Overview
Early-career project (2010–2015) designing a configuration interface for complex AV hardware. This case study highlights process and design decisions; detailed research data is no longer available.
Project Context
A two person UX team, including myself, partnered closely with a Product Manager to deliver the design. The work needed to be ready for day one shipment with the XTP hardware, which made fast research, alignment, and iteration essential.
Understand and Define
XTP is a highly complex hardware system with an enormous range of configuration possibilities. To better understand both the system and the people who use it, the UX team involved stakeholders, subject matter experts, and real end users from the very beginning. The goal was to identify patterns, expectations, and behaviors before starting any design work.
Working closely with the Product Manager, these insights were synthesized and used to define the MVP scope for the day one software launch.
Discovery activities
- Stakeholder and subject matter expert interviews
- Requirements gathering and workflow mapping
- Site mapping and information architecture planning
- One on one user interviews and contextual inquiry
Primary Persona: John Turner
John represents the senior field technician and is the primary user of the XTP configuration software. His goal is to configure systems correctly the first time while on site and within budget. His frustrations with unclear software feedback and overly complex features directly influenced the design, leading to a strong focus on reliability, clarity, and a clean information hierarchy.
John Turner, primary persona. Senior Field Technician at AVWare
Wireframes and Prototyping
Because of the product's complexity, continuous feedback from stakeholders and users was built into every stage of the process. The UX team worked closely with a Product Manager and subject matter experts to rapidly iterate on designs and prototypes, validating information architecture and interaction patterns before moving into visual design.
This phase included sketching, wireframing, and rapid prototyping. The wireframe below highlights the System Configuration view, the most technically complex screen in the software, showing inputs, input cards, output cards, and outputs alongside live device status information.
XTP wireframe. System Configuration with input/output matrix, live signal status, and device health panel.
User Testing
Usability testing ran weekly throughout the design process, with results shared across the full project team to build a common understanding of user needs and keep product, development, and design aligned.
Testing methods
- Local and remote usability sessions with field technicians and AV system integrators
- A/B testing of key interface patterns, especially around the matrix configuration view
- Time per task analysis to measure configuration efficiency against the analog baseline
Participant working through the System Configuration prototype during local and remote sessions.
Detailed UI Designs
The final UI was created in Illustrator and Sketch. Because of the software's technical complexity, the design focused on a clean, uncluttered interface, making advanced configuration accessible without overwhelming users with visual noise.
Comprehensive design documentation with interaction callouts was delivered to engineering. Personas, scenarios, annotated wireframes, and interactive prototypes were reviewed during bi-weekly stand-ups, giving the full development team a clear understanding of the design intent before implementation.
System Configuration view showing color-coded signal status and device health panel.
Outcome
By keeping users at the center of every design decision and collaborating closely with the cross-functional team, the XTP MVP shipped alongside the beta release of the XTP hardware.
The software UI was designed and shipped on schedule with hardware release.
Defined MVP scope with Product Manager based on field technician needs.
Ran weekly usability tests to ensure design quality and team alignment.
Replaced analog configuration with a clean, structured software tool.