Empowering Financial Teams Through Intelligent Dashboard Design

Financial teams across different organizations needed varying ways to access and analyze their data. While each role and organization had unique priorities and workflows, they shared a common need: intuitive access to their most-used tools. The challenge was creating a flexible system that could serve diverse needs while maintaining consistency and efficiency.

The Problem

University administrators and financial officers were trapped in an outdated, manual reporting process that hindered their ability to make timely decisions. They needed to request, download, and print reports through a cumbersome company portal - a process that delayed access to critical financial data and limited their ability to respond to opportunities and challenges effectively.

research and discovery

Our research phase was comprehensive, employing multiple methods to gather insights: 

  • User Interviews: with key stakeholders to understand their workflows, pain points, and desires for the new system.
  • Data Analysis: from report requests and revisions to identify patterns and common issues.
  • Turnaround Time Analysis: for report generation and delivery to quantify the inefficiencies in the current system.
  • Client Surveys: to gather broader feedback and prioritize features.

This provided us with a holistic understanding of user needs and system requirements.

Goal-Mapping

building Trust Through Partnership

Rather than simply digitizing existing reports, we saw an opportunity to fundamentally transform how universities interact with their financial data. We built a community of power users across different universities, establishing a continuous feedback loop that would guide our development process and ensure we were solving real problems.

We quickly went from wireframes into the first prototype, and were able to iterate based on feedback from our core group of power users. With control in the hands of the users, we were able to build out the first five modules in 12 weeks. Key features evolved through user feedback:

leadership approach

Our journey began by deeply engaging with users to understand their daily challenges and aspirations. We built a community of 30 power users who became our partners in design, providing continuous feedback and insights. This collaborative approach transformed the traditional development cycle into an ongoing dialogue between users and developers.

KEY INSIGHTS & SOLUTIONS

Through active listening and iteration, we discovered that navigation preferences varied significantly across roles and institutions. Rather than impose a rigid structure, we shifted to a customizable sidebar design where users could organize their most-used dashboards. We developed a comprehensive design system that ensured visual consistency while enabling rapid development and customization.

MEASURABLE IMPACT

The new navigation system reduced time spent finding information by 20%. More importantly, users began to feel ownership of the platform, customizing their workspaces to match their unique workflows. The implementation of our design system accelerated development cycles while maintaining consistency across all features.

STRATEGIC DESIGN LEADERSHIP

This transformation went beyond building a digital product - it changed how universities interact with their financial data. By empowering users to shape their experience, we created advocates who drove adoption across their organizations. Our design system provided the foundation for rapid iteration while ensuring a cohesive user experience.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Building tools that truly serve users requires more than technical expertise - it demands partnership. By creating a strong community of power users and implementing systems that enabled customization while maintaining consistency, we delivered a solution that continues to evolve with its users' needs.

Prototype

Results and impact

Customers served! 0 % user satisfaction
Customers served! 0 x decision-making efficiency
Customers served! 0 % increased sales

Lessons in user-driven innovation

This transformation demonstrated the power of user partnership in product development. By establishing strong feedback channels and implementing a design system that balanced customization with consistency, we created more than a dashboard - we built a platform that continues to evolve with its users' needs.