a real-life project
An Industry-Specific SaaS Platform
- simplifying highly technical processes
- simplifying highly technical processes
Project Under NDA
Due to the confidential nature of this project, which is currently under a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), I am unable to share specific designs or details at this time. The product is still in development and has not yet been made public.
However, I’m excited to share insights into my design process, including how I approached user research, product analysis, design system creation, and prototyping. Please explore my case study to learn more about the methods and strategies I employed to deliver a user-centric solution in this highly specialized project.
Project Overview
This project involved designing a specialized SaaS platform aimed at simplifying highly technical processes for a niche group of professionals. The platform leverages complex, industry-specific data from regulatory standards and guidelines, making it accessible and usable through a streamlined, user-centric interface.
My role was to transform dense, complicated legal data into a clear and intuitive product that enhances the user experience while maintaining compliance with legal and technical requirements.
Data Organization and Analysis
At the outset of the project, I reviewed and organized the existing data that had already been collected. This included insights from interviews with clients and stakeholders, as well as research on industry trends and future anticipations. By structuring this information, I laid the foundation for informed design decisions, ensuring the product would meet both user needs and industry standards.
Review & organization of available informationProduct Vision & User Flow
To streamline the product’s usability, I started by mapping out the entire user journey. Through a detailed user flow diagram, I highlighted key interaction points, identifying friction areas and opportunities for optimization. This provided a high-level view of how users would interact with the product, which informed both design and development decisions.
Phase 1 - Overview & Brainstorming Sessions
Phase 2 - Processing new ideas & informationService Mapping
I created a service mapping diagram to define how various features connect and integrate within the platform. The goal was to ensure smooth workflows for users, aligning each feature with their tasks, and reducing the complexity of using technical data and standards. This holistic view helped bridge the gap between the legal and technical aspects of machine safety and usability for engineers.
Phase 3 - New design & simplified user flowUser Testing & Research
As part of a user-centered design approach, I conducted multiple customer interviews. This process helped gather direct insights into users’ pain points and preferences. Based on the feedback, I iterated on the designs to refine the experience, addressing specific usability concerns.
Key Adjustments: Simplified interactions, improved readability of legal content, and decluttered the UI for a more seamless experience.
Presenting User Research
To organize and present the research findings effectively, I created a comprehensive board on Miro. This board consolidated all the key information from the research, ensuring that it was easily understandable by the diverse stakeholders involved in the project.
The board was structured into three main sections:
Summary & Big Picture“What do we want to know” – This section documented our research objectives and the specific questions we sought to answer.
“How will we know” – Here, I outlined the research phases and participant sourcing methods to ensure transparency and track success throughout the process.
“What do we want to know?” & “How will we know?”“Let’s know” – In this section, I compiled the findings from each interview, including the overall score given by participants, interview highlights, participant mood, and their willingness to engage in future research.
“Let´s know”Given the volume of information, I added a final section summarizing the big picture insights, distilling the most important themes and findings
for quick reference.
UX Laws & UI Trends Research
To ensure the design was up to date with modern standards, I performed a deep dive into current UI/UX trends. The research focused on best practices for data-heavy applications, and how to present complex information in a way that remains user-friendly.
Key findings included:
Trends in minimalist design for reducing cognitive load.
Use of visual hierarchy to direct attention to critical elements.
Accessible design principles for users with diverse needs.
Based on my research, I identified the following UX laws as the most relevant for the product:
Progressive Disclosure
Explanation: Present only necessary information upfront, revealing more as users need it. This keeps the interface clean and prevents overwhelming users.
How it influences the user experience: By simplifying complex legal and technical data, I applied progressive disclosure to ensure that users see only what’s immediately relevant, with deeper details available as needed.
Doherty Threshold
Explanation: Systems that respond within 400 milliseconds keep users engaged and productive. Delays longer than this may cause frustration.
How it influences the user experience: In the product, I focused on optimizing user interactions, ensuring that the system was responsive, minimizing delays in complex workflows and improving overall user satisfaction.
Zeigarnik Effect
Explanation: People remember incomplete tasks better than completed ones, which can motivate them to finish tasks.
How it influences the user experience: I utilized this effect by designing features that encourage users to complete partially finished tasks, creating visual cues that keep them engaged and prompt them to return and finish important tasks.
Goal Gradient Effect
Explanation: The closer users are to completing a task, the more motivated they become to finish it.
How it influences the user experience: In the user flow, I designed clear progress indicators that show users how close they are to completing key actions, motivating them to stay focused and complete tasks efficiently.
I presented these findings to the team, suggesting enhancements that aligned with both UI trends and UX laws. These changes contributed to optimizing user engagement and satisfaction while maintaining the technical integrity of the product.
Constructing a Design System
I leveraged ANT Design as the core of our design system, ensuring consistency and scalability across different platforms. Using ANT’s components, I constructed a custom grid system that ensured optimal responsiveness and user experience on Windows, macOS, and tablet devices. This design system provided a robust foundation to maintain visual clarity while also allowing for quick iteration and updates.
Typography, Colors, Grid SystemRedesign & Prototyping
A major part of this project was the redesign of the platform’s user experience. I focused on decluttering the interface, making it more intuitive and streamlined, without sacrificing functionality. This redesign led to:
Improved usability: Reduced the steps needed for users to complete their tasks.
Increased user engagement: By simplifying complex workflows, the redesign encouraged more efficient and productive use of the platform.
Using Figma, I created interactive prototypes that demonstrated these changes in action. The prototypes helped visualize the improved UI/UX, allowing for better team collaboration and more focused feedback.
Key Takeaways
Navigating Complex Data: The project required simplifying dense, technical, and regulatory information. By organizing the data and applying user-centered design, I made the platform accessible and intuitive for professionals without losing critical details.
Managing Stakeholder Expectations: With multiple stakeholders involved, I learned to present research and design decisions clearly and concisely, ensuring alignment across teams by using accessible visuals and boards in Miro.
Iterating Through User Feedback: Feedback from user interviews revealed usability issues that weren’t initially obvious. I adapted the design based on this feedback, improving the overall experience and learning the value of continuous iteration.
Creating a Scalable Design System: Leveraging ANT Design for consistency across platforms challenged me to maintain flexibility while ensuring scalability, a lesson in balancing design guidelines with custom user needs.
Collaborating Across Teams: Working in a cross-functional team with engineers, stakeholders, and users taught me the importance of communication and adapting to the needs of both technical and non-technical team members.
Tools
Figma, Miro, Confluence, JIRA
My Role
UX/UI Design, User Research
Timeline
6 Months