Product
Productiv ↗
Role
Product Design Lead
Skills
Product design
Product strategy
Interactive prototyping
User research & testing
Timeline
Q2 2023 - Q4 2023
What is AppCenter?
Your company's procurement hub
Let's say you’ve just joined your company’s design team, eager to start your first project. Your manager directs you to a Miro file where the team is already brainstorming ideas, but you're not sure how to proceed—how do you get access? Who do you reach out to? What’s the process?
That's where AppCenter comes in—an internal workplace tool that streamlines access to IT-approved apps, providing employees with role-based recommendations, one-click requests, and on-demand app support.
Context
Defining product principles
This project expanded Productiv from being a tool primarily focused on IT admins (through Productiv Core) to a product suite that includes AppCenter, a new tool which is accessible to all employees within a company. With this shift to a much broader audience, a new set of user needs and requirements emerge, which must be addressed in the design.
Product goals
01 App Discovery
Empower users to find the tools correct for their role and function effortlessly.
02 Trust
Foster trust within organizations, while enhancing financial awareness among employees.
03 Seamless Procurement
Streamline the process of requesting the correct app and license to eliminate any confusion.
Solution
Find the tools to get things done.
Customizable branding
Intuitive app discoverability
Accountable spending
Informative app details page
Process
From concept to launch
The four-month process involved iterative design and ongoing cross-functional collaboration with engineers and product leaders to ensure feasibility and align on product goals. As the design lead, I facilitated team communication, led regular meetings, and developed product and design strategy.
User journey
What steps do users take to procure an app?
The process began with team whiteboarding sessions, desk research, and customer calls. We asked customers to walk us through their journey, identified pain points, and quickly ideated potential solutions.
Common painpoints
Difficulty in searching and navigating app options
Users struggle to search for the right apps due to a lack of guidance, unclear keywords, and no structured way to find relevant options based on work function or peer recommendations.
Lack of clarity on app relevance and features
Users struggle to identify relevant, newly added, or popular apps and lack visibility into app usage, features, and demos within the organization.
Unclear app request and approval process
Users are unsure about the right license tier, the approval process, timelines, and how to follow up with approvers.
Personas
Understanding the needs of different employees.
Through customer calls with 50 employees across 8 companies using Productiv, I identified four main personas, each representing a distinct category of employee with unique needs.
Feature roadmap
Aligning strategy with development.
After ideation, I worked with engineers and product managers to establish a timeline and prioritize features. We aimed to design and deliver AppCenter V.1 (an MVP) in three weeks for beta testing. Over the next two months, I refined the design through user testing before launching AppCenter to the public.
Iterations
AppCenter V.1 & beyond
I went through multiple iterations and prototypes, launching the beta version followed by several rounds of user testing. Based on user insights, I refined product requirements and conducted heuristic analysis to improve IA, navigation, feedback, visual design, and accessibility.
User testing
Keeping user needs central to the design process.
Notable design explorations and improvements, driven by key insights, resulted in significant updates that refined the user experience.
As a company leader, I want to ensure that there is trust and consistency within our employee tools.
Before
After
As an IT administrator, I want employees to get the correct licenses with a seamless app request process.
Before
After
As a team manager, I want to my team to stay organized and ensure that every member has access to the same collaboration tools.
Before
After
As an individual contributor, I want quick and easy access to the apps I need to use.
Before
After
Impact
Within 4 months of launch:
