The company was managing its Hosts and Virtual Machines (VMs) using multiple tools, spreadsheets, and third-party platforms. This fragmentation created three major pain points:
Wasted Time
Admins had to jump between different platforms to complete a single task, leading to context switching and lost productivity.
Delayed Response
Critical issues, such as high CPU usage or memory spikes, were buried in unorganized lists. This lack of visibility prevented the team from identifying failures instantly.
High Cost
The company was paying for multiple expensive software licenses that did not perfectly fit our internal needs.
Consolidated Workflow
Successfully merged separate tools into 1 centralized platform.
Faster Response Time
Critical alerts are now visible in seconds, removing the need for manual searching.
Cost Reduction
Provided a path for the company to cancel expensive third-party management licenses.
Owned the end-to-end design process, from conducting user research and mapping complex workflows to to simplifying complex technical workflows into intuitive interfaces, user flows, and high-fidelity designs.
Conducting 1-on-1 user interviews with the System Administrators provided a direct look into the daily management of the infrastructure. The primary goal was to observe their current methods, map out their technical workflows, and identify the specific frictions they faced.
The Findings
The research synthesized into three high-impact pain points:
Cognitive Load
Constant "context switching" between different applications and spreadsheets led to manual errors.
Low Visibility
Critical alerts were buried in unorganized lists, forcing a reactive rather than proactive workflow.
Feature Noise
80% of third-party tool features were redundant, creating a cluttered and inefficient interface.
This dashboard eliminates tool fragmentation by combining real-time health indicators with direct power commands, allowing administrators to rapidly assess and resolve hardware issues from a single, active workspace.
This interface simplifies virtual machine management by displaying only the assets residing on a specific host, using high-contrast performance bars and immediate power actions to help administrators detect and resolve bottlenecks without losing context.
By introducing real-time toast notifications for critical system failures, this interface ensures that administrators are alerted to urgent issues instantly, regardless of which page they are currently managing.
A dedicated notification panel centralizes all critical alerts into a persistent log, ensuring administrators can track and audit urgent system issues without them being overlooked.
I established a comprehensive design system to ensure visual consistency and accelerate the development process.
By standardizing core elements, I created a scalable framework that maintains its integrity as the platform grows.
Input & Action Library
Color Palette
Typography
Reusable Component Library
All interface elements were built as master components with defined states to ensure 100% visual consistency across the platform.
Data Density vs. Visual Clarity
I learned that "white space" is a luxury in enterprise tools. Administrators often prefer high information density over a minimalist aesthetic.
Designing for Technical Performance
I learned that a designer's role is not just to create an "ideal UI," but to design the best possible experience that remains snappy and performant within the boundaries of server and browser limitations.
Scalability through Systems Thinking
By creating a library of reusable primitives and documented states, I learned how a robust foundation allows for rapid feature scaling without creating extra work later on.