Redstor

Redstor project cover
Context:

Redstor Limited — a global provider of data backup, recovery, and cloud data management solutions.

Request:

Provide design consulting on working processes, improve current workflow, contribute to design, support development

Country:

Republic of South Africa

My Role:
Product Designer (Consulting) Process design, research, facilitation, UX design

Challenge

Fragmented collaboration between Product Design and Engineering teams

Lack of shared context → delays, blockers, misalignment

Skepticism toward Design Thinking as a delivery approach

1 /

diagnosed the current workflow

Investigate as-is situation

Preliminary investigation of process, ceremonies and documentation.

Key roles interview

Discover the process and pain points from key roles PM, PO, Development and PD.

Process Mapping

Mapped real workflows across a 2-week sprint

Workflow diagnosis screens
2 /

redesigned the working process

  • Created a shared, transparent workflow model for the entire tribe
  • Aligned responsibilities, touchpoints, and dependencies
  • Integrated collaboration rituals into the workflow, which were quickly adopted by teams seeking better alignment.
Redesigned working process

Transformed fragmented team workflows into a structured, collaborative delivery process, improving speed, alignment, and product quality.

Scaling Product Delivery Through Design Thinking

Fragmented workflows and misalignment between design and engineering caused constant blockers, month-long delays, and frequent rework.

I introduced a structured Design Thinking framework with reusable templates and a shared workflow, aligning teams and enabling flexible, research-driven delivery.

As a result, blockers were reduced to near-zero, teams achieved consistent on-time sprint delivery, and rework was eliminated through early validation.

Design Thinking templates

Established feature validation process

Feature development was driven by assumptions, leading to frequent rework and inefficient use of resources.

I introduced a repeatable validation framework based on user interviews and usability testing, integrating feedback into feature design and iteration.

As a result, teams shifted to data-driven decisions, eliminating rework and ensuring validated features before development.

Feature validation process

Established usability testing practice

I established a structured usability testing practice with defined goals, scenarios, a results matrix, and actionable improvement tracking.

As a result, teams continuously validated features with real users, increasing confidence in outcomes and reducing the risk of ineffective solutions.

Usability testing practice

Resolving Design–Development Mismatch

The team often faced recurring inconsistencies between design and frontend implementation

This led to constant discussions, rework, and lack of visual consistency across the product.

Design development mismatch
  • Identified the root cause of the issue — a mismatch between design assets and frontend rendering constraints. Redesigned the icon approach to align with technical limitations.
  • Developed a reusable Icon Framework for the PD team, ensuring compatibility with frontend requirements.
Icon framework

How team reacted:

Team reaction photo

Translated technical constraints into a design system solution, improving cross-team alignment and long-term scalability.

Timeline:

12 months

Team:

3 Product Designers (in my squad) · 12 designers in the PD team

Impact:
  • Reduced blocker delays from multi-week to near-zero across 12 months
  • Improved delivery consistency — features delivered on time across sprints
  • Eliminated late-stage rework with validated designs before development
  • Increased team alignment — regular cross-team collaboration sessions adopted
  • Teams adopted a shared delivery framework, improving transparency and collaboration
  • Design Thinking adoption reduced late-stage rework; validated designs eliminated weeks of engineering time
  • Usability testing enabled evidence-based design decisions
  • Reduced wasted development effort on non-validated features
  • Introduced framework adopted by 12-person PD team
Redstor taught me that broken processes directly impact delivery and efficiency. Even talented, motivated teams can be blocked when the system causes friction. I’m proud that my expertise helped build the conditions where good design and its development can actually happen.
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