Building a Custom PM Platform

The goal was to design a Project Management Platform for a software house. The primary users are Project Managers who need to oversee complex internal workflows, allocate developer resources, and monitor project budgets in real-time.

The project started with no documentation and vague "startup-style" requirements. My role went beyond design; I had to structure the entire scope. I transformed a loose set of ideas into a concrete product roadmap, ensuring the MVP was scalable and feasible for the development team.

Instead of jumping straight into pixels, I focused on product alignment first. I partnered with the Project Manager and Business Owner. This strategic foundation guided my transition into execution—from mapping logical workflows to building and testing high-fidelity prototypes.

The diagram below illustrates this path from vague requirements to a validated product.

Digging for truth in a time crunch. With limited time for research, I couldn't spend months on analysis. I conducted focused workshops, shadowing sessions, and interviews to understand the real pain points of Project Managers.

Key Insight: We discovered that users didn't need "more features"—they needed a simplified view of resource allocation, which became the core differentiator of our tool.

Defining the "Must-Haves". The wish list was endless. I facilitated a MoSCoW workshop to force tough decisions. We cut 40% of the proposed features, moving them to "Could Have", to ensure the dev team could deliver the core value on time.

The Result: A lean, achievable scope that satisfied both the business stakeholders and the technical team.

Solving logic puzzles before UI. By mapping out user flows (User Journey Maps), I identified several dead ends in the original concept. Fixing these logic gaps at the flowchart stage saved us weeks of rework during the UI phase.

Pragmatic Design for Speed. Due to the tight deadline, I decided against building a custom Design System from scratch. Instead, I utilized a ready-made UI Kit to assemble high-fidelity screens rapidly. This allowed me to focus on UX logic and interactions rather than pixel-perfect custom icons.

Testing with realistic data. I built a fully interactive Axure prototype that mimicked the real application logic. This allowed users to perform complex tasks (like "Rescheduling a Project") during tests, giving us much deeper insights than static clickable screens.

Outcome: We identified and fixed 3 critical usability issues before a single line of code was written.