— PROJECT TYPE
UX Design
— ROLE
UI Designer
The project was part of a broader initiative to migrate legacy systems into a modern platform and required creating a dashboard framework that could support different types of data while remaining easy to navigate for users across multiple departments.
OVERVIEW
Designed a scalable dashboard template system for the EXOS platform, enabling multiple subsystems within the organization to visualize operational data through a consistent and centralized structure.
My role focused primarily on UI and information structure, collaborating closely with business analysts and the UX team to translate research insights into a flexible and reusable dashboard architecture.
Problem Context
As ServiceLink began migrating several legacy tools into a new platform, it became clear that each subsystem presented information in different ways, creating inconsistencies in how users accessed and interpreted data.
Business analysts conducted interviews with users from different operational areas to understand their reporting needs. Their findings revealed several issues:
- dashboards varied widely in structure
- filtering mechanisms were inconsistent across systems
- users needed extensive training to navigate legacy interfaces
- data exploration required moving between multiple screens.
Without a standardized dashboard structure, migrating existing data into the new platform risked replicating the same complexity.
The goal became clear:
Design a flexible dashboard template that could standardize data exploration across subsystems while remaining adaptable to different datasets.
2.1
Overview
Using the research insights gathered by the business analysts, I began mapping how information could be structured into a consistent navigation model.To understand the reasons behind the drop-off, I conducted a focused research initiative combining analytics insights with qualitative user research.
2.2
Dashboard Analytics
The final structure introduced four core components that guided the interaction flow.
The top navigation allowed users to select the subsystem they wanted to explore.
This served as the primary filter, establishing the context for the data displayed across the dashboard.
Directly below the main menu, a series of cards represented the different status categories within the selected subsystem.
These cards acted as secondary filters, allowing users to quickly narrow their focus with a single interaction.
A categorized panel located on the left side of the interface displayed summarized data related to the selected subsystem and status.
This layer allowed users to preview relevant information without immediately diving into detailed tables.
The primary table displayed the detailed dataset corresponding to the filters applied in the previous steps.
By structuring the experience as a three-level filtering system, users could progressively refine the information they wanted to explore without navigating across multiple screens.
2.3
Mobile Adaptation Strategy
Although the EXOS platform was originally designed for desktop use, the organization decided to explore a mobile-compatible version to improve accessibility. One of my responsibilities was to translate the dashboard experience into a mobile interface.
During this process, I discovered that the original system relied heavily on large data tables that did not translate well to smaller screens.
Through discussions with business analysts and users, we identified that mobile users typically required quick access to key insights rather than full datasets.
This insight led to a shift in the mobile design strategy.
Instead of replicating the desktop tables, we introduced a simplified interface built around:
- cards
- tabs
- summarized information blocks.
This allowed the mobile interface to maintain the same logic as the desktop experience while presenting information in a more digestible format suited for smaller screens.
2.4
Design System Integration
All components created during the project were incorporated into the platform’s design system, following an atomic design approach.
This ensured that:
- dashboard components could be reused across different subsystems
- future dashboards would maintain visual and interaction consistency
- designers could easily build new dashboards using predefined elements.
Additionally, mobile components were designed as complementary system elements, ensuring parity between desktop and mobile experiences while respecting the constraints of each platform.
3.1
Outcome & Impact
The dashboard template introduced several improvements for both users and internal teams.
Designers could create new dashboards quickly using a standardized structure, reducing design inconsistencies across the platform.
Legacy systems required extensive training due to fragmented navigation structures.
The standardized dashboard layout simplified data exploration and reduced the learning curve for new users.
Introducing a mobile-compatible dashboard experience made it easier for users to access key operational insights outside traditional desktop environments.
The project contributed new components and patterns to the platform’s design system, strengthening the system’s role as a source of truth for future development.
3.2
Key Takeaways
This project reinforced the importance of designing information systems rather than individual screens.
By focusing on structure, filtering logic, and scalability, we were able to transform fragmented data experiences into a cohesive framework that could support the platform’s growth over time.
The experience also highlighted how adapting complex desktop interfaces to mobile environments requires rethinking information hierarchy rather than simply resizing layouts.