AS
AS
Fixing the IBM Cloud set up's leaky faucet
Fixing the IBM Cloud set up's leaky faucet
Fixing setup pain points to make provisioning seamless
Identifying setup pain points to make provisioning seamless
Role
Student designer
Duration
13 weeks,
Oct-Dec 2019
Client
IBM Cloud (via IBM Studio)
Team
Lauren Goldstein (IBM mentor) + 5 UT engineers, designers, researchers
Impact
1 proof of concept used internally
Role
Design Systems Lead
Duration
January - August 2025
Platform
PLUS, a tutoring platform supporting 3000+ students with 10k+ hours of learning
Team
1 manager, 4 design systems teammates
Impact
200+ redesigned component, 24 new color values
Ashley Sánchez
Thanks for stopping by!
Ashley Sánchez
Thanks for stopping by!
Imagine grocery shopping without aisle signs. For every item on your list, you’d have to start from zero - wandering every aisle until you got lucky.
Imagine grocery shopping without aisle signs. For every item on your list, you’d have to start from scratch - wandering every aisle until you got lucky.
There's probably a store map somewhere, right? But who knows where or if it's up to date..
There's probably a store map somewhere, right? But who knows where or if it's up to date..
That’s exactly how IBM Cloud users felt when trying to provision services.
That’s exactly how IBM Cloud users felt when trying to provision services.
Over 10 weeks, I co-led research and design that introduced four key solutions, turning IBM Cloud provisioning into a smoother, more guided experience through four key solutions:
Over 10 weeks, I co-led research and design that introduced four key solutions, turning IBM Cloud provisioning into a smoother, more guided experience through four key solutions:
Onboarding Questionnaire
Onboarding Questionnaire
Helped new users get started with clear, tailored steps.
Helped new users get started with clear, tailored steps.
Integration Map
Integration Map
Centralized the workflow into one view.
Centralized the workflow into one view.
Unique Error Codes
Unique Error Codes
Made error messages useful, giving users integrated quick fixes.
Made error messages useful, giving users integrated quick fixes.
Centralized Area for Documentation
Centralized Area for Documentation
Pulled scattered threads into one community-centered hub.
Pulled scattered threads into one community-centered hub.
01-The Journey: Why provisioning felt hard.
01-The Journey: Why provisioning felt hard.
To ground our research, we created Craig, an average user persona. His journey through provisioning reveals where frustrations piled up and pain points emerged.
To ground our research, we created Craig, an average user persona. His journey through provisioning reveals where frustrations piled up and pain points emerged.
The Task
The Task
Craig’s manager assigns him a new project: provision two Cloud services for an upcoming live event.
Craig’s manager assigns him a new project: provision two Cloud services for an upcoming live event.
Step 1: Initiating Provisioning
Step 1: Initiating Provisioning
Craig searches the IBM Cloud site to learn how to set up each service…
Craig searches the IBM Cloud site to learn how to set up each service…
…only to be overwhelmed by the number of tabs and instructions he needs to manage.
…only to be overwhelmed by the number of tabs and instructions he needs to manage.
Pain Point #1
Pain Point #1
Lack of Guidance
Lack of Guidance
"What do I do with this?"
"What do I do with this?"
UX Designer, IBM
UX Designer, IBM
Step 2: Seeking Help
Step 2: Seeking Help
He starts provisioning but has to pause repeatedly to track down missing information.
He starts provisioning but has to pause repeatedly to track down missing information.
A 30-minute unexpected wait interrupts the setup process.
A 30-minute unexpected wait interrupts the setup process.
Pain Point #2
Pain Point #2
Lack of Transparency
Lack of Transparency
"I don’t have much time to set this up and no idea how long it will take...maybe I'll try AWS instead?"
"I don’t have much time to set this up and no idea how long it will take...maybe I'll try AWS instead?"
UX Designer, IBM
UX Designer, IBM
Step 3: Powering Through
Step 3: Powering Through
After the delay, Craig begins integrating the two services.
After the delay, Craig begins integrating the two services.
But after clicking “deploy,” he receives a vague error message.
But after clicking “deploy,” he receives a vague error message.
Where's the problem?! He hops between services to troubleshoot.
Where's the problem?! He hops between services to troubleshoot.
Pain Point #3
Pain Point #3
Broken Workflows
Broken Workflows
"What did I do wrong?"
"What did I do wrong?"
UX Designer, IBM
UX Designer, IBM
Giving Up
Giving Up
After locating the issue, he retries - only to hit another error before finishing.
After locating the issue, he retries - only to hit another error before finishing.
Frustrated, Craig re-diagnoses the problem. Many users never make it this far.
Frustrated, Craig re-diagnoses the problem. Many users never make it this far.
Pain points summarized:
Pain points summarized:
#1 Lack of Guidance
#1 Lack of Guidance
Use cases for provisioning services are nuanced, requiring tailored solutions. Yet, the platform didn’t provide resources to help users determine the services they need and how to set them up.
Use cases for provisioning services are nuanced, requiring tailored solutions. Yet, the platform didn’t provide resources to help users determine the services they need and how to set them up.
There isn’t support that helps you by saying ‘Well if you got X service and Y service, you should probably X service too to make them work better.’ That’s a missed opportunity.
There isn’t support that helps you by saying ‘Well if you got X service and Y service, you should probably X service too to make them work better.’ That’s a missed opportunity.
UX and Analytical Researcher, IBM
UX and Analytical Researcher, IBM
#2 Lack of Transparency
#2 Lack of Transparency
Users had no insights into where they stood in the process, and didn’t know what to expect in terms of the time and effort required of them. They also didn’t know what resources were available to them.
Users had no insights into where they stood in the process, and didn’t know what to expect in terms of the time and effort required of them. They also didn’t know what resources were available to them.
"You can’t search for something you don’t know exists."
"You can’t search for something you don’t know exists."
UX Specialist, IBM
UX Specialist, IBM
#3 Broken Workflows
#3 Broken Workflows
Pauses during provisioning workflows were common for research on guidance and even competitors.
Pauses during provisioning workflows were common for research on guidance and even competitors.
"I want it to be straightforward to easily connect [services] together. I don’t wanna have to stop and contact support or read outdated docs."
"I want it to be straightforward to easily connect [services] together. I don’t wanna have to stop and contact support or read outdated docs."
Innovation Project Manager, SXSW
Innovation Project Manager, SXSW
02-Solution: A look into the refined provisioning journey.
02-Solution: A look into the refined provisioning journey.
Craig’s manager assigns him a new project: provision two Cloud services for an upcoming live event.
Craig’s manager assigns him a new project: provision two Cloud services for an upcoming live event.
Step 1: Initiating Provisioning
Step 1: Initiating Provisioning
Solution: Onboarding Questionnaire
Solution: Onboarding Questionnaire
At the beginning of his workflow, Craig completes an onboarding questionnaire which tailors IBM’s support + guidance for provisioning according to his knowledge and goals.
At the beginning of his workflow, Craig completes an onboarding questionnaire which tailors IBM’s support + guidance for provisioning according to his knowledge and goals.
Solving for:
Solving for:
Pain Point #1
Pain Point #1
Lack of Guidance
Lack of Guidance
Step 2: Seeking Help
Step 2: Seeking Help
Solution: Integration Map
Solution: Integration Map
With tailored IBM resources and directions at his reach, Craig adds his desired services one by one which begin to populate visual a map.
As he connects services, requirements for their provisioning appear on the right. Clicking on each requirement provides instructions on his next steps to satisfy it, without interrupting his session.
An estimated time stamp provides Craig visibility into the effort required per step.
With tailored IBM resources and directions at his reach, Craig adds his desired services one by one which begin to populate visual a map.
As he connects services, requirements for their provisioning appear on the right. Clicking on each requirement provides instructions on his next steps to satisfy it, without interrupting his session.
An estimated time stamp provides Craig visibility into the effort required per step.
Solving for:
Solving for:
Pain Point #2
Pain Point #2
Lack of Transparency
Lack of Transparency
Pain Point #3
Pain Point #3
Broken Workflows
Broken Workflows
Step 2: Seeking Help
Step 2: Seeking Help
Solution: Unique Error Codes
Solution: Unique Error Codes
Craig comes across an error as he provisions!
Well-defined error codes provide him with a quick way to search for documentation on what went wrong. Error codes also visually align to the service being provisioned, showing where in the flow the error occurred.
Craig comes across an error as he provisions!
Well-defined error codes provide him with a quick way to search for documentation on what went wrong. Error codes also visually align to the service being provisioned, showing where in the flow the error occurred.
Solving for:
Solving for:
Pain Point #2
Pain Point #2
Lack of Transparency
Lack of Transparency
Step 3: Powering Through
Step 3: Powering Through
Solution: Centralized Area for Documentation
Solution: Centralized Area for Documentation
Craig comes across an error as he provisions! He seeks to learn more about the requirements for his services and how they connect together to best communicate his work. He accesses the centralized documentation area, a compilation of resources previously siloed across individual services.
Craig comes across an error as he provisions! He seeks to learn more about the requirements for his services and how they connect together to best communicate his work. He accesses the centralized documentation area, a compilation of resources previously siloed across individual services.
Solving for:
Solving for:
Pain Point #2
Pain Point #2
Lack of Transparency
Lack of Transparency
Craig successfully deploys his app! He was able to do so with support, defined expectations, visibility into his errors, and ultimately with a clear understanding of the work he completed.
Craig successfully deploys his app with support, clear expectations, visibility into errors, and a solid understanding of his work.
03-Research: How we digged into the provisioning journey
03-Research: How we digged into the provisioning journey
To understand provisioning from every angle, we ran 90-minute interviews and contextual inquiries with people across IBM. Each role gave us a different perspective on how services were set up and where the process broke down.
To understand provisioning from every angle, we ran 90-minute interviews and contextual inquiries with people across IBM. Each role gave us a different perspective on how services were set up and where the process broke down.
Designers and researchers served as subject matter experts. Offering Managers, Onboarding Specialists, and Enterprise Developers became our primary personas, while Potential Clients helped us capture pain points outside of IBM.
Designers and researchers served as subject matter experts. Offering Managers, Onboarding Specialists, and Enterprise Developers became our primary personas, while Potential Clients helped us capture pain points outside of IBM.
04-Impact: A foundation for an IBM Cloud redesign.
04-Impact: A foundation for an IBM Cloud redesign.
We didn’t have time to iterate during the project, but many of our ideas showed up later in IBM Cloud’s award-winning experiences. Seeing them come to life proved the value of the groundwork we laid.
We didn’t have time to iterate during the project, but many of our ideas showed up later in IBM Cloud’s award-winning experiences. Seeing them come to life proved the value of the groundwork we laid.
Onboarding Questionnaire → Guided provisioning flows
Our guided questionnaire concept echoes the step-by-step setup recognized in the Red Dot “Best of the Best” – IBM Cloud Satellite (2021), which cut setup from about 100 steps to just a few guided clicks.
Integration Map → Visual setup orchestration
Our interactive mapping approach reflects the visual configuration paths praised in the iF Design Award – IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers for VPC (2023) for making complex deployments easier to navigate.
Unique Error Codes → Clear, actionable system feedback
Our unique error code system aligns with Good Design Award – IBM Cloud File Storage (2024) criteria for rapid troubleshooting, helping cut provisioning and maintenance time by 88%.
Centralized Area for Documentation → Integrated, contextual help
Our centralized documentation concept parallels the always-accessible guidance celebrated in multiple IBM Cloud UX awards, making support easier to find and boosting user confidence during setup.
Onboarding Questionnaire → Guided provisioning flows
Our guided questionnaire concept echoes the step-by-step setup recognized in the Red Dot “Best of the Best” – IBM Cloud Satellite (2021), which cut setup from about 100 steps to just a few guided clicks.
Integration Map → Visual setup orchestration
Our interactive mapping approach reflects the visual configuration paths praised in the iF Design Award – IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers for VPC (2023) for making complex deployments easier to navigate.
Unique Error Codes → Clear, actionable system feedback
Our unique error code system aligns with Good Design Award – IBM Cloud File Storage (2024) criteria for rapid troubleshooting, helping cut provisioning and maintenance time by 88%.
Centralized Area for Documentation → Integrated, contextual help
Our centralized documentation concept parallels the 'always-accessible guidance' celebrated in multiple IBM Cloud UX awards, making support easier to find and boosting user confidence during setup.
This was my first experience with enterprise design and my first time working with a design manager + professional stakeholders on a high-impact product.
I learned how to navigate complex requirements, collaborate across disciplines, and design for scale.
Seeing our work reflected in IBM Cloud’s later award-winning experiences gave me confidence that I can contribute meaningfully in enterprise settings and prepared me for future roles in UX consulting.
This was my first experience with enterprise design and my first time working with a design manager + professional stakeholders on a high-impact product.
I learned how to navigate complex requirements, collaborate across disciplines, and design for scale.
Seeing our work reflected in IBM Cloud’s later award-winning experiences gave me confidence that I can contribute meaningfully in enterprise settings and prepared me for future roles in UX consulting.
Thank you for reading!
Thank you for reading!
My teammates and mentors the day of my final shareout.
(I unfortunately had to be out of town on the day of so it looked like I passed away)
My teammates and mentors the day of my final shareout.
(I sadly had to be out of town on the day of)
Ashley Sánchez
Thanks for stopping by!