A bit about me

I’m a Product Designer passionate about building awesome products. Currently based in Folsom, CA, after enjoying 17-18 wonderful years in San Diego. An avid motorcycle rider, runner, and proud Niner fan, I bring over 18 years of experience creating innovative UX-driven designs for large corporations and agile startups. My skills include building intuitive interfaces, integrating automation, creating refined design systems, and leveraging AI-driven workflows, thriving in collaborative environments to deliver user-centric designs that balance functionality and aesthetics.

Mosaic

Custom Reports

Fully Customizable Reports with Tailored Insights

Project
Overview

As a key contributor to Mosaic's financial reporting feature, I led the design and research for the Custom Reports project, transforming a rigid reporting tool into a flexible system with inline editing, intuitive metric and formula integration, and visual customization. This multi-month initiative enabled rapid creation of customized reports, with real-time data sync and versatile exports for streamlined financial insights.

Contributions: Competitor analysis, user studies, persona definition, wireframes, high-fidelity designs, while closely coordinating/collaborating with PMs, SMEs, and frontend/backend developers.

Key
Objectives

Elevate reporting with customizable configurations, inline modifications, and sharing tools to empower company-specific financial insights.

Boost
Usability

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Provide user-friendly setups for rapid configurations in basic duties like cost summaries or advanced logic-based models.

Increase
Capabilities

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Allow on-the-spot formula inputs and pre-set metrics (e.g., ROI) for swift computations, with instant handling of extensive data.

Facilitate
Sharing

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Enable easy export options (e.g., PDF/CSV) to streamline report distribution and enhance team accessibility.

Pre Redesign After Redesign

Core
Challenges

Users faced rigid workflows with a slide-out menu for edits, requiring separate updates that delayed changes and limited customization for company-specific needs. Feedback emphasized the inefficiencies of non-inline editing, where users couldn't adjust directly on the report and had to hit update to see results. The redesign aimed to introduce inline-editable interfaces to improve flexibility and reduce reliance on manual fixes.

User
Insights

Findings from discussions and feedback underscored scalability and interface shortcomings, shaping user-focused solutions for diverse financial roles.

Pain Points
1

Edit Workflow

Slow shifts from menu-based changes to inline updates, frustrating real-time tweaks.

2

Data Sync

Delays in harmonizing large volumes, affecting precision for dynamic reports.

3

Customization Limits

Rigid structures restricted tailored layouts, noted in a third of feedback.

These pain points helped shape the two persona types (e.g., "Entry-Level Planner" vs. "Experienced Modeler") and validated initial assumptions, ensuring the UX and final design addressed the varying skillsets within Mosaic.

Personas

Entry-Level Planner (Beginner User)

Demographics: Junior role in finance ops, 22-30, new to Mosaic, handles basic reports.

Goals/Needs: Assemble basic reports swiftly with visual, easy-to-use inline tools.

Pain Points: Struggles with fears of inaccuracies, relies heavily on support to navigate complex reporting tasks, and often feels uncertain about making independent adjustments.

Behaviors: Favors interactive features, values user-friendly design, enjoys exploring intuitive tools to streamline tasks with practical guidance.

Design Influence: Highlighted streamlined inline modifications to enhance efficiency for quick reporting tasks.

Persona Beginner

Experienced Modeler (Advanced User)

Demographics: Skilled professional, 35-50, core Mosaic adopter, manages complex projections.

Goals/Needs: Create and manage detailed reports with seamless formula integration and metric utilization, enhancing overall flexibility and adaptability.

Pain Points: Constrained linking options; sluggish processes; linking problems.

Behaviors: Guided the development of intuitive inline styling options and enhanced export versatility, ensuring a user-friendly experience that met diverse reporting needs effectively.

Design Influence: Guided inline styling and export versatility.

Persona Intermediate
Competitive Analysis

Findings during the early research phase

In the initial discovery stage, I evaluated some of the leading competitors in strategic financial reporting, including Excel, Google Sheets, QuickBooks, and Tableau. This review highlighted opportunities for inline customization and data syncing that Custom Reports aimed to target.

1

Market Share Leaders

Excel and Google Sheets held 70% market share for basic reporting in SMBs due to familiarity, but users cited poor real-time integration (e.g. 60% inefficiency reports in 2021 G2 data).

2

Accounting Focus

QuickBooks led SMB accounting with 35% market share, offering solid reporting but limited inline edits (e.g. 45% users noted rigidity in 2022 Intuit surveys).

3

Visualization Focus

Tableau excelled in data visualization with 25% market penetration, but high costs and steep learning curves deterred non-tech users (e.g. 3-6 week onboarding per 2021 Gartner).

4

User Feedback Trends

Non-technical users preferred Excel/Sheets for basics but sought better inline tools for models (e.g. 35% customization gaps in 2021 industry reviews).

Image 1

Excel

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Google Sheets

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Quickbooks

Image 4

Tableau

Pre-Redesign User Flow

Identifying the current user flow

A journey flow for Custom Reports was developed to map the existing user experience of the feature undergoing redesign, revealing critical areas for improvement identified during initial discovery, including examples of various table-based layouts and interactions to help foster new ideas.

Wireframes

Early Wireframe UI Concepts Used to Gather Feedback

During the initial exploration phase, we worked with stakeholders and users to showcase wireframe UI ideas, collecting input on inline editing and export options which helped shape the high-fidelity mockups.

Image 1

New blank Custom Report

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Inline - Adding a formula

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Setting formula type

Adding a new column

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Customizing report styles

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Column resize functionality

Testing and Outcomes
1

Methods

Iterative sessions with SMEs and current customer advocates (3-4 participants) using interactive prototypes and high-fidelity mockups for hands-on walkthroughs.

2

Input Cycles

Real-time changes tackled gaps, like streamlining inline formula/metric ease while refining custom exporting options.

3

Results

Participants praised the tool's speed, customization, and export functionality, surpassing Excel/Sheets in efficiency.

4

Hurdles Resolved

Tackled slow menu navigation and data lag through iterative design, enhancing user control.

Persona Beginner
Figma Workflow

Design Progression: Custom Reports Working File

This section features an embedded Figma file showcasing various use cases and iterations of the design process, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of the workflow.

Reflections &
Learnings

Early discussions with SMEs and customers shaped inline edits, quick customization options and export features, making the process smoother than the old rigid setup.

Looking back, I’d dive deeper into initial prototyping with varied users to polish inline styling further. This effort proved how thoughtful design can turn a basic tool into a standout asset for financial pros.

Project
Success Metrics

The Custom Reports project improved reporting efficiency and accessibility with intuitive inline edits, streamlining a complex process and boosting report creation and adoption across Mosaic's platform.

User Efficiency

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Reduced report setup time by about 35%, allowing finance teams to build reports faster and more effectively.

Adoption Growth

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Increased user engagement by 25%, reflecting wider acceptance among FP&A professionals.

Export Customization

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Enhanced export flexibility by roughly 30% for improved styling and selective data sharing.

Other Case Studies

Blending creativity with thoughtful execution, I craft intuitive designs through collaboration and innovation.

Design Systems, User Research, AI-Driven Design, UX Strategy, SaaS UX Design, Mobile Design, Brand Identity, Rapid Prototyping, Cross-Functional Leadership

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