UX/UI Design
Research
Design Systems
Overview
1
Data products were difficult to discover, slow to create and lacked robust access control. Creation required API knowledge, discovery relied on word of mouth and permissions were managed inconsistently.
We redesigned the workflow into a self-service platform featuring a searchable catalogue, guided creation and role-based access controls, making enterprise data easier to discover while maintaining governance.
Outcomes
350% increase in adoption, helping shift the organisation toward self-service data consumption.
Reduced creation time from over 15 minutes to under 3 minutes, lowering the barrier for new producers.
All data housed under 1 roof, data discovery democratised
I led end-to-end product design, driving discovery, stakeholder alignment, research, interaction design and developer collaboration from concept through delivery.
The Challenge
2
01
Available data is scattered across the organisation, difficult to discover what's available and who can use it
02
The process of creating a data product is long and highly technical, limiting the amount of users who can create
03
Lack of access control processes in place for existing data, relying on due diligence of data owners
Research Insights
3
I interviewed a variety of data producers and consumers to understand the current data product creation process and process for discovering and consuming data across the organisation. This helped identify various pain points and opportunities to help shape the solution
Conducted user interviews with 8 producers and consumers to understand the creation, discovery and consumption process
Conducted weekly workshops with SME's, and users within the data practice to review progress and encourage collaboration with the project
Because access to users was limited, we relied on short research cycles, weekly workshops and rapid validation with subject matter experts to continuously refine the product.
Three themes consistently emerged. Discovery relied on word of mouth, creating a data product required over 15 minutes of API configuration, and requesting access was a slow manual process. These findings became the foundation for the product strategy.
Rather than inventing new interaction patterns, I deliberately borrowed familiar retail concepts such as catalogues, baskets and checkout. These existing mental models reduced learning time while making a highly technical workflow feel approachable.
Key Product Decisions
4
I designed a retail-inspired catalog for discovering available data products, a central location for all data products in the organisation. Users could search and filter to refine their search results.
02 Data Creation Wizard
The average time for creating a data product was around 15 minutes or more, and required highly skilled coding ability in order to create it. We wanted to significantly reduce the time taken but also make the process more accessible, attracting more producers to the platform.
Breaking creation into logical stages reduced cognitive load while allowing users to save progress and collaborate asynchronously. This transformed a technical workflow into something approachable for non-developers.
03 Customisable Check-Out
The complexities of data products required a highly customisable experience, what platforms to consume with?, which version of the data?, which output port type do you want to consume from?
04 Role Based Access Control
Controlling permissions and access to data was a high priority feature, we need to ensure data was secure and on a "need to access" basis. Rather than introducing another permission system, we integrated with the organisation's existing Active Directory groups. This reduced administrative overhead while aligning with established governance processes.
Reflection
5
The biggest challenge wasn't designing screens—it was translating a highly technical backend into workflows that felt familiar without sacrificing flexibility or governance.
By leaning on existing mental models from retail experiences, we reduced cognitive load while making enterprise data significantly more accessible to both producers and consumers.