Project Aether
2019 - present
Unify science-focused tools into one flexible GIS data platform
Role
Lead Product Designer
Drive vision, design & research execution
Allocate design team resources
Communicate with clients, PMs, engineers, and SMEs
Social impact
Solution supports 5+ clients
U.S. National Forest Service (USFS)
Utilities (in Puerto Rico & Hawai'i)
Hanford Waste Management
U.S. Department of Energy, Grid Deployment Office
Team
2 Project Managers
5 Designers & Researchers
12+ Software Engineers
5+ Subject Matter Experts
Our Most-used Standard Modules - Visualization Editor
"I wouldn't want to depend on Data Scientists for color style changes... ArcGIS seems challenging to grasp..."
What's Project Aether?
Lightweight geospatial data visualization editor
As the lead product designer
In 6 years, I launched a full-service User-Centered Design to:
5 standard modules
6+ customized features
Future Concept - Table & Map Editing (designed by me)
"… help the researchers feel confident to tweak minor details on maps and charts."
How might we …
help technical scientists quickly customize maps and charts across different domains?
What are our objective and key results?
Objective — Develop an intuitive solution that empowers technical scientists to easily customize their maps and charts to meet their specific needs.
Key Result 1 — Reduce product onboarding time compare to ArcGIS
Key Result 2 — Apply solution to multiple technical domains
How I drive UX to accomplish
Align deliver scope, timeline and expectations
Focus on the core experience design
Iterate and deliver in small steps
Provide clear handoff documentation for engineers
Identify and voice improvement opportunities
How I led the UX team
Expanded team from 2 to 5: seniors, juniors, and interns
Established task tracking, design critiques, and reporting workflows in Figma and Confluence.
Led weekly check-ins to balance workloads, enhance mentorship, and ensure quality
Adapted leadership to individual strengths, fostering growth across all levels.
Inspired by The Making of a Manager, Project Management for Humans, and my dad's leadership experiences
Our solution help utilities in Puerto Rico to recovery during hurricanes
Unique Challenge
Storyboard-aid communication
How can I help the large, growing product team to meet scaleable client needs?
Our product has attracted attention and is an effective solution in 5+ fields, including groundwater chemical analysis, disaster relief during wildfires, storms, floods, national transmission lines, and more.
My task
Unify the product vision and services
Design solution
To improve client communication and strengthen our funding structure, I created a storyboard to ensure all team members shared consistent messaging during every interaction with clients or colleagues.
Storyboard 1 — standard modules
We introduced uniform modules at a fixed contract cost, ensuring clients could access the service immediately without any delays.
Standard Module - API Endpoint for Advanced Audiences
Files Standard Module - Enable Secure Data-Sharing for Maps and Other File Forms
Storyboard 2 — companion modules
We provide customized modules for dedicated data analysis as part of our extra product design and development service model.
Companion modules - Connect Sponsor's Data for Advanced Analysis
Technical challenge
Design an experience framework for domains distant from everyday life
My solution
Education & Learning — I enrolled in Nielson Norman Group training to gain insights on designing for complex applications
Secondary Research — Through cross-disciplinary research, I led the team to evaluate applications such as
- finance (data visualization)
- project management (workflows) tools
More challenges during my design process
Discover Phase
Situation
The team initially misaligned the role of design, expecting it to be more about UI than user-centered solutions
Challenge
Limited access to end users made gathering insights difficult
UX solutions
Whiteboard discovery workshop
Stakeholder interivews
Competitive analysis
Heuristic evaluation
Result
Shifted expectations about design of the product team
Brought data-driven empathy in product execution
Define Phase
Situation
At one point, the design team grew from 2 to 5 designers, and leadership was called upon to focus on delegation and mentorship.
Challenge
Team growth and delegation
Leadership solutions
Active listening
Non-violent communication
Set process for task tracking and set expectations
Establish learning from everyone
Result
Built a supportive design culture
Elevated design team's quality output
Streamlined design x engineers' collaboration
Picked up jobs to be done — user stories and success criteria in priorties
My learnings
Delegate 80% in comfort zone, 20% growth
Design Phase
Challenge
With limited access to end users, design assumptions had to be made
Collaborative and iterative design for each feature
Solutions
Hallway testing
Reference established patterns and products
Prototype quickly with Figma shortcuts
Results
Increased product exposure
Built reputation & connections
Research-based design for researche-focused audience
Deliver Phase
Challenge 1
Resources and timeline constraints with demanding quality and speedy design delivery
My task
Unique design system for low technology adoption yet high complexity solutions
Solution
Develop a design system in Figma, giving engineers full code ownership
Read me notes to align expectations and uncertainty with our engineers
Challenge 2
Designs in Figma evolve dynamically, shifting from the waterfall method
My task
Solve the lack of a systematic dev handoff process that created friction in collaboration and timelines
Example Annotation For Development - No Long In Use w. Design System Maturity