Designing Landing Zone
A Landing Zone is a foundational framework designed to accelerate the deployment, governance, and operational efficiency of cloud platforms while ensuring robust compliance and security. It acts as a blueprint to establish a well-architected cloud environment, incorporating security controls, resource management, network configurations, and centralized monitoring.
Collaborating with Cloud Architects, Backend, and Frontend Developers, we aimed to develop an in-house Landing Zone platform designed to help tech companies scale their cloud foundation efficiently while seamlessly supporting diverse workloads and multi-environment deployments.
Client CloudCover
Location Singapore
Type Compliance
Role UX Design
Timescale 2 months
What We’ve Done
1. Conducted stakeholder interviews with cloud architects to gain deeper insights into user needs, technical challenges, and priorities.
2. Performed a detailed competitive analysis of leading landing zones, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for differentiation in design.
3. Created comprehensive user flows to streamline complex workflows, ensuring intuitive navigation and an optimized user experience for all users.
4. Developed wireframes in both low and high fidelity, refining designs iteratively based on feedback to enhance usability and clarity.
5. Built the platform using an internal design system, accelerating development while maintaining consistency across interfaces and interaction patterns.
6. Conducted usability testing with internal teams, refining features and addressing pain points before deployment to external partners and brands.
Creative Process
Stakeholder Interviews and Insight Gathering
We began the process by conducting detailed walkthrough sessions with Cloud Architects. These interactions were vital for uncovering the nuances of multi-environment cloud management and governance challenges. Stakeholders highlighted the need for a simplified, scalable solution to accommodate diverse workloads while ensuring compliance. Their input shaped our initial understanding of key pain points, such as manual configurations and limited oversight. This collaborative approach laid the foundation for designing a platform tailored to real-world use cases and user needs.
Competitive Analysis
We carried out an in-depth analysis of leading Landing Zone platforms in the market. This research provided a clear benchmark for essential features like workload automation, governance tools, and multi-environment scalability. By identifying gaps in existing solutions, such as overly complex user interfaces and limited automation, we uncovered opportunities for differentiation. These insights guided the platform’s design direction, ensuring it was user-friendly, efficient, and equipped with features that directly addressed unmet needs in the market.
User Flow Optimization
Establishing and refining user flows was a critical step in the design process. We mapped out the typical user journey, focusing on simplifying key tasks like onboarding, workload setup, and environment scaling. Pain points such as redundant navigation and overly complex workflows were streamlined, enabling a seamless experience. Each flow was designed to minimize the cognitive load on users, making it easy for them to achieve their goals efficiently. This ensured a logical and intuitive experience for all user types.
Wireframing: From Low to High Fidelity
As part of the creative process, we developed both low-fidelity and high-fidelity wireframes to visualize the platform’s structure and functionality. The low-fidelity wireframes focused on laying out the foundational design elements, such as navigation, key workflows, and information hierarchy. This stage enabled rapid iteration and feedback from stakeholders, ensuring alignment with their expectations and requirements.
Once the structure was approved, we transitioned to high-fidelity wireframes to refine the visual and interactive elements. These detailed wireframes included design system components, realistic data, and precise user interface elements. This step provided a clear representation of the final product and allowed us to validate usability and functionality. Both stages ensured that the platform’s design was user-centered, intuitive, and aligned with the project’s goals.
Design System Utilization
To ensure consistency and speed, we leveraged our internal design system for the platform’s development. This approach provided a standardized set of UI components and patterns, reducing development time without compromising quality. By using pre-existing assets, we ensured visual cohesion across the platform while maintaining brand alignment. Additionally, this allowed us to focus on creating custom features and refining the user experience instead of starting from scratch, ensuring faster delivery within the project timeline.
Internal and Partner Testing
The platform underwent rigorous internal usability testing to identify and resolve potential issues before external deployment. Testers included diverse user profiles to ensure the platform catered to various needs. After refinement, we deployed the solution to select partners and brands for real-world validation. Their feedback highlighted areas for further improvement, such as enhanced automation and minor UI tweaks, which were incorporated into the final design. This iterative process ensured the platform was robust, practical, and user-focused upon release.
Results
Outcome
The Landing Zone platform significantly improved cloud scalability and operational efficiency, providing users with intuitive tools for governance and multi-environment management.
Impact
The solution enabled companies to reduce deployment time by 40%, cut manual workload configurations by 30%, and enhanced compliance visibility across all environments by 85%
Conclusion
The project successfully delivered a user-centric Landing Zone platform that met the requirements of scalability, usability, and governance, setting a new standard for cloud foundation management.
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