Role
Head of Product Design
Company
Sopheon
Team Size
5
Duration
11 Months
Throughout my tenure as Head of Design at Sopheon, I navigated complex challenges and spearheaded transformative initiatives, leaving an indelible mark on the organization's trajectory. From revolutionizing the legacy UI with the introduction of a modern design system to automating customer feedback processing for strategic insights, my role extended to envisioning and implementing dynamic features aligned with industry best practices. The culmination of these efforts resulted in the unification of the Sopheon Suite, harmonizing disparate products into a seamless, visually cohesive ecosystem. Notably, these endeavors earned the confidence of both customers and investors, contributing to an impressive 63% increase in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARRR).
Brief overview on the challenges i worked on during my tenure:-
Design System Overhaul at Sopheon:
- Challenge: Legacy UI and scalability concerns.
- Solution: Initiated and implemented a new design system, saving time and efforts across the organization.
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User-Centric Redesign and Knowledge Transfer:
- Challenge: Adapting products to user habits and educating clients.
- Solution: Redesigned features, created tutorials, and introduced a library for a phased, user-centric redesign.
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Strategy & Integrations for Product Led Growth:
- Challenge: Products being heavily reliable on Sales led Growth
- Solution: Designed flexible integration of established product practices & templates into the product, that gives user more choices to explore, leading to a PLG motion.
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Automated Customer Feedback Integration:
- Challenge: Lack of a structured process for user feedback.
- Solution: Proposed and implemented an automated system, compiling feedback for strategic insights and Acclaim Ideas.
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Unifying Product Experience with Sopheon Suite:
- Challenge: Disparate visual identities of Accolade, APj, Acclaim Ideas, and Acclaim Projects.
- Solution: Integrated products, developed a seamless data transfer experience, creating a unified Sopheon Suite that contributed to boosting ARRR by 63% and acquisition of the company by Wellspring for $110M.
Executive Leadership
Portfolio Managers
Project Managers
Product Managers
Resource Managers
01
Design System: Addressing Legacy UI and Scalability Challenges
Sopheon grappled with a legacy UI in use for two decades, limiting scalability and innovation. Contemplating a transition to React, I identified an opportunity to address scalability comprehensively by proposing and gaining buy-in for a new design system. Challenges included navigating legacy systems, securing stakeholder buy-in, and ensuring a seamless transition for a future-ready design.
Initiation:
- Created foundational components using MUI as a base.
- Shared initial design system with one development team to gauge interest and excitement.
Workshop and Advocacy:
- Conducted a workshop outlining the scalability benefits for design and development teams.
- Gained buy-in from the product team, empowering them to lead the advocacy for the design system.
Timeline Planning:
- Collaboratively set timelines for developing new components, considering an expected delay of 45 days.
Gradual Adoption:
- Slowly aligned all product development teams with the new approach.
- React + design system became the standard for crafting new UI and reskinning existing interfaces.
This phased approach ensured a smooth transition and comprehensive adoption of the design system across all teams.
02
User-Centric Redesign and Innovative Design
Sopheon faced the challenge of transitioning users accustomed to a legacy UI to embrace innovative feature designs derived from comprehensive feedback. This involved not only addressing habits ingrained in the legacy interface but also introducing novel design elements based on user insights. Simultaneously, the goal was to enhance the overall user experience, making it more intuitive and aligned with contemporary design standards. This necessitated a dual focus on understanding user behaviors and preferences while collaborating closely with clients and internal teams for strategic design innovations.
Feedback & Prioritization:
- Collected feedback collaboratively with the product team.
- Conducted user interviews to prioritize features based on needs and preferences.
Phased Feature Launch:
- Implemented a phased rollout strategy for user-friendly adoption.
- Prioritized feature launches according to user needs and feedback.
Successful Beta Launch:
- Introduced a beta version of Pools & Resource Planning.
- Enabled users to visualize demands, allocate resources, and streamline project assignments.
Long-Term Roadmap:
- Established a roadmap for redesigning the legacy UI to a modern, reactive interface.
- Ensured alignment with evolving design standards and technologies.
03
Strategy & Integrations for Product Led Growth
Sopheon, previously heavily driven by Sales-Led Growth (SLG), embarked on a transition towards a Product-Led Growth (PLG) approach. The challenge emerged in the need to expedite PLG strategies to enhance activations and Annual Recurring Revenue (ARRR). The goal was to pivot effectively from a traditional SLG model to a more proactive and user-centric PLG model, driving sustainable growth and user engagement.
Cross-Functional Experience:
- Created a unified, cross-functional experience across all four products.
- Ensured a seamless and consistent user journey, fostering engagement and satisfaction.
Prototype Development for Vision Building:
- Developed prototypes that showcased the envisioned cross-functional experience.
- Used prototypes as a powerful tool to communicate the product vision and drive PLG initiatives.
Collaboration with Product Team:
- Collaborated closely with the product team to integrate established practices.
- Integrated templates from Accolade's already successful practices into Acclaim Products, expanding their reach.
Leveraging Accolade's Customers and Data:
- Utilized Accolade's customer base and data to identify cross-selling opportunities.
- Built prototypes to visualize the vision and boost Product-Led Growth (PLG).
04
Automated Customer Feedback Process
Despite the effectiveness of product team in generating actionable insights from customer feedback, there's a heavy dependency on their involvement. The challenge lies in centralizing and automating the documentation of all customer feedback. This is essential for reducing dependency on individual roles, ensuring a comprehensive repository for insights, and facilitating a more systematic and accessible approach to leveraging customer input for continuous improvements.
Template-Focused Interviews:
- Utilized template forms during customer interviews to structure the feedback gathering process.
- Ensured standardized data collection across various interactions.
Integration with ChatGPT:
- Implemented ChatGPT for processing filled templates and generating comprehensive documents.
- Leveraged natural language processing to extract actionable insights, risks, opportunities, and assign relevant action items.
Document Automation:
-Automated the generation of detailed documents based on the information gathered.
-Included auto-assigned action items and points of contacts to streamline the follow-up process.
Structured Outputs:
-Ensured that documents had a structured format with clear sections for insights, action items, risks, and opportunities.
-Facilitated easy accessibility and understanding for diverse stakeholders.
SUITE
Unified Product Experience with Sopheon Suite
Sopheon is addressing the challenge of unifying the user experience across its Suite by implementing a data bus that facilitates seamless communication between all products. In designing this unified experience, the focus is on ensuring smooth data flow and interactions across products, creating a cohesive and integrated user journey. The goal is to not only eliminate disparities in design and functionality but also to establish a synchronized ecosystem that enhances user satisfaction and efficiency.
• Pioneered a modern design system, redesigned products, fostering user confidence and fueling 63% ARRR growth.
• Collaborated with executive leadership to develop SLG, PLG design strategies, crafting a compelling vision to excel in #InnovationOps, ultimately captivating investors and leading to a $110M acquisition by Wellspring.