TLDR
This project redesigned the workload management interface to address inefficiencies, redundant navigation, and user confusion. The new design introduced worker groups, streamlined resource pool management, and unified advanced settings into a single, intuitive interface.
Inspired by competitors like Databricks and Snowflake, the result enhanced usability, reduced errors, and empowered users to optimize workloads with ease.
THE STARTING POINT
About the Product
The SQream platform combines GPU-based technology with intuitive tools to manage and analyze vast datasets. Central to its functionality is workload management, where workers and resource pools are essential components for running large-scale queries efficiently.
*Since this project has not been deployed, I will refer to in-house employees, stakeholders, and design partners as 'users'.
The Challenge (The Brief)
The previous settings page offered limited flexibility, with only three predefined worker configurations (1, 4, or 10) and all resource pools sharing all available workers. This setup restricted optimization, causing resource pools to interrupt one another, increasing inefficiencies, and limiting cost control.
More than that, the existing interface presented several usability issues. Users struggled with remembering their resource configurations and often had to navigate back and forth between tabs. High rates of redundant or quickly deleted resource pools highlighted confusion in the design. These problems created inefficiencies and hindered users from utilizing the platform's full potential for managing workloads.
Addressing this required close collaboration with stakeholders, including product managers and engineering teams, to ensure alignment on the goals and feasibility of the redesign.
UX PROCESS
Goals and Research Methods
KPI
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Efficiency Gains: Simplify workload management by minimizing unnecessary navigation. Measure the time users take to configure resource pools, create worker groups, and optimize their workloads after the redesign. This will assess whether the new system effectively reduces the time spent on managing workloads and improves overall efficiency.
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Enhance user control: Provide advanced resource configuration options to support a wide range of user needs, from basic to complex workload optimization. Gather qualitative feedback from users on the increased control and flexibility offered by the new worker group functionality. Focus on how well users feel they can tailor resources to specific tasks and balance performance with cost more effectively.
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Error Reduction: Reduce the need for repetitive actions. Track the reduction in errors or misconfigurations when users are setting up or managing resource pools. A lower error rate would signal that the new interface and system are more intuitive and user-friendly.
The Process of Gathering Information
To understand user pain points, I conducted qualitative interviews with users, including CSM teams and QA testers. Real-world challenges, such as difficulty remembering configurations and managing settings, were identified.
Additionally, I analyzed user behavior through tools like Hotjar, identifying patterns of redundant actions and frequent tab switches that confirmed usability issues.
Competition Research
An in-depth analysis of competing platforms like Databricks and Snowflake provided valuable insights.
Databricks offered unified views and granular configuration options, while Snowflake showcased a simplified UI and instantaneous resource activation.
These benchmarks guided our approach to creating a more intuitive and feature-rich interface while maintaining flexibility for advanced users.
Main Takeaways -
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Shared Resource Model - similar to our parallelism
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Instantaneous Cluster Activation - Similar to our Activation/Suspension, but not time-wise
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Simplified UI for Non-Technical Users - Not relevant
Main Takeaways -
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Everything in one place - no need to go to different pages
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Granular and advanced configurations
for flexibility -
Advanced Logging and Monitoring Options
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Integrated Cost Estimation
User Flow
The redesigned user flow addressed critical pain points by consolidating actions and reducing unnecessary navigation. Previously, users had to toggle between worker groups and resource pool tabs, causing inefficiencies and confusion. The new flow integrates these functionalities into a single interface, allowing users to configure worker groups, manage resource pools, and set policies without leaving the page.
This integration was achieved through iterative feedback from cross-functional teams, ensuring the final flow not only improved usability but also adhered to the technical constraints and strategic goals of the product.
UX process
Wireframing
Using insights gathered, I created wireframes to visualize solutions for integrating worker groups and resource pool management. The wireframes emphasized a unified layout, reducing the need for tab switching, and introduced features like inline settings and grouped resource configurations for better usability.
Selecting the Best Solutions According to Reading Patterns
The design prioritized user reading patterns to ensure clarity and ease of use. Key settings were organized logically, following a top-to-bottom, left-to-right flow. By aligning design elements with natural reading behaviors, users could intuitively locate and manage critical configurations without unnecessary cognitive load.
Solution
What Have We Achieved?
The redesign eliminated redundant navigation, streamlined resource pool creation, and introduced advanced workload settings directly within worker group tabs. Users could now manage parallelism, execution limits, and suspension policies without switching contexts, significantly reducing effort and errors.
Product Readiness -
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Choice of GPU types and quantity
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Ability to have several worker groups work simultaneously
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Workload management is more intuitive (in means of suspension and query limitations
From our Competition -
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Integrated Cost Estimation
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Everything in one place - no need to go to different pages
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Granular and advanced configurations
for flexibility
Tabs Change -
No more going back and forth between tabs, the specific worker group contains all it’s relevant resource pools for easy management
Design Principles
UI Process
The redesigned workload management interface was guided by key design principles to create a modern, intuitive user experience:
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Clarity: Focused on presenting critical information first through clean typography, logical spacing, and a structured layout, reducing cognitive load for users.
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Consistency: Applied a cohesive design language across components, ensuring seamless navigation and predictability throughout the interface.
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Efficiency: Streamlined workflows by consolidating related actions, minimizing clicks, and reducing unnecessary navigation.
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Flexibility: Balanced simplicity and depth by providing intuitive defaults for beginners and advanced options for expert users needing granular control.
Screens from process
Visual Enhancements
The UI was upgraded with several key improvements to enhance usability and interactivity:
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Micro-Interactions: Added subtle animations for hover states, drag functionality, and selection feedback.
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Improved Highlighting: Updated active and selection states with stronger contrast and borders to make key actions more visible and reduce the likelihood of errors.
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Contextual Assistance: Added tooltips to provide users with context, reducing reliance on external documentation.
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Feedback Indicators: Feedback mechanisms were enhanced with snackbars for clear success and failure indicators and dynamic button states, such as "Saving..." during processes. These changes ensure users receive immediate, actionable feedback and maintain confidence in their actions while waiting for operations to complete.
Responsive Design
To ensure accessibility and usability across devices, the interface was designed to adapt dynamically:
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Layouts scale from wide monitors to standard resolutions, maintaining clarity and usability.
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Key elements were repositioned to prioritize important actions on smaller screens while preserving functionality, particularly the Resource Pool columns, which dynamically adjust in size and column division to optimize usability.
The Final Result
The redesigned interface transformed workload management into a more intuitive and powerful experience. While this portfolio focuses on UX improvements, the UI design further enhanced usability with modern aesthetics and visual clarity. Users reported greater confidence and efficiency in managing resources, aligning the product more closely with its goal of seamless workload optimization.
To break it down:
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Improved resource control – The new design integrates worker groups and resource pools into a unified interface, allowing users to customize the number of workers assigned to each resource pool directly within the same workflow. This streamlines resource distribution and eliminates the need for redundant navigation between tabs.
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Task optimization – Users now have the capability to configure multiple worker groups and resource pools simultaneously, enabling them to balance parallelism and concurrency for a variety of workload demands. This flexibility ensures smooth execution of both heavy and light tasks without interruptions.
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Cost efficiency – The redesign introduces advanced options for setting resource limits and execution policies, empowering users to allocate fewer workers for lighter tasks or suspend idle workers automatically. These features reduce operational overhead and optimize cost-efficiency without compromising performance.
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Simplified user flow – By aligning all relevant configurations within a single, intuitive interface, the new design improves usability and task completion speed. Users no longer need to toggle between pages, making workload management more accessible and reducing cognitive load.