Situation
When I joined GMI, the mobile application was in a challenging state. The design process was chaotic, the quality of deliverables was low, and the speed of feature delivery was significantly impacted.
Key issues identified:
The only designer (a former graphic designer) was struggling with product design tasks.
Frequent errors in layouts, excessive unnecessary elements, and lack of systematic approach.
Project managers were giving tasks and changes directly to designers, often modifying requirements “on the fly.”
No design system or established guidelines for handing off designs to development.
Lack of understanding of business goals and stakeholder expectations from the design team.
Task
In the first few weeks, I needed to deeply assess the current state of the product and quickly establish an effective design process that would:
Significantly improve design quality;
Increase feature delivery speed;
Enable the design team to work with a clear understanding of business objectives;
Reduce chaos and uncontrolled changes.
Action
1. Diagnostics and Audit (first 2 weeks)
Conducted interviews with all key stakeholders (CEO, Product Owner, Head of Trading, Development Lead).
Deeply analyzed the application logic and user flows.
Performed a full audit of existing designs, processes, and handover formats.
Got to know the team and assessed each member’s skill level.
2. Working with the Designer
Created an individual development plan with clear KPIs.
Introduced daily short demo calls (15–20 min) where the designer presented his work to me and stakeholders.
Gradually trained him in product thinking, component-based design, and attention to detail.
3. Building a New Design Process
Completely redesigned the design workflow.
Removed direct influence of Project Managers on designers — all changes now went through me.
Introduced a mandatory alignment stage with business goals and client expectations before starting any major feature.
Created a Design Backlog and prioritized it together with the business.
Based on this backlog, formed a predictable and agreed feature delivery plan.
4. Design System and Standards
Built a design system architecture from scratch.
Systematized all UI components.
Developed clear rules for file organization, naming conventions, states, and specifications.
Designers started contributing to the documentation by adding hidden details and notes for developers.
Result
Design quality improved dramatically (significant reduction in comments from development and stakeholders).
The designer showed strong professional growth within 3–4 months (moved from being a weak link to a confident team member).
Design delivery speed increased.
Feature planning became much more predictable thanks to the Design Backlog.
Chaotic last-minute changes and surprises during development were greatly reduced.
Development team better understood design documentation due to the new standards and guidelines.
Takeaways
A struggling designer is often a process problem, not a personal one. With the right structure, control, and support, even a weak specialist can deliver good results.
Protecting the design team from chaotic changes is critical. All modifications should go through the Lead.
Design without business context is a waste of time. Early alignment on every major task brings huge value.
A solid design system + clear handover rules form the foundation of a scalable design process.
Daily short demos are one of the most effective tools for rapid designer development.