Case Study.
Cloud Governance: from Immense Complexity to Intuitive Product
Overview
Make enterprise cloud governance accessible to humans
Jira
Figma & Figjam
Confluence
When powerful tools are too complex for the people who need them most
Formula 1 is the pinnacle of automotive engineering, but only highly trained professionals can drive the cars. Cloud Custodian is the pinnacle of governance and policy management for cloud operations - an incredibly powerful open-source tool that similarly requires a PhD in cloud architecture just to create a simple policy.
Understanding the intricacies of cloud complexity is hard. Compliance officers struggle trying to track violations, and executives rarely have any visibility into the millions they haemorrhage on unused cloud resources. Meanwhile, the one tool that could solve all these problems sat unused because it was simply too intimidating for most people to touch.
This is the story of how I worked with Product and Engineering leaders to transform that F1 car into something everyone could drive - without losing any of its power or handling.
The Problem: When Great Technology Meets Terrible UX
The Reality Check
Cloud governance should be straightforward:
But the reality was a nightmare of complexity that kept teams from actually governing their cloud infrastructure effectively.
User Research
Simplifying technical complexity requires deep understanding of the people who are (and will be) using the product, so I began by reviewing all existing knowledge about customer usage and roles, followed by in-depth user interviews and usability testing.
A lot of technical barriers
Non-technical stakeholders were usually completely locked out
Fragmented workflows
Users had to jump between multiple tools and interfaces
Little design consistency
Features felt like they were built by different teams
Disconnected product development
Features were built in isolation from actual user needs
Invisible opportunities for cost optimisation
Millions in savings were difficult to find and understand for decision-makers, and even more so - to communicate to engineers capable of realising them
Creating a Shared Understanding
I created detailed journey maps that revealed the true scope of the problem. What should have been simple governance workflows were actually complex multi-team orchestrations involving
Steps to test a policy
Handoff points
visibility for stakeholders outside the technical team
The Solution: Progressive Complexity That Works Simply
Result: The Numbers Tell the Story
What I Learned
Whether you're dealing with enterprise platforms, technical tools, or complex workflows, I specialise in making powerful software accessible to the humans who need to use it.
What I bring:
I'm currently available for new projects and would love to explore how user-centred design can solve your most pressing challenges.