CONTEXT
Making a feature-rich product actually usable
The platform had 9 powerful core features:
Projects
Queues
Cases
Templates
Workflows
Dashboards
Reports
Everything worked technically.
But not everything worked intuitively.
New users landed on empty screens, faced forced multi-step setups, and were expected to understand enterprise terminology from the first minute. If launched as-is, user drop-off during setup would have been extremely high.
THE CHALLENGE
The product kept adding features without optimizing existing flows
The platform was functional but difficult to onboard. Complex features with zero guidance meant users consistently abandoned setup during their first session.
Key Problems Identified
Forced Dependencies
The platform was functional but difficult to onboard. Complex features with zero guidance meant users consistently abandoned setup during their first session.
Missing Context
No tooltips, no explanations, no help text. Users were expected to already know enterprise case management terminology.
Old home page: flat and no guidance
Tedious Interactions
The template builder required clicking "save" after adding each field. Creating a 10-field form meant clicking save 10 times.
Old template builder
Visual Flatness
No color hierarchy, no modern UI patterns. Everything looked equally important, making it difficult to know where to focus.
Old case details view
AUDITING THE EXPERIENCE
The issue wasn’t functionality. It was clarity.
I asked three people unfamiliar with the system to perform basic tasks:
Create a project
Create a template
Create a case
All of them struggled. Most took over an hour to complete tasks that should take minutes.
Image created using Figma AI
MAPPING THE SYSTEM
Clarity alone wouldn’t fix this. The flows had to change.
I mapped the existing flows and worked with developers to understand what could be simplified without heavy re-engineering.
Old model (left) vs New model (right)
Old Model
New Model
SOLUTION
Three structural changes that removed most of the friction
Removed Forced Steps
Project creation went from a 6-step forced process to a 2-step guided flow. Templates, queues, and workflows became optional. Configured when users actually need them, not when the system demands it.
Smart Defaults
We wanted users to work quickly without extensive setup. Even if they didn't know what to choose, we provided sensible defaults such as default case templates according to project type, standard category mappings and baseline workflow rules.
Guided Empty States
Every empty screen now explains what this feature is, why it matters, and what to do next.
ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS
Improvements to delight users
Template Builder Overhaul
We replaced a repetitive 'add-and-save' process with an intuitive builder with drag-and-drop, inline editing, and auto-save for faster template building.
Project Overview Dashboards
Added high-level dashboards showing project status, case volume, team performance at a glance, reducing the need to dig through multiple screens.
Visual Modernization
While flows were the priority, the platform also needed to look trustworthy. We improved the visual language within existing development constraints.
What Changed:
-
Color system: Added semantic colors for status, priority, and actions
-
Visual hierarchy: Clear typography scale and spacing system
-
Modular customization: Users can pick project icons and color themes
-
Information density: Improved spacing and grouping for scannability
Reducing onboarding time by 50% by re-architecting how users enter the system
A fully built enterprise case management platform was ready to launch. But the experience was not.
I was brought in for 8 weeks to audit the product, simplify critical workflows, and make the platform usable for first-time users without adding new features or increasing development scope.
The goal was not to redesign the product.
The goal was to make it ready to be used.
CLIENT
iVoyant LLC
ROLE
Product strategy and execution
TIMELINE
8 weeks
FOCUS
Audit, user flows, onboarding, defaults, visual clarity, dev-feasible improvements
OUTCOME
>50%
Faster onboarding
6 steps → 2 steps
Project creation reduced to under 3 minutes
2 distinct journeys
Admins configure. Case managers act.
COLLABORATION & EXECUTION
I partnered closely with the engineering team to ensure every design was technically feasible and high-impact. By auditing existing flows together, we prioritized improvements that balanced user needs with development effort, allowing us to iterate quickly on interaction behaviors.
KEY TAKEAWAY
We didn't need more features; we needed to understand what was already there
Powerful features mean nothing if users can't reach them. By starting with strategy, mapping the system, validating with developers, and ruthlessly prioritizing based on impact, we transformed a technically complete product into one people could actually use.
The visual polish mattered, but the real win was simplifying the path to value for every user from their very first minute.
New home page