Getting 50 managers off Excel.
BMW Group Johannesburg · 2023/4
BMW built an internal data management tool for regional managers. Nobody was using it. I was the only designer on an engineering team, ran user interviews before touching a screen, and redesigned the tool from the ground up. A 4-minute task now takes 30 seconds.
My Role
Solo UI/UX Designer
Timeline
August 2023 - December 2023
Shipped
80% despite pushback
Getting 50 managers off Excel.
BMW Group Johannesburg · 2023/4
BMW built an internal data management tool for regional managers. Nobody was using it. I was the only designer on an engineering team, ran user interviews before touching a screen, and redesigned the tool from the ground up. A 4-minute task now takes 30 seconds.
My Role
Solo UI/UX
Designer
Timeline
August 2023 - December 2023
Shipped
80% despite pushback
Getting 50 managers off Excel.
BMW Group Johannesburg · 2023-2024
BMW built an internal data management tool for regional managers. Nobody was using it. I was the only designer on an engineering team, ran user interviews before touching a screen, and redesigned the tool from the ground up. A 4-minute task now takes 30 seconds.
My Role
Solo UI/UX Designer
Timeline
August 2023 - December 2023
Shipped
80% despite pushback
3 min read
01
The Problem
The tool existed.
Nobody wanted to use it.
BMW had built an internal data management tool for regional managers. The people responsible for tracking dealer performance, deadlines, and reporting across multiple locations.
When I joined as the only designer on the team, I found something that should have been a red flag from day one: managers had quietly gone back to Excel. They were copying data manually and building their own tracking sheets.
That's not laziness. That's a signal the tool failed them.
The original tool blue tiles, no deadlines visible, no clear hierarchy, two buttons that said exactly the same thing. It worked technically. It didn't work for the people using it.
Problem 01
Data from too many places
→ Fix: one unified view of everything
Problem 02
Deadlines completely invisible
→ Fix: deadline tracker built in
Problem 03
Too slow, too many clicks
→ Fix: any task in 2 clicks or fewer
Problem 04
Never designed for users
→ Fix: user interviews before any design
02
Earning A Seat At The Table
My first job wasn't
to open Figma.
The engineering team had never worked closely with a designer before. My first job was earning their trust and not by presenting slides about design thinking, but by putting real users in front of them. I built a clickable prototype and brought managers into the room to use it while the engineers watched. When a manager spent four minutes trying to find something the engineers thought was obvious, the room went quiet. After that, the conversation changed entirely.
Working as the sole designer embedded in an engineering team. The turning point came when engineers watched real users struggle with a tool they thought worked fine.
03
User Research
Ten managers with two formats.
One clear picture.
Before touching a single screen, I ran one-on-one and group interviews with 10 regional managers asking them to show me how they worked, not just describe it. The two formats revealed different things.
One-on-one interviews
Where the real frustration came out
In private, managers were much more honest. They told me they'd stopped trusting the tool because data was wrong or missing. They'd
built their own Excel systems because they couldn't afford to miss a deadline waiting for the tool to catch up.
"I just don't trust what it's showing me. I check it in Excel anyway."
Group sessions
Where the shared pain became obvious
In group sessions, I asked managers to walk through a typical task together. When three different people hit the same dead end trying to find the same piece of information, it stopped being an individual complaint and became a clear design problem.
"Oh, you do it that way too? I thought it was just me."
Group sessions
Where the shared pain became obvious
In group sessions, I asked managers to walk through a typical task together. When three different people hit the same dead end trying to find the same piece of information, it stopped being an individual complaint and became a clear design problem.
"Oh, you do it that way too? I thought it was just me."
Group sessions
Where the shared pain became obvious
In group sessions, I asked managers to walk through a typical task together. When three different people hit the same dead end trying to find the same piece of information, it stopped being an individual complaint and became a clear design problem.
"Oh, you do it that way too? I thought it was just me."
04
The Redesign
Every decision tied to
something a manager told me.
Decision One: Integrated into BMW's ONE platform
The old tool was a standalone app with its own login and a completely different visual style. Integrating into the ONE platform gave managers personalisation, single sign-on, and a consistent experience, no more remembering separate passwords for separate tools.
The redesigned tool integrated into BMW's ONE platform same premium feel as every other BMW application, single sign-on, personalisation built in.
Decision Two: Deadlines you can actually see
Managers kept saying the same thing: "I didn't know it was due." or "I have to search through multiple emails to find it." The redesign made deadlines impossible to miss. Clear status indicators and a timeline view showing what was coming up, overdue, and done. No more separate Excel trackers.
Deadline tracker to show when users need to reach their deadline. Users can also change their deadline cycle.
Decision Three: Any task in 2 clicks or fewer
I mapped every common task managers did daily and rebuilt the navigation around those tasks not around how the system was structured. Speed wasn't a nice-to-have. It was the reason managers had given up on the tool in the first place.
New navigation built around the tasks managers do every day, not the system's data structure. Every key task reachable in 2 clicks or fewer.
Old Designs Vs New Design
Old vs new shown side by side in the stakeholder meeting. Same task, same user. 4 minutes became 30 seconds. The room didn't need convincing after that.
05
Stakeholder Pushback
The Product Owner pushed back.
The research pushed back harder.
Because the majority of BMW's configurator traffic arrived from social media on mobile, every decision was pressure tested on a phone screen first. Package cards sized for thumb taps. Price pinned to the bottom bar so it never disappears mid-scroll. Colour swatches enlarged and spaced for finger selection. Step navigation accessible from a fixed bottom control.
The Challenge
The Product Owner wanted to cut scope to hit the release deadline. The deadline tracker and unified data view were the two main features managers had specifically asked for and both were flagged for removal by the Product Owner. These weren't nice-to-haves. They were the exact reason managers had gone back to Excel.
How I Responded
I mapped each threatened feature back to a specific user interview finding. One point, stated clearly: cut the deadline tracker and managers go back to Excel. Cut the unified view and they keep jumping between systems. Both features shipped. 80% of the redesign delivered.
06
Outcome
From drop-off to
completion.
The redesign addressed every identified drop-off point: scroll fatigue, login friction, mobile usability and lack of visual engagement and launched two new features that removed the barriers stopping social traffic from converting.
88%
4 min task now under 30 seconds
0
Excel workarounds needed after launch
80%
Of redesign shipped despite scope pushback
07
Reflection
What I took away
Great design is only half the job. The other half is helping people around you understand why it matters without being preachy about it. I couldn't make great screens and expect the team to follow. I had to show them, with real users in the room, why the way something feels to use changes whether people use it at all. The 20% that didn't ship? I understand why. What I'm proud of is that the 80% that did ship was the right 80%. The features that mattered most to the managers opening that tool every single morning.
Next Case Study
Building an inclusive e-commerce experience from scratch
Full product design. Market research to launch. One industry innovation award.
B2C
Rainbow wool
E-Commerce
2025
3 min read
01
The Problem
The tool existed.
Nobody wanted to use it.
BMW had built an internal data management tool for regional managers. The people responsible for tracking dealer performance, deadlines, and reporting across multiple locations.
When I joined as the only designer on the team, I found something that should have been a red flag from day one: managers had quietly gone back to Excel. They were copying data manually and building their own tracking sheets.
That's not laziness. That's a signal the tool failed them.
The original tool blue tiles, no deadlines visible, no clear hierarchy, two buttons that said exactly the same thing. It worked technically. It didn't work for the people using it.
Problem 01
Data from too many places
→ Fix: one unified view of everything
Problem 02
Deadlines completely invisible
→ Fix: deadline tracker built in
Problem 03
Too slow, too many clicks
→ Fix: any task in 2 clicks or fewer
Problem 04
Never designed for users
→ Fix: user interviews before any design
Problem 01
Data from too many places
→ Fix: one unified view of everything
Problem 02
Deadlines completely invisible
→ Fix: deadline tracker built in
Problem 03
Too slow, too many clicks
→ Fix: any task in 2 clicks or fewer
Problem 04
Never designed for users
→ Fix: user interviews before any design
02
Earning A Seat At The Table
My first job wasn't
to open Figma.
The engineering team had never worked closely with a designer before. My first job was earning their trust and not by presenting slides about design thinking, but by putting real users in front of them. I built a clickable prototype and brought managers into the room to use it while the engineers watched. When a manager spent four minutes trying to find something the engineers thought was obvious, the room went quiet. After that, the conversation changed entirely.
Working as the sole designer embedded in an engineering team. The turning point came when engineers watched real users struggle with a tool they thought worked fine.
03
USER RESEARCH
Ten managers with two formats.
One clear picture.
Before touching a single screen, I ran one-on-one and group interviews with 10 regional managers asking them to show me how they worked, not just describe it. The two formats revealed different things.
One-on-one interviews
Where the real frustration came out
In private, managers were much more honest. They told me they'd stopped trusting the tool because data was wrong or missing. They'd
built their own Excel systems because they couldn't afford to miss a deadline waiting for the tool to catch up.
"I just don't trust what it's showing me. I check it in Excel anyway."
Group sessions
Where the shared pain became obvious
In group sessions, I asked managers to walk through a typical task together. When three different people hit the same dead end trying to find the same piece of information, it stopped being an individual complaint and became a clear design problem.
"Oh, you do it that way too? I thought it was just me."
04
The Redesign
Every decision tied to
something a manager told me.
Decision One: Integrated into BMW's ONE platform
The old tool was a standalone app with its own login and a completely different visual style. Integrating into the ONE platform gave managers personalisation, single sign-on, and a consistent experience, no more remembering separate passwords for separate tools.
The redesigned tool integrated into BMW's ONE platform same premium feel as every other BMW application, single sign-on, personalisation built in.
Decision Two: Deadlines you can actually see
Managers kept saying the same thing: "I didn't know it was due." or "I have to search through multiple emails to find it." The redesign made deadlines impossible to miss. Clear status indicators and a timeline view showing what was coming up, overdue, and done. No more separate Excel trackers.
Deadline tracker to show when users need to reach their deadline. Users can also change their deadline cycle.
Decision Three: Any task in 2 clicks or fewer
I mapped every common task managers did daily and rebuilt the navigation around those tasks not around how the system was structured. Speed wasn't a nice-to-have. It was the reason managers had given up on the tool in the first place.
New navigation built around the tasks managers do every day, not the system's data structure. Every key task reachable in 2 clicks or fewer.
Old Designs Vs New Design
Old vs new shown side by side in the stakeholder meeting. Same task, same user. 4 minutes became 30 seconds. The room didn't need convincing after that.
05
Stakeholder Pushback
The Product Owner pushed back.
The research pushed back harder.
Because the majority of BMW's configurator traffic arrived from social media on mobile, every decision was pressure tested on a phone screen first. Package cards sized for thumb taps. Price pinned to the bottom bar so it never disappears mid-scroll. Colour swatches enlarged and spaced for finger selection. Step navigation accessible from a fixed bottom control.
The Challenge
The Product Owner wanted to cut scope to hit the release deadline. The deadline tracker and unified data view were the two main features managers had specifically asked for and both were flagged for removal by the Product Owner. These weren't nice-to-haves. They were the exact reason managers had gone back to Excel.
How I Responded
I mapped each threatened feature back to a specific user interview finding. One point, stated clearly: cut the deadline tracker and managers go back to Excel. Cut the unified view and they keep jumping between systems. Both features shipped. 80% of the redesign delivered.
06
Outcome
From drop-off to
completion.
The redesign addressed every identified drop-off point: scroll fatigue, login friction, mobile usability and lack of visual engagement and launched two new features that removed the barriers stopping social traffic from converting.
88%
4 min task now under 30 seconds
0
Excel workarounds needed after launch
80%
Of redesign shipped despite scope pushback
06
Outcome
From drop-off to
completion.
The redesign addressed every identified drop-off point: scroll fatigue, login friction, mobile usability and lack of visual engagement and launched two new features that removed the barriers stopping social traffic from converting.
88%
4 min task now under 30 seconds
0
Excel workarounds needed after launch
80%
Of redesign shipped despite scope pushback
07
Reflection
What I took away
Great design is only half the job. The other half is helping people around you understand why it matters without being preachy about it. I couldn't make great screens and expect the team to follow. I had to show them, with real users in the room, why the way something feels to use changes whether people use it at all. The 20% that didn't ship? I understand why. What I'm proud of is that the 80% that did ship was the right 80%. The features that mattered most to the managers opening that tool every single morning.
Next Case Study
Building an inclusive e-commerce experience from scratch
Full product design. Market research to launch. One industry innovation award.
B2C
Rainbow wool
E-Commerce
2025
Next Case Study
Building an inclusive e-commerce experience from scratch
Full product design. Market research to launch. One industry innovation award.
B2C
Rainbow wool
E-Commerce
2025