ABI - BID - Revit, Intern Experience Design
Revit Version History
Revit Version History Side Panel -
Modernizing Data Management for BIM Teams
My Role:
UX Designer & Researcher. I led the usability testing, synthesized findings, and worked with visual designers to iterate on the UI based on robust user feedback.
Key Contributions:
User Research, Usability Testing, Workflow Analysis, UX Design, Cross-Functional Collaboration.
The Challenge
The existing Version History feature in Revit was buried within the folder structure, causing navigation confusion and inefficiency for BIM managers who rely on it to track changes and recover from errors. The interface was outdated and couldn't scale to models with thousands of versions.
The Goal
Redesign Version History as a modern, scalable, and instantly accessible side panel that integrates seamlessly into the Revit home experience, empowering users to find, understand, and act on historical data quickly.
01
The Problem & Decision Making
The Navigation Nightmare
The old Version History experience broke users' mental model. They were inside a folder, but viewing history for a single file, making the breadcrumb trail and navigation inconsistent and confusing. For power users with models containing hundreds or even thousands of versions, this in-page list was cumbersome and slow.
Keep it in the content area VS. A Focus Panel?
After identifying the problem we want to solve, there was a strategic discussion on whether keep the version history in Revit App Home or move it to a focus panel. Before the decision making, I’ve helped the team and stakeholders collecting information, listing my rationales, and preparing assets for the decision making session.
Reference Exploration
Layout Analyze
Rationales For the Decision
WHY. What was the rationale and context? How were tradeoffs or other impacts considered?
- From a technical perspective, version history data need a separate table definition. It's not a technique barrier, but to achieve it, we will not be able to adopt the packaged component AutoCAD is building (including hub/project switch, navigation panel, breadcrumb, and table). In summary, Keeping the existing behavior for the feature from a technical perspective won't be easier. We can think of Version history as a new feature and consider what should be the best experience for displaying supplementary info in Revit home.
- From an IA/UX perspective, it’s confusing that the breadcrumb and navigation panel all point to the folder level while we show the history version of a model inside the folder. One level skipping leads to the navigation issue (how to return to folder).
- Version history in the side panel is common in modern data management tools.
- [Consistency] Information from Fusion designer Yoko Wu: Fusion is very likely to move the CDE History Component to the focus panel in Fusion Home.
- [Consistency] ACC surface version history data in the side panel in Autodesk Docs.
- [Consistency] We are proposing using a side panel to display supplementary information in Manage Links Dialog.
- We can leverage the existing CDE focus panel component.
- Sidebar looks more modern.
A Strategic Pivot to the Side Panel
After evaluating technical and UX trade-offs, we made a key strategic decision: to move Version History into a Focus Panel, a modern UI pattern used across Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) and Fusion.
02
Design Exploration
Design Options...
After the decision on going with the focus panel, I started the design exploration. The fundamental function and user requirement is clear, but how to provide the best user experience is the key. After the brainstorming, I’ve listed more than 10 design variants. Some of the questions I identified during the process are:
- Avatar vs. Full Name
- 40 px medium density vs. 32 px density
- Whether display Information under search box
- Filter vs. Search
- ...
Anatomy to Define Research Questions
Looking at all the design options, I’ve realized it is difficult to pick up an option with just listing pros & cons. I need to run research sessions and collect feedback from users. Therefore, I’ve created an anatomy on the panel, and list all the questions I have on each components in the panel.
03
Understanding the User
Our User: The BIM Manager & Coordinator
Our primary user is a BIM professional responsible for model health and collaboration. They use Version History to roll back from errors and audit team activity. They need speed, accuracy, and clarity.
Key Research Questions:
We conducted moderated usability tests with 4 BIM managers to answer critical design questions:
- Can users understand new UI elements like icons and avatars?
- Do they need to see a full name or is an avatar sufficient?
- How far back do they typically need to look?
- What are their search and filtering behaviors and preferences?
- What is the ideal default state for grouped versions (expanded/collapsed)?
04
Key Research Insights & Design Implications
Avatar vs. Full Name: A Clear Winner
Finding:
Users can understand avatars but slightly preferred seeing the full username. For them, it's critical, non-negotiable information for identifying who made a change.
The Useless Comment Field
Finding:
Users rarely leave comments when saving versions, as changes are often too complex to summarize.
Design Implication:
This freed up UI real estate. We didn't need to overly prioritize comment space and could use that area for more important data like the full name.
Search is King, Filter is Niche
Finding:
Users heavily rely on search, primarily by date and username. They rarely used advanced filters, preferring to scroll or search directly.
Design Implication:
We invested in a powerful, instant-search function with highlightning and prioritized its prominence in the UI.
Attribute Ranking
Comprehensive Insights in Airtable
All the research insights have been recorded and organized into Airtable.
05
Design Iteration
Tweak the design based on research results
After research, I’ve identified the principles for the final design and refine the design based on user feedback.
An Information-Dense, Scalable Interface
The final design focused on clarity, scannability, and providing immediate value:
- Clean, Grouped Timeline: Versions are grouped by date (e.g., "Today," "Yesterday") and expanded by default based on user preference, providing immediate context.
- Critical Data at a Glance: Each row clearly displays the version number, timestamp, and most importantly, the full username of the person who created that version.
- Powerful Search: The persistent search bar allows users to instantly find versions by date, user, or the rare comment. Results are clearly highlighted.
- Clear Action Triggers: Recognizable icons for actions like "Restore" are paired with text descriptions to avoid ambiguity.
Visual Spec
06
Validation, Impact & Next Steps
Validated by Users
The usability testing yielded a CSAT score of 4/5. Users were satisfied with the overall experience, with their main feedback (the avatar vs. name issue) directly addressed in the final design.
Impact
- Eliminated Navigation Confusion: The side panel solved the core IA problem.
- Improved Efficiency: Users could now access history instantly without losing context.
- Built a Foundation: This component became a benchmark for other side panels within Revit's ecosystem.