Design System and Product Suite for Data Protection
Head of UX
Established the UX practice, design system, and research methodology from scratch. | 2019–2024
The Problem
Founded in 1988, Commvault was an engineering-led organization with no UX practice, fragmented product UI, and no SaaS offering — and even power users felt unsure they'd ever fully utilize its full feature set.
This was one of the dashboards prior to the UX practice, where users navigated data by first deciding on a functional area.
Establishing the UX practice meant launching revamped experiences that properly directed user's attention to critical information.
The UX team created an object-oriented systematic design approach that scaled best practices to an engineering organization.
My Contributions
Practice Building
- Built the UX discipline inside an engineering-first org:
- Hired and structured the team
- Established research and design methodology
- Created design culture from scratch
- Partnered with a local non-profit, providing skills training and job opportunities in underserved communities
Design System
- Architected an object-oriented design system:
- Component patterns derived from backend data objects
- Consistency as a byproduct of the system, not an enforced rule
- 66% reduction in development effort
- Obtained stakeholder buy-in and aligned with key stakeholders for minimized implementation timeline
Research & Strategy
- Ran cross-market research that reoriented product strategy:
- User interviews across 5 countries and multiple industries
- Insights reoriented product design to be proactive, reducing troubleshooting time
- Leveraged research findings to develop business cases for design evolution
Outcomes