There was [a discussion on Twitter about opinionated software](https://x.com/brian_lovin/status/1793132504033157218) that got me thinking about design-led companies.

I’ve been thinking about this concept for some time, and [Julian Lehr’s comments](https://x.com/julianlehr/status/1793566676895584605) about purpose-built software instead of opinionated software solidified my thoughts.

Great products are designed for a purpose.

They are designed to support the specific needs and workflows of specific professions.

To develop purpose-built software, you need to understand the people who use it. Talk to them, observe their workflows and gather insights. [Great example from Elicit team](https://blog.elicit.com/living-documents-ai-ux/).

[Design-led companies](https://blog.mikklemberg.ee/design-led-companies.html) know that simplicity is not about leaving out features, but about developing solutions that fit seamlessly into people’s lives.

By staying connected to your users and putting their needs first, you can develop software that not only solves problems, but also brings joy and helps people.

Purpose-built product is a testament to thoughtful design and [a deep commitment to usability](https://blog.mikklemberg.ee/design-beautiful-business.html).

Purpose-built product

\*a book that stayed on my mind and came up in conversations

**2024**

* Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution

* Street Commerce: Creating Vibrant Urban Sidewalks

**2023**

* Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation

* [The Responsible Object](https://blog.mikklemberg.ee/thoughts-after-the-responsible-object.html)

* \*[Marx in the Anthropocene](https://blog.mikklemberg.ee/notes-on-marx-in-the-anthropocene.html)

* The Creative Act

* Good Services

* \*The Death and Life of Great American Cities

* Make Something Wonderful

* Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love

* Future Cities Lab: Indicia 03

* What's Our Problem by Tim Urban

* Understanding Michael Porter

* Meanwhile City (PDF)

* Reimagining Design: Unlocking Strategic Innovation (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)

* Org Design for Design Orgs

* \*Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life

**2022**

* \*Movement: how to take back our streets and transform our lives

* Work, Pray, God

* Vapilõvi

* Metaphors We Live By

* Design After Capitalism

* \*Triumph of the City

* \*[Less is More](https://blog.mikklemberg.ee/less-is-more)

* Soft City: Building Density for Everyday Life

* \*Cities for People

**2021**

* The Code Breakers

* The Making of a Manager

* Ask your Developer

* \*Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism

* \*Anthro-vision

* \*How to future

* Dr. Smartphone: An Ethnography of Mobile Phone Repair Shops

* Capitalist Realism

* \*Design, When Everybody Designs

* Invisible Women

* Just Enough Research

* \*Dark Matter and Trojan Horses

**2020**

* The Longing for Less

* Hello World

* Ruined by Design

* ...

Books I have read recently

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FB6PGs1yD4r6e4OTzoljp%2Fdc0c50a8-b7e0-4542-8f97-6428915a4bef.jpg?alt=media&token=ae93bc45-9d28-478f-9914-a77f1af8bd79","id":"dc0c50a8-b7e0-4542-8f97-6428915a4bef","width":2161,"height":1351,"filename":"cover.jpeg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

For five months,I led the automated onboarding project. We wanted to help our customers connect their devices quickly while introducing the platform's capabilities in a timely manner.

* My role: workshops, user research, UX/UI design, project management

* Timeframe: May 2020 - September 2020

* Partners: 1oTeam

### Background

The initial situation for this project was twofold:

1. Users were struggling to connect their devices because the instructions were scattered in emails (both between 1oT and the client and within the client team)

2. Customers hadn't subscribed to our value-added services and account managers had to sell it to them (but once they did, customers were delighted)

### Goals

* To help customers get their SIMs up and running without complications.

* Demonstrate the functions and possibilities of the platform to new customers.

* Promote the use of value-added services.

### Process

The first step of the project was to map out the onboarding journey from the customer's perspective. But also from the perspective of our sales team and account managers. I started by working backwards from the implementation plans that the account managers have for key accounts.

With a better understanding of the journey, I organized a few workshops with the support and technical teams to learn what questions/problems customers typically have. Then we tried to place those questions and answers into the timeline of getting started with 1oT.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FB6PGs1yD4r6e4OTzoljp%2F974ae8b9-3648-441a-80e2-c1a60b859a77.png?alt=media&token=b904b93c-62de-41f8-abad-1fb809e880f5","id":"974ae8b9-3648-441a-80e2-c1a60b859a77","width":2270,"height":1120,"filename":"Screenshot 2021-03-14 at 20.06.05.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

Then I planned and facilitated workshops to create content for the entire journey. The workshops helped us to live through the process and write down ideas for the content as a team.

Finally, the aim of the live tests was to make sure the right people were getting the right information at the right time.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FB6PGs1yD4r6e4OTzoljp%2Fdcaf6e2c-1c04-41a5-be24-3b74e351d2ed.png?alt=media&token=0104c365-cf7c-4086-b47e-4e620c02e4df","id":"dcaf6e2c-1c04-41a5-be24-3b74e351d2ed","width":1548,"height":870,"filename":"Screenshot 2021-03-14 at 20.00.35.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

### Solutions

Action-based triggers ensure that instructions and information reach the user at the right time:

* Personalised emails to build the relationship between the account manager and the customer team.

* Pop-ups on the platform.

* Introduction of an inviting 90-day trial period for 1oT Terminal's value-added services. The 90-day counter starts when SIM cards have a first data session, meaning customers are actively using the devices.

### Results

* Before the first data session with the SIM cards, there were fewer support tickets, which means that customers were successfully using the SIM cards.

* After we introduced onboarding, almost all new customers use the credit card payment method. Before, they had to search for it in the company's settings.

* The account managers receive enthusiastic emails thanking them for the 90-day trial period of the value-added services.

Onboarding new customers to 1oT

### Background

While working on [the website update](https://read.cv/mikk/1ot-website), especially during the lead capturing journey planning, it became evident that a large part of price offers could be generated automatically. In addition to inefficient time use, the manual Excel-based price offers didn't communicate the value of 1oT's services. Or the flexibility of our billing system.

Therefore, I decided to convince the sales team and product team to build a price offers generator system.

* My role: Project management, UI/UX,

* Timeframe: Oct 2020 - Jan 2021

* Partners: 1oTeam (development, knowledge), [Codelight](https://codelight.eu/) (web development)

### Goals

* Demonstrate the capabilities of 1oT to **raise confidence in our service.**

* **Free sales team time** to focus on high-value leads.

### Process

During the kick-off meeting with the sales team, head of product and CEO, everybody understood this project's potential.

The biggest question marks were

* the technical integrations between the marketing site and 1oT's SIM management platform,

* how to make sure that we don't screw high-value customers with automated processes,

* managing the lifecycle of price offers.

To make sure that everybody's concerns are covered and the customers (1oT's leads) experience is excellent, I started from user journeys.

I planned and facilitated workshops to map the end to end journey. This helped us to understand the process, spot gaps and jot down ideas quickly as a team.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FEcxuj5qRk81lFtZVipE7%2Fd1f2baba-2844-4801-bf25-2c49ee8be2e8.jpg?alt=media&token=d49d0912-88fd-457f-9d5c-6e5f94155b64","id":"d1f2baba-2844-4801-bf25-2c49ee8be2e8","width":2547,"height":1570,"filename":"eSIM+SIM=lead.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

After confirmation from the product team, Codelight and sales team, I could move on to wireframes and then to design the visual interface.

### Solution

The user submits their connectivity deployment plans on the marketing website, and the application will generate the price offer.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FEcxuj5qRk81lFtZVipE7%2F8fc68458-58e1-48c8-ae56-7e263ab793ba.jpg?alt=media&token=8c05a938-ead5-4be1-bd22-68063caeda02","id":"8fc68458-58e1-48c8-ae56-7e263ab793ba","width":1440,"height":1026,"filename":"Price-offers_2.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

The application then creates the lead in Pipedrive, which notifies the designated salesperson to go over the price offer. If needed, salesperson can edit the price offer with volume discounts or other relevant parameters.

Once the salesperson confirms the price offer, a message with a link is sent to the person who requested the price offer from the website.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FEcxuj5qRk81lFtZVipE7%2Fa3aa515d-0485-4001-968a-d8193e95874c.jpg?alt=media&token=df9f6e41-8b4e-44b1-a5c6-3035ebcc6dc2","id":"a3aa515d-0485-4001-968a-d8193e95874c","width":1440,"height":958,"filename":"Pricing-offer_Overview.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

### Results

1oT's sales team that used to be a 3-person team is a 1-person team now (parental leaves), but **the team's weekly capacity has increased twice** with the current number of inbound leads.

Price offer acceptance rate without additional discussions has **increased from 9% to 19%**.

Instead of sending emails with excel files and two PDFs introducing 1oT's billing and 1oT Terminal's value, **it's now communicated with a simple landing page**.

Automated price offers to save time and convert better

I recently read "[On Taste and Congruence](https://culture.ghost.io/on-taste-and-congruence/)" by Ametora expert and writer W. David Marx.

After sharing it with a friend, we discussed how taste and congruence manifest in design-led companies.

During the Christmas break, I've been thinking about these concepts and trying to clarify my thoughts. I haven't quite thought it through yet, but it's worth documenting my current understanding for future exploration.

The article "On Taste and Congruence" summarises that good taste requires congruence in choice, meaning that the choices work together harmoniously to express a particular sensibility or identity. Individuals either achieve congruence or not in their lifestyle choices, but congruence is perhaps even more important for commercial establishments.

### Design influences outcomes and serves as a decision-making tool

To me, design at its core means trying to influence a specific outcome. It's about taking action to transform the current situation into a more desirable one.

It follows that [design is a sum of decisions made in creating this new system](https://blog.mikklemberg.ee/decision-making.html). Decision-making is an essential part of the design process and has a direct impact on the quality of the outcomes.

Effective design decisions are based on a deep understanding of the problem space (problem finding first and problem solving second) and consideration of the broader context and implications, alignment with (business) goals and strategic foresight.

### Show me the results

From my experience as a designer or product leader, I've seen some of the ways in which design can have a positive impact on a company.

* Design improves the usability, accessibility, and enjoyment that users have with a product or service, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

* Design shapes customer perception and interaction with a brand, improving brand perception.

* Design sets a company apart from its competitors and makes its products or services more recognizable and desirable on the market.

* Design increases sales and market share by understanding and meeting users' needs and desires.

* Design simplifies and optimizes business processes, increases efficiency, and reduces the cost of internal operations by creating better tools and environments for employees and improving productivity and job satisfaction.

* Design leads to informed and effective strategic decisions.

* Design thinking promotes a culture of innovation that drives the creation of new products, services, and processes and opens up new markets and revenue streams.

In short, a design-led company:

* adopts a user-centered approach to ensure that products and services meet the real needs of users and meaningfully solve problems;

* recognizes design as a strategic asset, not just an esthetic consideration;

* integrates design practice into the entire development and delivery process of products and services;

* aligns design goals with business objectives.

### How to define good taste in business?

Design is inherently subjective; what appeals to one group may not be well received by another or in different industries. This is especially true for esthetic choices such as typography, colors, visual style, or visual elements used.

According to Marx's article, all elements and decisions must work together seamlessly, reflecting the company's identity and values while satisfying user needs, from the physical touchpoints to the interface and branding.

Therefore, design-driven organizations prioritize user needs and experiences and ensure that design decisions are purposeful and align with the intended user experience and brand identity.

Good taste implies sophistication and appropriateness, while congruence ensures product consistency and coherence, reinforcing purpose and appeal to the target audience.

### Are all design-led companies good at design?

If we are not the intended users, we cannot judge the product by its appearance. There must be some guiding principles that can be used to check whether a company is design-oriented or not.

From the company's point of view, it's impossible to check every decision the team makes. So you need guiding principles.

Here are some tactics to use at a broad and general level:

1. Through user research, design-driven companies gain insights into the needs, preferences, and behaviors of their target audience, which helps them develop products that resonate well with users.

2. By focusing on users and business outcomes, design-led companies justify choices based on their impact rather than personal preferences.

3. An iterative design process that includes prototyping, testing, and refining ensures that the delivered product aligns with changing expectations.

4. Establishing design principles and guidelines ensures consistency and coherence across the company's offerings, helping to overcome subjectivity.

5. A clear strategy that links the company's vision and mission informs design decisions.

However, as these principles are universal and generally applicable, I'd like to mention two principles that I always take into account in my daily work.

> "Complexity is like energy. It cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be moved somewhere else."

Someone has to bear the complexity; if the company asks customers to bear the load, it is not design-led. But the company that solves complexity for the customer but does not take care of its own processes is just as problematic as asking customers to deal with it. Fortunately, technology today can internalize complexity more and more.

> "Everyone focuses on the customer."

Developing great products and providing excellent services is a team sport. Everyone contributes their expertise and focus. However, excellent experiences can only be created if everyone deeply cares about the whole thing. And customer happiness (as a result of an excellent customer experience) is a simple metric that everyone can rally around.

Short detour. An objection or bottleneck may be the slowness of decision-making or the slowness of progress in the move- fast-break-things. However, I believe there is no universal speed or time spent on user research. Also, there are great resources for these tactical questions, like [Just Enough Research by Erika Hall](https://abookapart.com/products/just-enough-research).

Design-led companies prioritize design as a core component of their strategy, culture, and processes. These companies recognize that design is not just about esthetics, but is a strategic tool that can drive innovation, differentiate products and services, and create a competitive advantage.

In design-led companies, congruence is essential. It ensures harmony between all elements of a product or service. This coherence strengthens the purpose of the product and increases its appeal to the target market.

When done right, design is not a loss on the balance sheet and should not be bought or sold as such. Design is an investment in the company and keeps the wheels of the business running smoothly.

On design-led companies

I wrote about [design-led companies](https://mikklemberg.ee/design-led-companies) last week. To my surprise, it received some attention, which prompted me to think in a more practical terms.

As mentioned in the original post, I wrote it to document and further explore my thoughts. So let’s explore how design can serve as an instrument for beautiful business.

When building a product, the team has to deal with four key risks.

* There is a value risk. Does it solve problems for people?

* There is usability risk. Can people use the product to achieve the desired outcome?

* There is a feasibility risk. Can the team develop a valuable solution to the problem?

* And finally, there is the business viability risk. Can the team deliver the product profitably?

### How to overcome those risks with beautiful design?

The double diamond framework guides the design process from exploring a problem to focusing on action.

I have a similar mental model called Framing and Shaping from the book [Shape Up](https://basecamp.com/shapeup).

In the first phase, the framing phase, you aim to narrow down the problem. I find three guiding questions helpful:

* What problem are we trying to solve?

* Which slice of the problem are we addressing now?

* What will change when we’re done, and how will we know?

When the problem is not framed concretely, you risk

* shipping things that have no impact,

* getting frustrated because you don’t know what problem you are trying to solve, which makes it even harder to understand why no one is using the feature.

In the next step, in the shaping phase, you narrow it down to one solution.

In addition to prototyping, here are three guiding questions that help drive progress:

* What options do we have?

* What decisions do we need to make before starting to build?

* What moving parts do we need to consider?

If the you don't spend enough time on shaping, you either overspend your time or resources, or you make compromises during delivery that degrade the customer experience.

Framing and shaping are essential because they keep the team from becoming aimless explorers or hopeful visionaries trying to land on a product that is valuable to someone.

Instead, it helps to move closer to a “Minimum Lovable Product" - the MLP.

### Why a Minimum Lovable Product?

Design-driven companies take an iterative approach to their processes. When shipping products, they start with the most constrained feature set.

This means that the product optimally solves a defined problem.

If the product is too flexible or too broad, you run the risk of receiving poor feedback and not learning anything new. Users may also use the feature in unintended ways, providing further learning opportunities.

### Why should you choose MLP over MVP?

I do not like the concept of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) because the mantra "move fast, break things" makes it easy to ignore the beautiful details of the product. ([Also see Linear's founder Tuomas Artman](https://youtu.be/hG11StsBHko?feature=shared&t=139))

A user is more willing to test a new product if it seems trustworthy, high quality and valuable. Therefore, I consider Minimum Lovable Product as something that is

* simple – the interface is obvious and self-explanatory;

* trustworthy - the product shows great attention to detail and care for me;

* valuable - it brings the user closer to their goal.

A user may not take the time to report a lack of consistency in button types or immediately abandon a sluggish product, but these issues can make them wonder if you care and if they can trust you in the long run.

Unfortunately, a valuable and user-friendly product is no guarantee of business success (the last risk when building product).

But MLPs promote user satisfaction, which in turn boosts word of mouth, the foundation for a beautiful, profitable business.

---

Teams that are committed to design are imaginative and yet grounded in the present.

They are driven by empathy for those who suffer from the problem, rather than enthusiasm for a particular solution.

They are optimistic about the future, but pessimistic about execution.

And they are never satisfied with the current state of their product.

Design serves as an instrument for beautiful business

```cv
vimeo
{"url":"https://vimeo.com/557549406","width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":"https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/1158520315-ec11be751d351b13ef1ca3045642102411127cdc46ea18768c9eb3ffbe40fca5-d_640"}
```

When choosing the direction for the final project, I was particularly drawn to exploring strategic design and systems thinking.

I was, and still am, concerned about the challenges that lie ahead. Challenges like climate catastrophe, growing inequality, increasing regional disparities, or loneliness.

These are problems that the public sector alone cannot solve, and the private sector is not always motivated to do so. Therefore, I believe(d) we need to create opportunities for communities and individuals to improve their situation and address the challenges at hand.

I was intrigued by the infamous public libraries that are springing up in Scandinavia. I was interested in understanding the Scandinavian libraries' approach to promoting a just society and opening up the debate on local or national politics to all.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FVx7I8KDpNKPssiRXa1it%2F3b73974f-b91e-4101-9ea0-2f0b01e8752b.jpg?alt=media&token=fa5e0b39-be5b-4cda-a49f-fec664ce2036","id":"3b73974f-b91e-4101-9ea0-2f0b01e8752b","width":888,"height":884,"filename":"1 - Download the thesis project ↗.jpeg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

*[Download the thesis project ↗](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JL4J1CRcNl-3gxrD0BjMOV-RjUv8DDbS/view?usp=sharing)*

## **Project objective**

With public libraries as the subject and Estonia as the context, I asked two main questions in my research:

* What are the expectations of a modern public library service?

* How can public libraries meet expectations now and adapt to future needs?

Ultimately, the main goal of the research was to find a design approach for public libraries to become inspiring service providers that "support lifelong learning and ensure access to information, knowledge and culture"

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FVx7I8KDpNKPssiRXa1it%2Fb84795ed-3d20-4029-b323-ad4201b5cca8.png?alt=media&token=954e40e3-2f90-4349-88e7-87283b313d6f","id":"b84795ed-3d20-4029-b323-ad4201b5cca8","width":3104,"height":1974,"filename":"2 - I spoke at Service Design conference (in Estonian) ↗.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

[I spoke at Service Design conference (in Estonian) ↗](https://youtu.be/_pr3Jrfz0sc)

## **The concept for public libraries**

After desktop research and expert interviews, I developed a model for thinking about the future of public libraries.

I wanted to foster discussion about the role of libraries, their goals, and how services are delivered among different stakeholders and decision makers who have different experiences with libraries.

Inspired by [Ezio Manzini](https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/design-when-everybody-designs), [Dan Hill](https://medium.com/dark-matter-and-trojan-horses/dark-matter-and-trojan-horses-a-strategic-design-vocabulary-strelka-press-18551fff3133) and the [Helsinki Design Lab's](http://www.helsinkidesignlab.org/pages/studio-book.html) co-producing approach, I have defined "the future" in my work as the current needs of the community. This means that I accept that people know best what services they need and how.

By combining a variety of elements, I ended up with a model that clearly and succinctly focuses on the many aspects of the public library.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FVx7I8KDpNKPssiRXa1it%2F335f229a-7c18-4ff2-8f39-32e1720dfaac.jpg?alt=media&token=06b8f305-ec7e-4353-9c7f-786debf3390d","id":"335f229a-7c18-4ff2-8f39-32e1720dfaac","width":1823,"height":957,"filename":"3.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

On one side, we have the outcomes that answer what we want to accomplish with new types of public libraries. On the other side of the equation, each public library can think about how to achieve those goals in their community by understanding the resources available, the current conditions, and the external stakeholders that influence services.

## **Putting the model into practice**

Now that I had a model for public library services, I was eager to learn what people's expectations for outcomes.

I decided to hold workshops with different stakeholders. The main goal of my workshops was to understand the different perspectives about the possible outcomes of public libraries. If we agree on the outcomes or goals that public libraries should achieve, we can design library services accordingly.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FVx7I8KDpNKPssiRXa1it%2F56821087-b078-45ed-87d5-abab47319b82.jpg?alt=media&token=a4ac9d62-6963-4776-ae3e-deb493dec9d4","id":"56821087-b078-45ed-87d5-abab47319b82","width":1082,"height":1082,"filename":"4 - Connecting workshop activities with my model.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Connecting workshop activities with my model","border":false}]}
```

## **The structure of the workshop**

Aside from the warm-up exercise, my workshop consisted of three activities that served as input for different parts of my model concept.

The first activity was "Expected Outcomes" I formulated the question to the participants, "What outcomes would you like to see public libraries achieve in 2035?

I chose the year 2035 because it is far away, but not as abstract as when you think of a future library. I also used the year 2035 in the very last exercise.

The second activity in my workshop is the playground mapping exercise. It comes from Nordkapp's Actionable Futures toolkit. Public library redesign is a complex project. Therefore, it is important to understand the different aspects of the environment. This exercise helps to understand what ideas, initiatives, technologies and who dominates now and in the future.

The final exercise is to develop a vision statement. The goal was for each participant to think about an optimal future and what it might look like. Forcing them to fill in the blanks makes the description of the future tangible and concrete. And then collectively create a statement as a result of the workshop.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FVx7I8KDpNKPssiRXa1it%2F97d3022e-4106-4c10-8e21-45866a309e88.jpg?alt=media&token=6277fc8d-eeda-45b2-9888-5a1dfbd88f7e","id":"97d3022e-4106-4c10-8e21-45866a309e88","width":991,"height":630,"filename":"5.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Screenshot from ongoing workshop","border":true}]}
```

The goal of the future scenario workshops was to hear different perspectives on the current state of public libraries and expectations for the future of public libraries. I conducted three two-hour workshops with 5-7 participants each.

There was a lot of excitement among the participants about the future of public libraries. Even if they had not thought about libraries before, after a bit of a warm-up, we were able to discuss exciting concepts and visions for libraries.

I also learned a lot about facilitating online workshops. I also learned a lot about facilitating online workshops. Because my participants were unfamiliar with Miro, there was a slight hesitation and shyness to participate and use it. I responded by taking on the role of a secretary, making post-it notes for the participants, helping to move the post-its around, and trying to be helpful. The goal was to discuss, and I understood that Miro should not get in the way of that.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FVx7I8KDpNKPssiRXa1it%2F3f7dacd0-5224-46d4-a579-868d4a028287.png?alt=media&token=eafb981a-831c-40f2-a8b9-5e78863d89b5","id":"3f7dacd0-5224-46d4-a579-868d4a028287","width":1982,"height":1260,"filename":"6 - Analysing the workshop results.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Analysing the workshop results","border":false}]}
```

## **Future of public libraries**

I do not believe in a one-size-fits-all solution for public libraries. There can not be one perfect library.

Instead, my vision for tomorrow's libraries is based on five guiding values. These values are the result of workshops and my desktop research on how to maximize the benefits of public libraries.

I have learned that the library of tomorrow will be

* accelerate positive change within the community,

* introduce the new possibilities of the world,

* help people become creators of culture and knowledge, and

* be a link between government and citizens.

The guiding values that must be reflected in the library are:

* community-led

* person-centred and aspirational

* creation-first

* conversational programming

* dialogue-based learning

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FVx7I8KDpNKPssiRXa1it%2F50db826f-12df-4332-97b1-8ce61b1af580.jpg?alt=media&token=4d83532d-72a6-4e63-8ddd-17e784735a7d","id":"50db826f-12df-4332-97b1-8ce61b1af580","width":2048,"height":1083,"filename":"7.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

## **Reflection**

This project grew out of my belief that public libraries can be an essential factor in creating a more equitable society. Yet, they continue to be undervalued and therefore underfunded unless we are able to clarify the role and value of public libraries.

I am not claiming that public libraries hold all the solutions, but I argue that public libraries can help solve important problems, enable creativity, and transform the lives of community members when used properly.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FVx7I8KDpNKPssiRXa1it%2F96d71c79-3522-47b6-8c02-302fad5312a5.png?alt=media&token=bf052e48-692f-437f-ba93-c0efb01ae709","id":"96d71c79-3522-47b6-8c02-302fad5312a5","width":2182,"height":1750,"filename":"8 - I spoke about the journey at another conference ↗.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

*[I spoke about the journey at another conference ↗](https://youtu.be/TPEIbtsc9Mw?t=5053)*

At the very least, I was able to find a critical intervention point to begin the process toward a preferred future. Even if the path I suggested is not the right one.

The challenge for me was to move from the mindset of the researcher to the mindset of the implementer. The systemic nature of the topic at hand required a lot of research, so it was difficult for me to imagine new services or solutions for public libraries.

Therefore, there is much for other designers and researchers to explore regarding the same topic. A few interesting topics to continue the transformation process:

* How can the public library network be managed and funded, given that more services are not just about culture?

* How can the physical space of public libraries be transformed to be welcoming and flexible for different occasions?

* What kind of digital services do people expect from public libraries?

* How can the design capabilities of public libraries as organisations be developed and improved?

---

* Partner: National Library of Estonia ↗

* Mentor: Jana Kukk, PhD

* Supervisors: Tanel Kärp, MA and Nesli Hazal Akbulut, MA

The Library of Tomorrow

In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI and large language models (LLMs), many professions are re-evaluating their future. Especially as new startups are emerging daily to replace engineers, product managers, designers and other professions.

I have some loose notes from a designer’s perspective. Having recently written about [how design contributes to beautiful (successful) products](https://blog.mikklemberg.ee/design-beautiful-business.html), I am optimistic today and emphasise the growing role of designers.

**I**

The emergence of LLMs capable of writing code and automating software development raises the question of how companies can gain a competitive advantage.

I believe that overall business strategy, supporting systems and user experience will become the moat. And not the ability to ship new features quickly.

Designers who develop a deep understanding of AI capabilities will play a critical role in planning and implementing these strategic decisions.

**II**

It seems that people are increasingly relying on AI tools to get perfect summaries, answers or solutions instead of searching for original sources.

In an API-first internet, the user interface will become the battleground for supremacy. The winners will be those whose interfaces integrate seamlessly into existing workflows and who introduce novel intereactions that users enjoy engaging with.

Designers who can empathise with users’ problems and workflows will be the ones who discover these novel interactions that customers ultimately want to engage with.

**III**

As AI takes on more routine tasks, the value of human input shifts towards taste. In a world where AI-generated content becomes commonplace, taste becomes a scarce and invaluable commodity.

But as Steve Jobs once said, “I don’t think my taste in aesthetics is that much different from a lot of other people’s. The difference is that I just get to be really stubborn about making things as good as we all know they can be. That’s the only difference.”

What does great taste look like in the AI era?

I don’t have the answer to that, but a good place to develop a taste for the AI era is to join an established company with significant existing data and product workflows that could be improved by recent AI advancements.

Rather than joining a startup to develop a new AI foundational model, I think designers are currently best placed to improve existing products with AI-based workflows.

Designer in the age of AI

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FYty5fCfi7jnP7rJfqVto%2F64414f4b-68b3-42a8-9762-38618c8cc1c4.png?alt=media&token=21c68fa5-2e98-40df-a287-a34ea0fa4450","id":"64414f4b-68b3-42a8-9762-38618c8cc1c4","width":652,"height":362,"filename":"Frame 23.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

* My role: workshops, Art Direction, Project Management, web design, content

* Timeframe: Jun 2020 - Nov 2020

* Partners: 1oTeam (mental support, ideation), [Codelight](https://codelight.eu/) (web development), [Tolm](https://tolm.ee/) (video), [Animwood](https://animwood.com/) (illustrations)

### Background

9 months after releasing the eSIM product, 1oT’s marketing website didn’t explain well the specifics of eSIM. This led to multiple inefficiencies for the customer-facing team and for the IoT businesses.

Potential customers who reached out misunderstood the 1oT eSIM value proposition or if their IoT devices are suitable for eSIM.

Secondly, 1oT’s SIM management platform had grown into a clear competitive advantage. But the previous iteration didn’t explain the value and benefits of Terminal for IoT businesses.

*Additional context:*

* Following project & outcome has to be understood in the context that 60% of 1oT’s website visitors come from Google Search. Thanks to separate decision to focus on writing technical blog posts relevant to IoT businesses in plain English.

* Secondly, 80% of new leads are inbound leads meaning that they approach 1oT. Usually, they plan for a new deployment or are not satisfied with their current connectivity provider(s).

### Goals for the project

* Communicate clearly what 1oT has to offer to increase conversion with the target customer.

* Demonstrate the capabilities & benefits of 1oT Terminal to raise confidence in our connectivity service.

## Process

The project was kicked off by gathering the stakeholders (CEO, customer-facing team) in a workshop format. We defined target companies and personas, selling points and the deadline for the project.

1oT’s target customer is a company that’s in the stage where they are expanding from their home country.

* Their local connectivity provider can’t give a reasonable price for other countries,

* the conversations with connectivity providers in expansion countries are stuck,

* or they realise that managing multiple providers’ SIM card is a logistical headache.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FYty5fCfi7jnP7rJfqVto%2F30fb27a4-2add-4435-acde-2bff68d09415.png?alt=media&token=26b0f20e-9493-4991-8ea9-a4b0210131ba","id":"30fb27a4-2add-4435-acde-2bff68d09415","width":1600,"height":1021,"filename":"2F680CA6-5255-4FFB-898E-8FB3FBB5064E_2.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

The next step was to agree on the content hierarchy and goals for each updated page. It was crucial to build alignment within the team because only then could our external partners begin contributing. Otherwise we wouldn’t have been on time.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FYty5fCfi7jnP7rJfqVto%2F6c9648d1-39d7-48fb-93e9-7df96d891ec6.jpg?alt=media&token=538a6cd1-1722-4638-881e-d14047d3047c","id":"6c9648d1-39d7-48fb-93e9-7df96d891ec6","width":2309,"height":1732,"filename":"AA7FA5DB-BBC5-4F08-9B4E-4F476C0AF2DD_2.jpeg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

In this step, my responsibilities were to analyse current website visitors’ behaviour to detect patterns. And combine those insights with the stories (emails, meeting notes) from the sales team to create a journey map of a new lead.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FYty5fCfi7jnP7rJfqVto%2F9c50f81d-290c-4ee0-b114-05517eadbc26.jpg?alt=media&token=9a5e54f2-bc95-4468-9106-7d0837b8c81b","id":"9c50f81d-290c-4ee0-b114-05517eadbc26","width":2547,"height":1570,"filename":"F57813D5-0A76-4BE3-826A-1BFBCEFE8C58_2.jpeg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

### Making tradeoffs

With our deadline, I didn’t have time to do research directly with users or go through different prototypes with them. Instead, I relied on website analytics, support tickets, sales team’s meeting notes and desktop research on competitors.

With our budgetary constraint, we decided to focus only on the home page and product pages. We skipped improving and updating rest of the website. These funds were instead used to describe the value of 1oT’s services in multiple animated videos and illustrations.

## Solutions

[1oT Terminal is front and centre](https://1ot.com) of the whole value offering. It’s meant to be a clear distinguisher from our competitors.

Videos about eSIM and 1oT Terminal communicate the value of 1oT’ services through-out the IoT products lifecycle.

* [1oT eSIM — The IoT connectivity revolution is here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHYiTNOcvc4)

* [1oT Terminal — eSIM & SIM Management Platform](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_Ju0etvFrA)

Animated illustrations describe the benefits of each product.

## Results

1oT’s products and offered value is communicated much better to their target audience.

* The new site **has increased the applications of highly qualified leads** by defining clearly what they can do for IoT businesses with global ambition.

* The new web page **has generated 21% more leads**.

* Combined with the Automated price offers generator to save time and convert better, **the sales cycle has decreased on average by 2 weeks**.

Designing a website for 1oT audience

I listened to [Lenny's podcast with Jeff Weinstein from Stripe](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DqbZQjprTnrU&ved=2ahUKEwj2r9iE3IqIAxUFGxAIHbWuK_AQwqsBegQIExAG&usg=AOvVaw2Q8lzAZeKunL6Ka8qAtcXr). His clear thoughts and simple practises on how to maintain a customer-centric focus in products inspired me to collect examples from him and add my own ideas.

This post contains practical examples and daily actions that teams can use to maintain customer focus. It follows on from my earlier reflections on [design-led](https://read.cv/mikk/design-led-companies) [businesses](https://read.cv/mikk/design-beautiful-business) and [purpose-built products](https://read.cv/mikk/purpouse-built-product).

If design is to help a company maintain its competitive advantage and push the boundaries of problem solving, it must be a strategic partner, not just a supporting function. Every business function, including design, should think about the user first and foremost and develop solutions with the best user experience in mind.

While developing successful products may seem daunting, this post offers practical takeaways and reminders to integrate customer focus into the product development process.

> *Design your rituals like you design your products*

## Talk to customers

Talking directly to customers helps shape the product roadmap and speeds up development time to true value through fast feedback loops.

Although talking directly to customers is a cliche recommendation, it's not always easy to follow. Let's explore some practical tips.

### Become text message friendly with a select group

Jeff suggests being "text message friendly" with 5-10 customers to better understand their needs and how to improve product.

He argues that a small, well-selected group can provide enough direct signals to focus your efforts effectively. While wider customer research is useful, research-led projects are not always the right tool for the job. Like any method or tool, it has to fit its context of use.

Direct interaction offers honest and immediate feedback, helping to better understand customer pain points and desires.

### Sales is design research

Your sales team is a research function. They are talking to your ideal customers every day, getting more exposure to their lives and problems than any product manager or designer.

Ignoring these conversations because they are "just sales calls" is like ignoring technical engineering conversations because they are "just about code."

Join the sales calls, talk to salespeople, or review their notes. Skim the transcripts or use AI to summarise the recordings. There are many clever ways to increase exposure to customers—or potential customers who have been pre-qualified by the sales team.

Below are more ideas on how to speak with customers.

Send a link to every new signup to have a one-on-one conversation to find out why they signed up and what resonated with them.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FZRSwjgCacqKTeWgyf6bt%2Fb41b9434-662d-44ee-95a5-b8e56da1a717.jpg?alt=media&token=1baf24f2-ac79-4ff5-9737-9d4a4f09a0d9","id":"b41b9434-662d-44ee-95a5-b8e56da1a717","width":2000,"height":1500,"filename":"onboarding.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"I did it inside the 1oT Terminal onboarding flow.","border":false}]}
```

When shipping something new for a specific customer group, reach out with the same texting mindset. Don’t ask for feedback from day 0, but observe how they use the product.

Using these strategies, you can set up a continuous feedback loop that helps you stay in tune with what your customers need and makes product development more effective.

## Discover customers’ real problems

To build a great business, you have to develop genuine customer obsessiveness and understand the problems they are facing. This goes beyond just collecting feedback and implementing what they ask for directly.

You’re likely to end up with a more powerful and valuable product if you address the root problem from first principles.

### Sitting in silence to reveal the roadmap

Jeff points out that founders and product people (guilty myself) tend to pitch a solution when they join a demo call.

But this doesn’t give us much chance to learn about the customer’s struggles and current problems.

Instead, listen carefully to customers to understand their needs and problems. You can build stronger relationships and trust by making them feel heard and valued.

Another advantage of listening quietly is that it reveals the real problems customers want you to solve. As Jeff said, “People don’t really get out of bed for their second problem. They get out of bed for their first problem.”

Listen to customers without quickly offering your own ideas, and identify the problems that would make them “jump through the computer” if you solved them.

Consider using these probing questions to help guide the conversations and uncover people’s most pressing pain points:

1. Understanding their current focus:

   1. "If you weren't talking to me right now, what would you be working on?"

   2. "Hey, do you mind just opening up your email? What's in your inbox?"

2. Identifying pain points:

   1. "What annoys you? What are you not looking forward to?"

   2. "What do you wish you could just have off your plate immediately?"

3. Exploring aspirations:

   1. "What's a massive opportunity you wish was just one door away?"

These questions reveal what's really important to the customer and what problems they are facing.

If your customers are smart and ambitious, they will give you their toughest problems to solve. By understanding their point of view, you can create solution that meet their needs, resulting in greater satisfaction and success.

Markets and customer needs change all the time. It’s important to keep listening to customers and value their feedback.

### Gut check before jumping to solutions

Once you know what the customer's problems are, you might want to start designing (solving the problem) right away. However, I've learned to pace myself.

To create something that customers love, it’s important to clearly understand what they need. Many people skip this step and rush to come up with solutions.

Don’t give in to this urge.

Before I offer solutions, I like to use gut check questions to better understand the problem and how the customer sees it.

These questions let me see the problem from every side:

* Is the problem important?

* What does the client think the problem is? What problem do they believe needs to be solved?

* What might the actual problem be?

* What is the root cause? How does the current system operate? Why did the current system cause the problem?

* Why can’t the current system fix its own problems?

By answering these questions, I can tell if I really understand the customer’s main concerns and challenges, or if things are still unclear and I can’t explain them.

## Design customer-focused interfaces

Once you’ve identified the problem, the next step is to solve it and come up with a design.

I use a few key principles when starting a new design project. These help me create interfaces that connect with users.

### Keep things simple and obvious

One of my core beliefs is to "keep it simple and obvious."

This means that every part of the user interface should be easy to understand. Users should instantly know what each element does and how to use it.

It usually comes down to three main things: context, consistency, and clarity.

[Martin LeBlanc once tweeted](https://x.com/martinleblanc/status/466638260195041280), "A user interface is like a joke. If you have to explain it, it's not that good."

This perfectly captures my approach to UX and UI design.

### Find the epicenter

This idea, borrowed from Basecamp or 37Signals, has stayed with me for many years.

The best way to design software is to focus on the core functionality of a feature.

When starting a new feature or product, the key is to find the "epicenter" - the most crucial piece of functionality that must exist before anything else.

Don't begin with the navigation, branding, or peripheral elements. Instead, concentrate first on the core functionality that, if removed, would make the entire thing useless.

By focusing on core functionality first, you make sure the page's primary purpose is clearly defined and delivered.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FZRSwjgCacqKTeWgyf6bt%2Fd4074a5f-04ef-49a8-8a0a-f81fb666a591.jpg?alt=media&token=5ab8b50e-15af-467e-93ae-70cb88d74f47","id":"d4074a5f-04ef-49a8-8a0a-f81fb666a591","width":2000,"height":1500,"filename":"iA writer.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"iA Writer is the best at it. My go-to tool for writing.","border":false}]}
```

If you’re wondering where to start with a new feature or product, start by finding the epicenter:

* What’s the one thing it needs first before it needs anything else?

* What is the core?

* What is the most basic functionality that must exist before anything else can exist?

### Start with the most constrained approach

I start with the most constrained approach when building something new.

It's best to start with a limited approach and then expand the solution based on user feedback.

Starting with the strictest solution helps to spot user roadblocks and get fast feedback. This helps improve and find the optimal solution through iteration.

If you start with the most flexible or comprehensive solution, you might not get useful feedback.

Users might also use the feature in ways you didn’t expect. It’s important to listen to the customer and let them guide the solution (see above).

By following these principles, I have created intuitive, focused, and customer-centric interfaces, leading to a better user experience and more value for businesses.

## Cultivate customer empathy with role plays

We think that code is just code and that software works as it should. But adding new features or small changes to copywriting to meet regulations can change how users feel about the product.

Using the product as a customer can help you understand their experience better.

**A common practice is a friction log**. This is a detailed record of a user’s experience from start to finish. Someone acts like a customer and writes down each step, noting any difficulties, confusion, or frustrations they encounter.

Friction logs provide a detailed view of the user journey, highlighting pain points and areas that need work. They can be shared with the team to show how small problems add up and make experience worse for the customer.

My favourite friction log involves Bill Gates trying to install Movie Maker on his computer. [You can find the email in Internal Tech Emails](https://www.techemails.com/p/bill-gates-tries-to-install-movie-maker).

Friction logs give useful individual insights, but Stripe does more with their "Study Groups" approach.

Stripe employees often **join “Study Groups” to test the product as if they were new users.**

In a study group, 4 to 8 employees from different departments come together to participate in a role-play as a fictional company with a specific goal for the session. They go through the whole journey of a product from the customer's point of view.

This approach works because it follows two main rules: participants pretend they don't work at the company, and they focus on using the product instead of fixing problems or offering critiques.

It's great because it offers fresh perspectives from employees across various roles and breaks down silos between departments. Putting themselves in the customer's shoes gives them a better understanding of how to improve product and come up with new ideas.

Friction logs and study groups help team members understand customers better by letting them use the product as users do. This leads to deeper insights and decisions that focus more on the customer.

Now that we’ve talked about speaking with customers, understanding the problem, and creating a solution, I want to finish by discussing how to motivate the team and the incentives structure within the team.

## Move from vision to daily progress with metrics

I think having a clear vision helps you balance big dreams with everyday little things.

Jeff believes that leaders should combine the ideal state, or vision, with celebrating milestones to show progress in their communication.

So, on one side, use a marker to draw a bold and powerful vision. "Here's an exciting vision of what it could be like if we could do it without constraints."

There’s [a great story about how Brian Chesky](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&v=nT7Irq8YuSo) made a storyboard to show the perfect Airbnb experience from the viewpoints of both the visitor and host.

On the other hand, you should focus on solving burning use cases and problems for customers. When you address significant challenges for many people, you can show real progress. "Look at this, we've made this progress, we've made this progress. This is a big milestone."

You can use those two approaches to tell an inspiring story, "Look, we've made progress," and also present the business case, "Look at how much we could make and what it could become if we're successful."

If you don’t link short-term actions to long-term goals, you’ll get stuck in the rut of the day-to-day. It’s important to break out and develop a bigger vision.

> *“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” — Joel Arthur Barker Ratcliffe*

I think every team works differently and develops their own vision. With that in mind, I’ll give some tips on choosing metrics.

### Align the team around a single (customer) metric

Metrics can be a double-edged sword, but when they are well-defined and carefully chosen, they can be very helpful.

Choosing the right metrics can be tough because they might encourage the wrong behaviors or shift the focus from creating value for the customer to just improving the numbers. While business metrics are important, they can sometimes mislead us about what's truly valuable to the customer.

Jeff suggests aiming for a single, clear metric for the team to focus on. This helps everyone work together, avoid conflicting priorities, and keep the customer in mind.

By rallying the team around one key metric, you can keep making steady progress and make sure that everyone’s work helps to enhance the customer experience.

### The metric should be linked to customer value and success

A good way to check if the metrics you care about are linked to customer success, it to think what would happen if you took a screenshot of the metrics dashboard and shared it with customers or post it online.

If a customer sees it, you want them to think, "Wow, this company really cares about its promises. I can see myself in these numbers."

Try to give that impression.

#### Count how many people achieved their goals after logging in

Jeff talks about something from Stripe that many companies can use: the percentage of customers who finish signing up without needing any help, also known as "zero support tickets."

This metric is powerful because it directly measures how easy and clear the onboarding experience is.

A high percentage means that customers can start using the product by themselves. This improves their first experience and also cuts down on the company’s support costs.

#### Count the bad day events

If the way to check if customers are reaching their goals is too vague, try counting the events that "users would consider a bad day."

Jeff said this might include several payment rejections, delayed payouts, or general 404 errors from Stripe's perspective.

When you keep track of every time a user has a problem and show how often these problems happen, you highlight important issues that affect customer satisfaction and give a quantitative way to see and measure user experience problems.

This practice also has more benefits. It encourages solving problems before they happen instead of just reacting to them,and helps find and rank issues to get rid of them.

Generally speaking, by the time something becomes frustrating or annoying enough for a customer to message you, it's usually a signal that ten more customers are dealing with the same issue but haven't reached out yet.

Instead of waiting for the first message, keep an eye out for moments where the product fails customers and address those issues proactively.

(If you’ve made it this far, you’re a hero. Thank you!)

Building successful products might seem daunting, yet it really comes down to a simple formula:

1\. Find customers and understand their problems.

2\. Listen to their most pressing issues.

3\. Design and ship a product that solves those problems.

4\. Receive feedback and iterate on it.

This process may seem simple initially, but it can be tough to stay focused on the customer, especially when you’re navigating through company politics and competing interests.

Building great products is a team sport. Everyone contributes their expertise and focus. But outstanding experiences can only be created if everyone cares about the one thing that matters — the customer. We (the team) need to be empathetic and understand what customers need in order to continuously solve their problems.

If you know any good ways to help product teams focus more on customers, I'd like to hear them. I'm always looking to learn how others handle this important part of developing a product.

Practical tips for customer-focused product (teams)

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FqLlzdnxsBgvrmnwAT4r2%2F63178bdb-ccd6-4c3d-8d6f-711d2d80cdc8.jpg?alt=media&token=4b2f2b02-f1b0-4a46-984f-b56159d45d83","id":"63178bdb-ccd6-4c3d-8d6f-711d2d80cdc8","width":1112,"height":610,"filename":"CPO-case_cover.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

At 1oT, I sit at the intersection of technology, business, and design. I've benefited from the fact that in a small team, you can try your hand at many things. I've been lucky to carve out a niche that I think best suits my skills, interests, and character.

Depending on the needs of the week or even the day, I shift my focus between different areas and goals—whether it's designing, direction alignment, thinking about a new product initiative, or helping others with discovery work.

In the beginning, it was overwhelming to work on everything from product to customer communications, to brand and marketing. Over time, I’ve simplified my focus to ensure that prospects and customers have a good experience with 1oT: from the first contact with 1oT to a long-term relationship.

### About 1oT

```cv
youtube
{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHYiTNOcvc4","width":200,"height":113,"thumbnail":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IHYiTNOcvc4/hqdefault.jpg"}
```

1oT helps companies connect devices to the Internet worldwide. 1oT is a response to the increasing number of smart devices in the IoT industry and the challenges companies face when attempting to conduct business globally while dealing with incumbent telecoms.

As an independent middlemen with numerous wholesale contracts with telecoms, in-house developed connectivity management platform and eSIM infrastructure, 1oT combines everything needed to run a global IoT company into a single service.

## Shaping the product

### Leadership

I am a hands-on leader who knows how to maximise the value of design to drive differentiation and increase the bottom line.

As part of the leadership team, I focus on:

* Strategising and planning investments across product, design, and engineering

* Improving processes throughout the company as we scale

* Enhancing the end-to-end customer experience

* Guiding the team to produce their best work

I believe in design-driven businesses and have specialised in managing the processes that enable this.

I have learned that communication is key: keeping customers engaged, keeping the sales team informed about product development timelines, and ensuring that the core team is aligned on what we're building and why.

Over time, we have developed an operational cadence in product development and communication channels that I believe have served us well. It is inspired by many different practices from other companies—too many to list or remember—so it's nothing revolutionary.

The process flows as follows:

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FqLlzdnxsBgvrmnwAT4r2%2F1f36a293-4a08-4fbd-9e82-b361dd0c20b3.jpg?alt=media&token=c31ca52c-642c-4f19-869f-73e7f33cbd89","id":"1f36a293-4a08-4fbd-9e82-b361dd0c20b3","width":1536,"height":1152,"filename":"product development.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":true}]}
```

The agility of this approach has allowed us to adapt quickly to market changes and internal feedback loops. By empowering team members to contribute to the spark file, we've seen a significant increase in innovative ideas that address customer needs.

In my view, this has not only improved the 1oT Terminal but also strengthened the team's morale and commitment to our collective vision.

### My design process

I’m the kind of designer who places myself closer to an "architect" than an "artist" on the spectrum of the art–science ratio.

A lot of the early-stage ideations happen in FigJam, as it's easy to interact with, and everyone can join in. Especially important is figuring out the relationship between features and the different types of users, the so-called navigation system. This has been the formula for launching large-scale products for enterprises and telecoms with a small team.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FqLlzdnxsBgvrmnwAT4r2%2F7a6ae761-a4dc-4836-98c1-d8b2f9656965.png?alt=media&token=042e3db2-5163-4184-893d-80a79ee939a3","id":"7a6ae761-a4dc-4836-98c1-d8b2f9656965","width":1205,"height":1215,"filename":"Screenshot 2023-11-25 at 12.35.42.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Lowering the barrier to contribute to discovery work","border":true}]}
```

It's crucial for me to keep all stakeholders in the loop during the early stages of the design process. Since the industry is new to me, there's a lot of technical knowledge that I lack. Receiving feedback early and often keeps me on the right path.

Most often, each new design is backed by several rounds of Figma prototypes, where I test a specific user workflow to determine if it logically achieves the intended outcome for the user.

#### Principles

One of the key design principles in 1oT is to design in a way that there's no need for an instruction manual. We saw this is where a lot of the incumbent platforms struggled so we wanted to counter position ourselves.

> Good product design eliminates the need for an instruction manual.

This means that we always choose clarity over being slick or fancy. Aim to make the UI totally obvious and self explanatory, by keeping individual screens simple, showing only one focused thing at a time, and so on.

## Product

The 1oT Terminal app can be divided into two major interfaces:

* Customer portal — where 1oT's customers manage their SIMs, troubleshoot connectivity issues, and monitor fees.

* Admin portal — where 1oT's team manages SIM inventory, roaming footprint, pricing, and monitors customer activities.

This hierarchical logic reminds me that considerable work goes into figuring out the navigation. The admin portal must have the same features as the customer portal, yet it encompasses all users and all the SIMs to manage.

This means that the information architecture must be very different because the user goals and daily workflows vary.

Many previously designed updates include [sub-client app](https://youtu.be/iMQWJLdUCgY?feature=shared), [eSIM management tool](https://youtu.be/7ghtjReMbCI?feature=shared), [workflow automation app](https://youtu.be/mAxv8YLa4Fw?feature=shared), [intelligent connectivity app](https://youtu.be/W3rGojaq9lg?feature=shared) and [analytics app](https://youtu.be/CDoRaZDiboM?feature=shared).

Here's [a changelog](https://changelog.1ot.mobi/) if you're eager to discover more.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FqLlzdnxsBgvrmnwAT4r2%2Fabdf7691-a204-4f59-b34d-2a4a35789495.jpg?alt=media&token=62333ed1-6cf4-4df1-987d-26605710aa39","id":"abdf7691-a204-4f59-b34d-2a4a35789495","width":1000,"height":750,"filename":"Multiple shipping locations.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Simplifying the SIM shipment by remembering different locations","border":true},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FqLlzdnxsBgvrmnwAT4r2%2F22d2360c-2a23-4f83-991a-9870ffd77d96.gif?alt=media&token=f394c7c5-21f4-42f6-9ee0-a7923c73cd36","id":"22d2360c-2a23-4f83-991a-9870ffd77d96","width":1080,"height":810,"filename":"Automatic-communication.gif","type":"image/gif","caption":"Communicating with right people at the right time","border":true},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FqLlzdnxsBgvrmnwAT4r2%2F5df83aeb-a9c5-43ac-bd5e-022fcc6cc896.jpg?alt=media&token=1f50745b-5aeb-4f0f-bcb0-7c8e223e7e65","id":"5df83aeb-a9c5-43ac-bd5e-022fcc6cc896","width":1000,"height":750,"filename":"SMS templates.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Getting rid of unnecessary copy-pasting","border":true},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FqLlzdnxsBgvrmnwAT4r2%2F7146b5ff-0424-4658-b1a9-e59e2c0c8e52.jpg?alt=media&token=3c42efa1-1b20-4356-92ee-35941eae07d8","id":"7146b5ff-0424-4658-b1a9-e59e2c0c8e52","width":1000,"height":750,"filename":"Cost overviews.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Overview of ongoing costs","border":true},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FqLlzdnxsBgvrmnwAT4r2%2F63c98e90-9a4b-45f7-b460-7105dbf9275f.jpg?alt=media&token=6bec9f8d-b72e-47bc-97f4-d2308263900a","id":"63c98e90-9a4b-45f7-b460-7105dbf9275f","width":1000,"height":750,"filename":"cmd+k.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Are you even a software company if you don't support cmd+k","border":true},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2F1ot-cpo%2F6a5f826a-e72e-499f-820f-a5ae3dc94ff4.jpg?alt=media&token=72d9cf8a-a1e1-45fa-9b0f-48e69103ce59","id":"6a5f826a-e72e-499f-820f-a5ae3dc94ff4","width":1000,"height":750,"filename":"workflow automation.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Automating SIM management with 'if this, then that'","border":true}]}
```

Navigating the CPO role

At the beginning of 2024, the 1oT Terminal team shipped completed updates to the SIMs and SIM detail view.

I designed both interfaces end-to-end. Below is a walkthrough of my thought processes and unscientific methods for designing those interfaces.

### Background

[SIMs view](https://youtu.be/8qn8IuAYFx4) is the central page of 1oT Terminal, the connectivity management platform. This is where the bulk of SIM management takes place.

It lists all the company's SIMs and their details, including aggregated data consumption. Additionally, a customer can manage SIMs directly from the table.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2Fc1fe53ff-d3c9-43aa-a738-3a3554f7b370.jpg?alt=media&token=059378b5-0697-4a34-8d1a-58ca73ed3402","id":"c1fe53ff-d3c9-43aa-a738-3a3554f7b370","width":1840,"height":963,"filename":"new-sims-view.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

SIMs view includes a SIM detail view, which is a deep dive into a single SIM card.

It's the go-to destination when a customer needs to check SIM's data usage or take any actions with the SIM.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2F8d5bf561-7c81-4318-bba8-5fd95d77545b.jpg?alt=media&token=32704fbf-6628-4fdc-9446-edea163caf68","id":"8d5bf561-7c81-4318-bba8-5fd95d77545b","width":1840,"height":963,"filename":"new-detail-view.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Problem

When I joined 1oT five years ago, [SIMs view was one of first projects](https://1ot.com/resources/blog/terminal-2020-recap) I worked on with the product team. Since then, we've added new features and receive more information about each SIM from telecom partners whose APIs have improved over time.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2F63b1421a-b0c4-468b-805d-99780e853af4.jpg?alt=media&token=80ad2272-95f1-4ada-895d-bf4ccc1a6dfa","id":"63b1421a-b0c4-468b-805d-99780e853af4","width":1840,"height":964,"filename":"old SIM detail view.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"My designed SIMs view from 2020","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2Fbe386950-b46e-4349-90e5-d407450667b7.jpg?alt=media&token=59adbb62-6a52-40ef-8f0b-d8eceec73541","id":"be386950-b46e-4349-90e5-d407450667b7","width":1330,"height":696,"filename":"old-old SIMs view.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Old screenshot that I found about how 1oT Terminal started out","border":false}]}
```

The need for a redesign gradually became apparent as we launched new features and struggled to fit them in without making the experience feel disjointed.

The incremental way of building a product is hugely beneficial and necessary for a small team, but it unbalances the overall design. Each new capability adds stress to the existing surface for which it was designed.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2F7ef24e4f-0038-4048-ae11-02088f41b96e.jpg?alt=media&token=084cc08e-ce95-4eda-a367-ae37d22d34d7","id":"7ef24e4f-0038-4048-ae11-02088f41b96e","width":1840,"height":964,"filename":"old SIM detail view.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"My designed SIM detail view from 2020","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2Fad35805d-6a64-4a37-aa71-bd655f49925e.jpg?alt=media&token=107b957f-c0db-40ff-8ed9-46ecaeaee59e","id":"ad35805d-6a64-4a37-aa71-bd655f49925e","width":1330,"height":696,"filename":"old-old SIM detail view.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"SIM detail view before 2020","border":false}]}
```

It's a good challenge because it shows we've created a successful product that has evolved with the market and customers.

The redesign goal was to reset and rebalance the SIMs view interface, improve navigation and consider all visual needs holistically.

How might we...

* Improve navigation to save time on SIM management?

* Accommodate product evolution with growing amount of information?

* Enhance the visual design for a more user-friendly experience?

### The process and the redesign

**Quick filtering**

When I started the redesign, I first delved into the filtering puzzle and all of the data points that could be made visible.

The existing version had some shortcut filters at the top of the page, but the rest were hidden. Once opened, the filters consumed a significant amount of screen space.

A particularly annoying issue was the lack of support for filtering the increasing data points in the SIMs view. This led to instances where the data was present in the table, yet customers couldn't filter it.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2F4cae6adc-1515-4b2a-bd7d-41a5286db087.jpg?alt=media&token=b2bdde5d-0a2a-4ab2-b381-f32a1aacdd04","id":"4cae6adc-1515-4b2a-bd7d-41a5286db087","width":1500,"height":786,"filename":"filter.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Updated filter","border":false}]}
```

We opted for a filter button that filters step by step. Since we introduced so many new filters, I went through each data point in a Google Sheets file to identify filterable data, sorting options, and visibility of info in client and admin portal.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2Fad36434d-968f-4bf7-a7a1-f9e220f06412.jpg?alt=media&token=df02e2a1-7e96-4cec-8b25-dedbeea138b9","id":"ad36434d-968f-4bf7-a7a1-f9e220f06412","width":1840,"height":963,"filename":"Google Sheet of filters.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"My exploration in Google Sheets","border":false}]}
```

This minor design adjustment required extensive database work, which helped the engineers understand the tasks without miscommunication.

The second filter adjustment resulted from several prototypes.

I noticed it took a lot of clicks to select all options except one. To streamline this and reduce the number of clicks, we introduced a 'is/is not' selection for quicker filtering, enhancing the system's efficiency.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2F739a70fd-ba86-4443-92fd-f9767921c727.jpg?alt=media&token=e628163f-3099-4b8d-9b65-9ed20d0ada14","id":"739a70fd-ba86-4443-92fd-f9767921c727","width":1500,"height":786,"filename":"filters_is-not.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

One last improvement in the third or fourth iteration was filtering from the table's header. This is beneficial because of the fixed row in the scroll, with hundreds (if not thousands) of SIMs to manage. Filtering directly from the header saves time for power users.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2F8eab5452-eab8-470e-8af7-45af08559a10.jpg?alt=media&token=0a3aec4e-e53e-48e5-89a9-ba134bbd1cff","id":"8eab5452-eab8-470e-8af7-45af08559a10","width":1500,"height":786,"filename":"filter_header.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

**Saved views**

One of my favourite handy new features in the redesign project is related to filtering.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2F23171356-1878-4ec7-8bb3-5755802b4d74.jpg?alt=media&token=afd2b141-168a-4230-a45e-29579f202593","id":"23171356-1878-4ec7-8bb3-5755802b4d74","width":1500,"height":786,"filename":"filtered-views.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

We received similar customer feedback many times in which people expressed the need to access the same group of SIMs quickly, whether it was during a troubleshooting case or a new deployment.

The problem of seeing the same SIMs the next day or after closing the tab is tedious and time-consuming because you always have to filter them.

We fixed it by introducing "saved views," which you can create based on filters. After filtering SIMs that interest you, you can save the table's state for quick access next time you log into 1oT Terminal.

When you don't need the view, you can delete it.

To see saved views in action, check out this narrated demo.

```cv
vimeo
{"url":"https://vimeo.com/979804216?share=copy","width":426,"height":240,"thumbnail":"https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/1894813380-dc670acd644182f014a140929a1a7b714604b4c2f6ccf60d2d852e392fe03df5-d_295x166"}
```

**Context menu**

Before my time at 1oT, introducing operations directly into the SIMs view table was a significant improvement compared to existing connectivity management platforms.

These operations included changing the SIM status, sending an SMS, triggering a SIM reset, or changing the maximum allowed data consumption per month.

Over time, the range of possible actions, similar to filters, has expanded. This has led to an unhealthy balance between information about the SIMs and actions. Plus, the repetitive action columns cluttered the SIMs table visually.

Even though customers can customize the table's look and prioritize information, the left-to-right scroll didn't feel natural when all of the columns didn't fit the viewport.

Yet it was clear from conversations with customers that having those actions nearby is of significant value.

A small revelation came when I remembered a blog post from [Height about context menus](https://height.app/blog/guide-to-build-context-menus). So, I designed a menu for 1oT Terminal.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2F463d87d9-7c73-4d8d-8afd-d928fd17b529.jpg?alt=media&token=50ba9d98-08cd-429b-a4a8-24559f6a39b4","id":"463d87d9-7c73-4d8d-8afd-d928fd17b529","width":1500,"height":786,"filename":"context menu.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

I aimed to improve the user experience by providing quick access to critical SIM management operations for each SIM without compromising the table space. I removed all action columns in one prototype to test the interest in a different approach.

The user feedback indicated that the context menu is less familiar to some of our customer base. We also recognized that teaching this new pattern is a challenge on which we didn't want to spend time.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2F8Gud87CNIBUOBFdgx9CVhQcj2zh2%2FrRhUKKyxKZHZNsYQoVlH%2Febcd978f-8532-4e77-b3ed-f959e00abb0b.jpg?alt=media&token=e2b94421-9980-4bda-917c-b2f8a0d22436","id":"ebcd978f-8532-4e77-b3ed-f959e00abb0b","width":1500,"height":786,"filename":"context menu + actions.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Designing something new, yet keeping it familiar","border":false}]}
```

Therefore, we decided on a compromise. Different actions can be visible in the SIMs view table if the customer prefers. Power users can trigger a SIM reset directly from the table with the newly added context menu if they want to see information about the SIMs.

**One place for all SIM information**

1oT's guiding principle for its connectivity management platform is the availability of real-time data so that customers can manage their connectivity without any help.

One pain point we identified was that the SIM detail view only showed current SIM activity, omitting other details like manufacturer, form factor, and configurations related to the SIM. However, this information was available elsewhere.

This fragmentation made managing SIM cards and their connectivity cumbersome and time-consuming.

To solve it, we consolidated all SIM information into one place, with tabs for different types of data and improved the layout of how it was presented.

```cv
gallery
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```

1. The first tab contains the latest network event and static information about the SIM.

2. The Usage inspection tab provides comprehensive information on each network event, including location, telecom network, session size, and duration. This view is crucial for troubleshooting because it allows users to pinpoint and resolve issues.

3. The Data package and eSIM tab is for managing eSIM profiles on the SIM.

4. The SIM configuration tab brings together settings for customers to minimize the risk of SIM misbehaviour.

However, having all this information in one place was not enough.

We recognized the need for a holistic experience, allowing users to monitor SIM activity at a glance. This prompted us to expand the alerts in 1oT Terminal.

After our ideation sessions, we introduced an icon-based system for a quick overview of each SIM's current status.

```cv
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```

These icons improve customers' ability to monitor SIMs:

* Red X: This indicates that the SIM card is offline because an SMS or data limit was reached or because it's in a different device.

* Orange exclamation mark: This indicates an ongoing API request to a partner to resolve any uncertainty about the SIM card's current state.

* Green dot: Indicates that the SIMs are actively consuming data in a session.

* Blue exclamation point: This indicates that the Intelligent Connectivity feature detected an anomaly in the SIM card's usage pattern.

These indicators play a crucial role in customers' daily operations. They help customers identify problems or explain unexpected SIM behavior quickly.

We increased daily work efficiency and reduced support requests by simplifying the monitoring fleet of SIMs.

### TL;DR: Why we redesigned the SIMs view

The SIMs view in the 1oT Terminal has evolved considerably over time and has become increasingly complex as we have added new features and information. With our redesign, we wanted to simplify SIM management and improve the overall user experience. We have also created a consistent foundation for existing and future features.

This new design:

* Provides more control over the interface, with improved filters and saved views.

* Consolidates all SIM information in one place and makes features more intuitive by how they are placed, grouped, and adapted to different contexts.

* Optimizes SIM management through improved monitoring and response capabilities.

* Ensures more consistency with the rest of the 1oT Terminal.

After the release in January 2024, the feedback from customers has been positive. Additionally, the sales and support team at 1oT is happy because the number of support tickets has been reduced.