The task was a design-system migration. Research changed the question.
Before opening Figma: mapped the system through expert sessions → found common ground with PM around research → ran six interviews → synthesized a CJM → generated ideas → presented to leadership and team → prioritized critical low-cost fixes together → started joining tasks before backend decisions were made → shifted the approach from backend-driven to user-centered.
40+
LANGUAGES SUPPORTED100+
ENTERPRISE CLIENTS6
INTERVIEWS
Environment
Interface reflected code logic, not user tasks.
Project was chaotic, the team was unfocused, and the PM was difficult to align with.
No one knew the real user pain points, and no one had asked.
Approach
Sessions with the frontend lead before starting the work: understand the system first, design after.
Found common ground with the PM through research. Interviews became the point of connection.
Meetings before backend implementation instead of adapting the interface to already written code.
What I changed
Shifted the focus from DS migration to real user pain points.
The CJM showed that most user problems were unknown to the team.
Changed the way we worked with backend: design before code, not after.
Outcome
The team started working with real user pain points, and the CJM became a working artifact.
The team implemented quick wins from the CJM. I do not have final metrics because I left before the releases.
Onboarded the next designer with knowledge transfer and reviews of early solutions.
“We need someone like Olya”
Product Director
Kostya, While discussing the next designer hire
