Rebuilding a Workflow Tool for Product Management
Natalia Calderón
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Posted May 23, 2025
Redesigned a rigid workflow tool into a flexible system, boosting user adoption by 92% and saving 300+ team hours in 3 months.
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Timeline
Aug 14, 2024 - Dec 20, 2024
Client: Working Sound
Role: Product Designer (Freelance)
Duration: 4 months
Scope: UX strategy, workflow redesign, rapid prototyping, usability testing
The Problem
Working Sound’s four-step workflow system was too rigid for the evolving needs of consulting firms. Users were hacking together external tools just to get through projects—losing time, data, and trust in the product.
Goal: Redesign the platform to allow customizable stages, dynamic tool integration, and reduce project setup time by 30%.
The Challenge
Consultants had outgrown the product:
Projects needed 6–8 custom stages
Attachments (contracts, forms, links) weren’t supported
Teams were leaving for more flexible tools like Asana
Insight: This wasn’t a UI issue—it was a workflow mismatch.
Low fidelity prototype based on the real platform
My Approach
1. Research & Interviews
Spoke with 4 firms using Working Sound. Key findings:
Checklists weren’t enough—clients wanted to attach actual documents
The 4-stage model didn’t reflect real project complexity
Competing tools had features, but lacked cohesion
We need something flexible—without switching platforms.
2. Rapid Ideation (10-day Sprint)
With client subscriptions at risk, we shifted from async work to daily 30-min live sessions. This enabled fast alignment and rapid decision-making.
Outcomes:
Prototyped 6 directions → validated 1
Reduced design churn by 50%
Aligned on a "flexible but familiar" solution
The Solution
A modular, consultant-friendly workflow system:
“Create project” view in the old version
“Create project” view in the new version
This finally feels like a tool built for us.
Rigid Workflow after creating the project
Flexible stages with full freedom to customize each one.
Activity modal with rigid inputs
Customizable tasks with flexible properties.
Testing & Results
We tested 5 prototypes with real consultants. Feedback was immediate:
92% adoption of the new system
300+ hours saved across teams in the first 3 months
Specs handed to devs the same week—no major revisions
What I Learned
Designing fast ≠ skipping strategy. Clients don’t want artifacts—they want results.
Sync beats async when time matters. Quick war-room decisions unblocked the team.
Flexibility doesn’t mean complexity. We designed simple, adaptable workflows—without overwhelming users.
Next Steps
The foundation we built is now expanding:
Workflow templates for common consulting use cases
Analytics to identify process bottlenecks and improve team performanceThis finally feels like a tool built for us.
Takeaway for Future Clients
When workflows break down, I don’t just redesign screens—I align teams, validate quickly, and build solutions that scale with real users.