PRIMARY ROLE:
Design Lead
TIME FRAME:
2020 - Present
CLIENT:
Global Shipping Industry Client
SUMMARY
Imagine a global shipping company with long-standing, paper-based processes—some dating back to the era of Magellan—now focused on digital transformation. When I joined the team, there was little UX maturity, no user research, and the product lacked both a design strategy and a cohesive approach. By working closely with senior management and actively integrating user research, I helped elevate UX to a central role in decision-making. Over the next four years, this collaborative effort transformed the product, enabling the successful onboarding of 100 customer organisations worldwide and supporting an active user base of over 900 / day.
Inceased Engagement
79.4%
Active Users / Day
900
Major Features
6
CHALLENGE
At the outset, core features had been developed but were underutilized because they failed to meet user needs. UX processes were absent, with features designed based on business assumptions instead of user feedback. The booking process was particularly challenging due to the complexity of industry-specific processes. Defining and optimizing these workflows required extensive collaboration, including interviews with global teams to understand the intricacies.
The product also needed to address diverse user groups: on one hand, conservative users, who were hesitant to embrace change, on the other, more progressive users eager for new capabilities. Over time, the growing complexity of the platform led to a user experience that was inconsistent and difficult to navigate, demanding a scalable solution.
SETTING UP UX PROCESSES
I worked with senior management to implement UX processes from scratch, ensuring the continuous collection of quantitative and qualitative user data. This shifted the development approach to an iterative, user-centric process where research became central, impacting the entire team’s workflow. Instead of business-driven design handoffs, we adopted a loop of business requirements, user research, design, testing, and refinement before development.
ITERATIVE DATA GATHERING
We conducted thorough research to understand both current and future scenarios. Every proposed design was rigorously tested, with key metrics like task success rate, interaction cost, error rate, and time on task tracked to ensure we delivered the best possible version.
Additionally, we developed detailed customer segments based on shipment volume and headcount, enabling us to tailor the experience for both small businesses and large enterprises.
OVERCOMING USER RESISTANCE
I addressed resistance by involving both internal and external users early in the process, conducting interviews and feedback sessions that made them feel stakeholders in the transformation. To ease the transition, I designed familiar, spreadsheet-like tables and functionality into the product. This made the interface more intuitive for users, allowing them to work with data in ways they were already comfortable with. Together with the team, I worked on optimising JTBD and automating several manual, time-intensive tasks and integrated the system with other platforms to streamline workflows, significantly reducing user workload. Continuous feedback loops helped build trust and foster quicker adoption of the product.
HANDLING SYSTEM GROWTH WITH THE DESIGN SYSTEM
As the platform grew, it became evident that we needed a scalable design system to manage the increasing complexity. I led the initiative to create a cohesive design system that ensured consistency across the entire product. This system standardized components, styles, and patterns, providing a flexible foundation that supported new feature development while maintaining a seamless user experience. With this design system in place, the platform could grow without becoming cumbersome, ensuring a streamlined and user-friendly interface as new capabilities were added.
IMPACT
The four-year transformation culminated in a highly intuitive, well-branded product that was successfully adopted by 100 customer organizations worldwide, resulting in over 900 active daily users. This evolution not only improved user adoption and engagement but also set a strong foundation for future growth and innovation.