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Universal Dashboard Framework

Project involvement

Role

VP of Design

Team

Product Design: Cross-crew

Context & Challenge

Organisation & Role:

At Habito, speed and bootstrapping were part of the culture. The product organisation had a bias towards solving technical problems first, often at the expense of design cohesion. When I joined as VP Design, it was clear we weren’t addressing the fragmented, inconsistent product experience across our core surfaces. While there was good intent across teams, there was no shared infrastructure or process for fixing the bigger design problems.

Problem Statement:

The customer experience lacked consistency. We had multiple dashboard environments built in isolation by different teams, each tackling a specific part of the journey — from affordability tools to post-completion mortgage management. Navigation was linear, despite the mortgage process being anything but. The result was a fractured experience with duplicated work across teams and a higher support burden.

Stakeholders:

Design, Engineering, SLT, CX, Product Managers. All had a vested interest in improving the experience but needed a framework to align on.

Strategic Approach

Vision & Objectives:

Create a unified dashboard framework that provides a consistent user experience across the entire mortgage journey. The goal was to reduce customer confusion, improve design and engineering efficiency, and lay the groundwork for new features and product launches.

Decision-Making Process:

I started by writing a memo that set out a vision and strategy for design. We needed a cross-functional approach, so I initiated three core programmes:

  • Design Platform: a guild to bridge product and engineering through a shared design system
  • Creative Studio: aligning brand and product design through a joint process
  • Product Design Alignment: a weekly forum to surface product-wide UX issues

We also used generative research to inform customer needs, specifically around progress visibility and replaying entered information.

Collaboration:

This was a deeply cross-functional effort involving multiple product crews. I worked with senior engineers, product managers and our customer experience team to align needs and ensure the solution could scale.

Execution & Leadership

Implementation:

The key was to create a flexible dashboard framework that could accommodate non-linear journeys. We rethought how tasks were surfaced and built a dynamic model where steps could appear in any order based on context.

We introduced a “replay” pattern to show users the data they had already submitted — for example, deposit amounts or selected mortgage products — to reduce friction and double-checking. We also introduced a visual timeline so users could clearly see what stage they were at and what was coming next.

Adaptability:

We tested and iterated components such as task modules and timeline structures with both new and existing customers. We also made sure that the framework could support all existing dashboard environments and future additions without requiring rework.

Communication:

Throughout the project I kept SLT updated, socialised key decisions via design and product forums, and used customer research to build buy-in. Internally, I focused on aligning stakeholders around a shared goal of reducing complexity and cognitive load.

Outcomes & Impact

Results:

  • Customer service chats on common issues (e.g. “Where can I find my documents?” or “What happens next?”) reduced.
  • Customers reported higher clarity and understanding of their journey.
  • 70% of users who had previously completed a mortgage with us said they wished this new version had been available during their process.

Feedback:

The early signal from customers has been positive. Internal teams also now feel they are building on solid foundations rather than duplicating or patching things in isolation. Senior leadership described it as a meaningful step forward in terms of design maturity and product cohesion.

Reflection:

This wasn’t something we could A/B test easily, but from sentiment and support data, we’re seeing clear indicators of success. It also unlocked more confidence from the business to invest in foundational product experience improvements.

Key Learnings & Takeaways

Lessons Learned:

  • A fragmented experience often stems from organisational silos, not just bad design.
  • Building infrastructure for alignment (not just systems and components, but routines and rituals) is critical in scaling design.
  • Customers respond well to being given clarity, progress cues, and feedback loops, especially in complex journeys like home-buying.

Application:

Since launching this framework, we’ve been able to embed it into how we build — not just what we build. It’s become the reference point for new experiences and saved significant design and engineering time.

Future Outlook:

This framework has become a blueprint for the next phase of Habito’s product evolution. As we expand into new services, it gives us the consistency and flexibility we need to deliver them in a way that feels simple and joyful to customers.