ESW
Building an Optimised Configuration Platform for E-commerce Retailers
I led a team in delivering a large-scale, ongoing UX project for ESW’s Service Portal—a central hub enabling retailers to easily onboard, integrate, and manage their e-commerce services at scale. We streamlined tasks like updating styling, pricing, shipping, and integrations. My role included direct contributions to the design of the platform, team management and development, engaging with the wider product org, and directing the creation and maintenance of the design system that underpinned the platform.
Deliverables: E-commerce Configuration Platform; Design System
Project Type: Full End-to-End; Team management
Team: UX research; 5 designers
Business Goals
The goal was to streamline how retailers are set up and maintained on the ESW platform by reducing manual touchpoints and introducing automation. This approach aimed to minimise errors, cut down on change requests, and create a more consistent, efficient onboarding and maintenance experience.
User Impact Goals
Create and maintain a comprehensive toolset aimed at empowering retailers and internal teams to efficiently configure, manage, and deploy client e-commerce systems. The goal was to streamline workflows, enhance reliability, and simplify complex processes for faster, more intuitive digital retail operations.
Design Process
My design approach begins with collaborative discovery and research to define user needs and guide ideation. I lead with systems thinking, fostering design consistency through scalable systems. I balance stakeholder input, compliance, and user feedback to craft clear, intuitive solutions through continuous iteration.
01/ Research & Ideation
The team’s design process throughout the product development lifecycle begins with discovery to align with product managers on the problem space and assign research tasks. From there, the team would define goals, conduct user research, and synthesise insights through affinity mapping. These insights guide ideation, wireframing, prototyping, testing, and iteration—leading to validated, user-focused solutions.
02/ Design Systems
As the manager of the team, I led the design and maintenance of a comprehensive design system for the Service Portal platform. I oversaw the creation and refinement of components and styles, championed system adoption across teams, and established effective workflows to ensure consistent use and a shared understanding of the system’s value.
03/ Concept Designs
Developed concept designs with clear direction shaped by stakeholder input, balancing customisation with operational standards. Integrated product and compliance feedback to address risk-sensitive flows. Created and iterated user flow prototypes in Figma, validated continuously through user testing.
04/ Final Designs
The final Service Portal designs and design system were crafted from scratch to deliver simplicity and clarity, even amid complex requirements. Collaborating across teams with varying goals, the design team created a streamlined, intuitive experience that empowers developers, support teams, and retailers to efficiently manage ESW e-commerce platforms.
Impact
Enable customer-facing teams to set up retailers with access to ESP without production support.
Full management of Languages, URLs, Styling, Zones, Shipping Rates, EDD & Pricing.
Round Up
As design lead and team manager, I streamlined the ESW platform setup and maintenance by reducing manual steps and introducing automation. The platform became a scalable, intuitive toolset to empower teams and retailers. Research, design systems, and iterative prototyping combined to deliver clear, efficient e-commerce management experiences.