N-central Web Console

Active Issues View

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Device Dashboard - Gussied Up

Device Dashboard - Early Prototype

N-central Web Console

I was the first UX person to work with the N-able Dev Team after SolarWinds acquired N-able. N-able customers are managed service providers (MSPs) who provide IT support for a wide array of businesses. They use the N-central web console to remotely monitor and manage the IT infrastructures of their customers. The N-central web console aims to give MSPs a single pane of glass into their customers' IT environments.

During the 6 months that I collaborated with the Dev Team, we designed and tested:

Device dashboards that present key device information on one view and support at-a-glance troubleshooting
Direct support functionality that allows MSPs to quickly resolve common support tasks
An updated look and feel that users characterized as sleek and modern.

I attribute our successes to close collaboration with customers, the Dev Team, Product Management, and members of the SolarWinds UX Team who pitched in and beautified the designs.

My responsibilities:

Introduce and establish an iterative design-test process
Build relationships with the product team and customers
Conduct user research to verify requirements and designs
Develop and iterate wireframes and prototypes using Balsamiq and Axure
Collaborate with visual designers to create and iterate the new look and feel
Recruit and hire on-site UX designers to take over. Throughout this project, I worked from Austin, while the rest of the team was located in Ottawa, Canada. I advocated for an on-site UX presence and helped to hire my replacements.

Current status: N-central 10.0 was released in June 2015 to rave reviews. The look and feel was iterated to reflect new branding requirements, but the spirit of the design remained the same. The N-able UX Team now has 4 members!