Recall a past file: Kat can’t find the right version of an old file. She’s forced to open each one.
Explore a new file: Monica drowns in search results with unclear relevance.
Track a recent file:  Alan juggles multiple reports and wants to know the status context. He must repeatedly open files and switch between apps just to piece together a snapshot of each file.

File Summery and Viewers are included in V1.  However, after reviewing previous File Card user studies, I found that the initial V1 approach focused on making file analysis signals useful in the hover card. This led to narrow use cases ultimately limiting the user value we could deliver.

By redefining how users interact with files, I was able to comprehend key user scenarios and form hypotheses about their goals, providing a clear direction for uncovering the core value.

While I saw strong potential for File Hover Card features to drive user value and engagement, moving forward was challenging. The team was set on quickly shipping a "suggested sharing" feature as File Card V2 within a tight timeline, despite known UX issues and emerging opportunities. To navigate this, I created a shared File Card V-Next evolution plan to shift the focus from immediate misalignment to future collaboration.

It helped the team understand the user scenarios and pain points we were aiming to solve, while also helping me assess technical feasibility with engineers.
We proposed 9 V-Next features aligned with these design principles:
(1) Valuable for Office file types, (2) Lightweight to load and digest, (3) Increase collaboration in M365 Ecosystem, (4) Can be shipped in 3-6 months

I reached out to the People Card team from the Office Feed organization, leveraging their proven success to align on card coherence and apply lessons from their established design philosophy.

Learning from the People Card team's success in driving business impact through integration across Microsoft apps, I proposed how the File Hover Card could enhance users’ daily workflows in products like Outlook and Teams. This sparked their interest in joint design.

With a clear future feature plan and growing cross-org interest, we secured leadership support and funding for a dedicated researcher to validate the proposed V-Next features.

When the pre-defined solution failed, the framework we developed enabled the team to pivot quickly and deliver the new File Hover Card. It launched in the OneDrive for Business "My Files" view, introducing Conversation and Activity features. Six months later, the succeeding product team adopted the same design framework to successfully launch the Related Files feature.