How I Design
"I don't start with wireframes.I start with the real problem —because the brief is almost never the real problem."
My process is not a one-size-fits-all template; it's a mindset cultivated over 9 years of designing complex enterprise products. Each project is unique, yet I consistently follow a disciplined approach: uncover the true problem, identify the right opportunity, design based on evidence, validate before execution, and deliver accurately. Here's how I work.
Discover first. Always.The brief is never the real problem. Earn trust with evidence.Research beats opinion. Every time. Systems over screens.One pattern that scales beats twenty beautiful pages. Invisible is the goal. Great UX removes friction. It doesn't add decoration. Ground it in reality.Warehouse floors. Finance desks. Real users. Real pressure. Never stop at the interface.The best design decisions happen before Figma opens.
My UX PRINCIPLES
STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS
BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS WORKSHOPS
PRODUCT VISION ALIGNMENT
WORKFLOW ANALYSIS
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY
USER PAIN-POINT ANALYSIS
CURRENT-STATE / FUTURE-STATE MAPPING
OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS
PRODUCT AUDIT
TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT
DATA & ANALYTICS REVIEW
SUCCESS METRICS
AI OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT
MY SKILLS
Product Strategy & Systems Thinking
I reframe briefs before I design against them — finding the architecture-level problem behind the screen-level request, and building systems that scale past the first release.
Design Systems & Scalable Craft
Eight years owning a single enterprise design system — tokens, governance, component libraries — built once, consumed by every team that touched the platform after.
Research & Evidence-Based Decisions
200+ sessions turning assumption into evidence — heuristic evaluation, usability testing, and stakeholder interviews used to redirect briefs, not just validate them.
Cross-Functional & Executive Leadership
Led design teams, mentored designers, and translated between nine disciplines on a single two-year platform build — the person other functions could align around.
AI-Augmented Design Workflow
Claude, Cursor AI, and Figma Make aren't a novelty layer — they're how I move from problem to tested prototype faster, with judgement retained at every step.
Enterprise & Regulated Domain Expertise
Fintech, ERP, and complex B2B SaaS — regulated, high-consequence domains where the requirement arrives as a technical spec and has to leave as something intuitive.
TOOLS I USE
Design & Prototyping — Figma, FigJam
AI-Assisted Workflow — Claude, Figma Make, Cursor AI, Replit
Research & Analytics — Askable, Hotjar, Google Analytics, Power BI
Collaboration & Delivery — Jira, Confluence
PHASE 1 — DISCOVER
I start by questioning the brief—not designing the solution. Stakeholder interviews, user conversations, and field observations help me understand how work really happens. I then audit the product through heuristics, workflows, support tickets, and analytics to uncover friction and separate symptoms from root causes.
PHASE 2 — DEFINE
I redefine the problem before designing the solution. Using discovery insights, I align the team around an evidence-based problem definition, grounded in real user needs and measurable outcomes. I create personas, map user journeys, and define success metrics upfront. As an example, In the Pronto Xi POS project, research revealed three distinct user groups—cashiers, wholesale operators, and store managers—with different goals, leading to one unified platform with tailored experiences.
PHASE 3 — DESIGN
I design systems, not just screens. I establish information architecture, user flows, and interaction models before visual design, validating structure through low-fidelity wireframes. I collaborate early to address technical constraints and build scalable design systems from the start. AI tools like Claude and Figma Make help accelerate ideation and prototyping. In Pronto Xi Data Grid, defining the interaction architecture first led to highly valued features, while i18n required seven interconnected system layers before UI design.
PHASE 4 — VALIDATE AND DELIVER
I validate continuously through usability testing, heuristics, and prototypes, using real tasks to uncover friction early. I measure outcomes through task success, errors, time, adoption, and user feedback—not opinion. I then ensure the final product matches the design through engineering specs, QA, and staging validation. In Pronto Xi Data Grid, testing shifted the focus from UI polish to decision support. In i18n, staging validation confirmed the automation before production, reducing delivery risk and supporting measurable improvements in efficiency and accuracy.
THE PRINCIPLE THAT CONNECTS EVERYTHING
Every phase exists to answer one question:
Are we solving the right problem, in the right way, for the right people?
When the answer is yes at every phase — that's when great products get built.
TOOLS & METHODS AT A GLANCE
Research & Discovery
Stakeholder interviews · User interviews · Contextual inquiry · On-site observation · User shadowing · Journey mapping · Heuristic evaluation · Support ticket analysis · Competitor benchmarking · Analytics review
Design & Prototyping
Information architecture · User flows · Wireframing · Interactive prototyping · High-fidelity mockups · Design studios · Design system components · AI-assisted design (Claude AI · Figma Make · Cursor AI)
Validation & Delivery
Moderated usability testing · A/B testing · Design QA · Engineering handoff · POC testing · Accessibility audits (WCAG 2.2 AA) · Design governance · Stakeholder workshops
This process has been applied across Intuit QuickBooks, Pronto Software, and 1,500+ enterprise organisations across Australia and internationally.