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VIKTOR: UX Researcher and Designer

ROLE

UX research and designer | April 2023 - Current

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OVERVIEW

Due to privacy restrictions, I am unable to showcase the majority of my work at VIKTOR. However, I assure you that my two years at the company were filled with impactful contributions. For the first 1.5 years, I served as the sole UX researcher and designer within the product and development team before being joined by another. My focus was on conducting user research to inform the product development team and crafting designs to enhance existing features while driving the successful adoption of new ones.

 

Now, let’s take a deep dive into a few of my most significant projects and the process improvements I introduced during my time at VIKTOR.​

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CURRENT PROJECT

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Overview

At VIKTOR, I spearheaded a transformative project to redesign the product's navigational experience, addressing key usability challenges faced by engineers.

 

Through in-depth research, I uncovered a significant disconnect between the product's terminology, tool discoverability, and users' mental models. Over the course of a year, I collaborated closely with the Product Manager, employing an iterative process of design, validation, and testing to create a navigation system that better aligned with user needs and expectations.

 

The project launched in November 2024 and represents a milestone in my career, showcasing my ability to tackle complex UX challenges and deliver impactful, user-centered solutions.

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More coming soon. 

UX PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS

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Overview

During my time with the company, I identified and addressed several opportunities to enhance the UX design and research processes. By implementing practical solutions and advocating for user-centric practices, I contributed to creating a more efficient, collaborative, and user-informed environment. Below are some of the key process improvements I initiated and led.

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  • Enhanced Research Diversity: Identified the need for user research tools to diversify the team's approach. Introduced the importance of conducting research with both clients and unbiased end-users. Researched and implemented a software solution to test and validate designs effectively.

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  • Centralized User Research: Established a cost-effective user research management system using Excel and Copilot as a starting point. Transitioned to a dedicated research management software when budget allowed, streamlining research accessibility and insights.

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  • Introduced Research Recaps: Implemented monthly presentations to share research findings with stakeholders and internal teams. These sessions enhanced developers' understanding of user behavior and the rationale behind design decisions, fostering alignment across teams.

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  • Optimized Design File Management: Developed a streamlined system for storing and updating design files to support fast-paced, iterative work. Ensured developers always had access to the most up-to-date designs, reducing confusion and delays in implementation.​

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EMPOWERING CITIZEN DEVELOPERS

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Objective

Enable citizen developers with minimal Python experience to find instant value, self-activate, and create applications easily using the product.

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User research:

  • Conducted 4 months of research, interviewing developer and end-user groups to identify pain points and opportunities for immediate value creation.

  • Focused on understanding gaps in activation, onboarding, and usability for developers with limited technical expertise.

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Key outcomes:

Research defined 5 distinct solution paths to address user needs:

  1. Data-to-Application Conversion: Designed a simplified tool to transform data sheets into functional Python-based applications.

  2. Improved Onboarding Flow: Streamlined onboarding for developers without Python experience to ensure ease of installation and activation.

  3. Educational Resources: Developed quick-start guides and tutorials tailored to non-technical users.

  4. Pre-Built Templates: Provided domain-specific templates to help developers start projects quickly.

  5. No-Code Builder: Created a drag-and-drop interface for prototyping software designs without requiring advanced coding skills.

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Execution:

  • Designed wireframes and prototypes for each solution.

  • Iteratively validated designs with clients and end users to ensure alignment with their needs.

  • Integrated individual solutions into a cohesive, user-friendly product experience.

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Impact:

  • Extended the project over multiple quarters with measurable OKRs, including improved developer activation and onboarding success rates.

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Handoff:

  • Transitioned ownership of the integrated solutions to another team member for ongoing development and refinement.

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​Lessons learned and improvements for future projects

​Reflecting on this project, I’ve identified key insights and changes I would prioritize if I could approach it again from the start.

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  • While a holistic wireframe was created at the start to integrate all five solutions, it was eventually forgotten as each solution was developed in isolation.

  • Moving forward, I would improve oversight and communication to ensure the holistic vision remains central to the project, even when broken into smaller, manageable parts for implementation.

  • Emphasizing periodic reviews of the overarching strategy and design can help maintain alignment across solutions and avoid fragmentation.

APPLICATION SORTING AND FILTERING FOR TOOL DISCOVERY

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Project Definition

Addressed the challenge of discovering peer-developed tools within an organization by designing enhanced sorting and filtering functionalities.

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Research and collaboration:

  • Conducted stakeholder interviews and discussions with client decision-makers to gather requirements.

  • Collected feedback and insights from end users post-launch due to time constraints for prototype testing.

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Design process:

  • Created wireframes and validated feasibility with product managers and internal developers.

  • Designed screens in multiple states while maintaining close communication with front-end developers.

  • Delivered annotated designs to developers for a seamless handoff.

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Development support:

  • Collaborated with developers during QA testing to ensure the solution aligned with the design.

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Post-Launch analysis:

  • Collected and analyzed feedback from decision-makers and end users over several months.

  • Identified areas for usability improvements, including label adoption and filter scalability.

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​What I'd do differently next time

I understand that no solution is ever truly perfect—there’s always room for improvement. Reflecting on this project, here are my key learnings and the changes I would make if given the chance to start over.

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Manage time constraints to allow for prototype testing.

  • Tackling usability issues after development due to time constraints resulted in costly double development efforts.

  • Future projects should allocate more time to validate wireframes and test prototypes with end users to minimize post-launch corrections.

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Place higher focus on adoption of the new feature.

  • Users perceived labels as decorative due to the absence of a launch plan and the unclear role of filtering options.

  • Improvements could include better onboarding for new features and clearer integration of labels into the discovery process.

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Address scalability of features in first iterations.

  • Current single drop-down design for labels is not scalable.

  • A future improvement, "Scoped Labels," could introduce high-level categories with sub-labels and advanced filter options for better usability.

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Streamline and improve existing features rather than only adding to them.

  • Existing filter options are irrelevant to most users and confusing, catering only to advanced users like admins.

  • Future designs could relocate advanced filters and focus on simplifying options for everyday users.

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Test visual design for even better accessibility:

  • Label customization was intended for accessibility but overshadowed cover images, which are a primary discovery source for end users.

  • Future solutions could balance label visibility and image prominence to support better tool discovery.

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