How can we make the file upload process more efficient so that investigators can quickly determine if the call detail record (CDR) files are complete or incomplete?

GeoTime Glimpse is a tool for law enforcement investigators to quickly analyze a person of interest's cell phone activity (Call Detail Records) to determine if a lead is worth pursuing. Carriers provide call details records in a zipped package of nondescript excel or csv files. These files must be accompanied by tower files to be mapped to a location. With the current state of the app, investigators have a difficult time determining whether the files have matching tower files or if there are any missing.

Our idea was to support drag and drop so multiple files can be uploaded at once, a page to display the status of each file, and a breakdown of CDR events that can be mapped (has matching tower files), has no locations associated to it (e.g., SMS or data use), and how many are missing tower locations. I began with hand sketches of the user flow from the login screen to file validation screen. Together with a company partner and the development team, we iterated on these sketches before digitizing in Figma. Once in Figma, we prototyped different interactions that would allow less tech-savvy investigators to discover and understand the new screens easily.

Our solutions were anchored to three key improvements:

• Load files faster with multi-file drag and drop
• Instant feedback on validity of the files
• From login to analysis in three clicks

Once investigators have logged in, they can drag and drop their files or click anywhere on the page to open a file browser to select files. Investigators can then assess the status of each file on the following screen and decide whether there is enough events mapped for analysis or if they need to go back to the carrier to request additional or missing tower files. For certain carriers missing a tower file, we automatically add a system tower file and provide a disclaimer that it may not be the most updated.