Kiwiplan 2022
Modernising Enterprise Data Management from Fortran
Credits
This case study focuses on my design approach to transform a legacy data warehouse administration system into an intuitive web-based interface. As the UX designer for this project, I was tasked with creating visual transparency while maintaining the complex functionality required for enterprise data management.
Due to confidentiality agreements, all visuals in this case study have been modified to protect proprietary information. While the images represent conceptual interpretations rather than the actual product, the design methodology, challenges, and solutions discussed are authentic to the project.
Project details
Kiwiplan Data Warehouse Admin Console - Web
8 months
Team composition
Core Team:
UX UI Designer (My Role)
React JS Developer (My Role)
Senior Developer x1
Senior QA x1
Senior Architect x2
My contributions
End-to-end product design
Stakeholder communication
Prototyping
Usability testing
Front End development
Complex data ecosystem
Kiwiplan software suite spans from procurement and inventory to warehouse management
Clients operate multiple factories across different locations
Each factory runs approximately 9 Kiwiplan software products
Each software processes countless data nodes per minute
All data requires secure and regular loading to the data warehouse
Configuration requirements vary based on each factory's unique operating arrangements
Kiwiplan's Complex Data Ecosystem
Legacy system issues
The existing KDW operated on a Fortran-based system
Senior account managers frequently modified execution scripts on site
This created significant tracking challenges for the Kiwiplan support team
System health monitoring became increasingly difficult
Design goals
Create visual transparency for complex nested structures
Design an information-rich interface that minimises scrolling
Clearly visualise the extract-load-transfer data cycle
Develop an interface with high learnability for varied user types
Balance technical complexity with intuitive usability
Swim lane interface for configuration
I developed a swim lane visualisation system that effectively represented:
Number of data storing executions for each account
Multiple sections organised by cron time scheduling
Grouped factories by task configurations
Individual products represented as cards with detailed configurations
This approach provided immediate visual understanding of:
The variations of task configurations running for each account
Specific configurations at the product level
Relationships between different factories and their configurations
Figma Prototype
Tree structure for task monitoring
For the monitoring component, I designed a hierarchical visualisation that:
Utilised a table grid to display upper-level data
Showed when data storing cycles run
Visualised which products contributed data to each execution
Provided clear status indicators for monitoring system health
This solution enabled users to:
Quickly identify issues in the data pipeline
Understand relationships between different system components
Track execution history and patterns
Figma Prototype
Stakeholder engagement
I facilitated discussions with key stakeholders to build consensus around the new interface concepts. This collaborative approach ensured that the solution would meet both technical requirements and user needs.
Prototyping and testing
Created high-fidelity prototypes using Figma for static designs
Developed interactive prototypes with ProtoPie to demonstrate complex interactions
Created specific tasks for participants and observed their behaviour
Conducted in-depth interviews after testing sessions to gather qualitative feedback
I interviewed two developers (Expert and Junior, 1 hour each) and observed how they consume data and navigate the interface
The expert developer with 30+ years of data warehouse experience commented that the interface represented the data structure effectively
The junior developer noted that the interface helped them understand the complex data ecosystem
Impact
The new interface provided unprecedented visual transparency into data configurations
Support teams gained better tracking capabilities
Account managers could make changes through the interface rather than direct script editing
Key learnings
Demonstrating interaction was the most effective way to introduce new concepts to business stakeholders
Visualising ideas through concrete examples proved critical for innovation acceptance
Balancing technical complexity with intuitive design requires deep understanding of both user needs and system capabilities
