have an add-on it is still extra work to get it added to your
browser. Google Drive is already integrated into your Google account whether you use it or not.
This makes your files ready whenever and wherever you happen to be as long as you have an
internet connection you are able to use Google Drive.

Dropbox 4
Dropbox is also available on a number of interfaces but is
not related to any of them it is independent of any other
companies. This isnt a big problem and while having to
download an add-in to your browser doesnt seem like
that big of a problem that is an added step and more
knowledge that you have to know to access your files.
This doesnt affect every user but for some they dont
know how to install add-ins which will deter them from
taking advantage of the simplicity of having it integrated
in with your browser.

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Scoring Matrix
Test

1. Registering for the product

Dropbox
4

Google Drive
5

2. Uploading a file on a laptop/desktop

3. Downloading on a tablet/mobile device

4. Uploading a file on a tablet/mobile device

5. Browser Accessibility

6. Storage Size

7. Linked Accounts

Total

26

34

Recommendation
I would recommend that any user uses Google Drive it scored higher in almost every test and only
scored the same as Dropbox on two tests. If you already have a Google account then Google Drive
would be the best choice to use. The account has already been made for you and you will easily be
able to transfer your files to Google Drive and access them on any of your Google enabled devices.
The interface that Google Drive uses is similar to other Google programs which makes using Drive
for the first time very simple and intuitive. The interface for Dropbox while still good was not as
clean and easy to navigate as Google Drive. Dropbox came out two years prior to the release of
Google Drive but seems to not have needed to create as easy of an interface due to being one of the
first Cloud Storage devices so many of its users have been using it for a long time and they learned
from the beginning, but as a user just starting it is much more confusing than Google Drive. Many

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people use Google as a search engine and Google Drive looks very similar to the search engine
interface it has the same simple home page with many setting hidden in a single icon. If you have a
Gmail account the Google Drive interface is almost identical and the icons have the same symbols.
Overall, while both Dropbox and Google Drive are great cloud storage devices Google Drive is the
better program. It has an easier to understand and operate interface and uploading files is easier
than Dropbox. Both programs are good and you will be satisfied with whichever you chose to
download and use, but if you are a Google user Google Drive is the much easier option.

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