I led the discovery phase by surveying 3 senior sales engineers and 3 active configurator users to compile a prioritized list of usability issues and requested features. I supplemented this feedback with user testing sessions and heat map analysis, which revealed both friction points and underutilized opportunities.
Video showcasing the old configurator and user interactions
Keep what worked: Preserved the familiar part-selection flow—testing and heatmaps showed minimal friction with the existing layout.
Interaction: Selecting “no thanks” in the OS category parts will showcase parts under the software category in it’s disabled state until an OS is selected
Added loading states for perceived speed, reducing user uncertainty during longer loading
Animation replay when submitting configurations with errors + scroll to error functionality
Old Error Message
New Error Message
Before and after of the old error message and new error message
Added contextual notes and icons to clarify which GPUs support NVLink, how many are required, and when selections are incompatible without interrupting users with error states.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| GPU category ordering in emails differed from the configurator interface | Standardized ordering across all customer touchpoints |
| Platform and parts information not updating correctly in customer emails | Fixed data passing between configurator and email generation system |
| Total memory calculations were hard-coded and not updating correctly | Implemented dynamic calculations based on actual component selection |
| Product listing order inconsistency between builder and final display | Synchronized ordering logic across the entire configuration flow |
| - Memory totals displayed even when "No Thanks" option was selected - Incorrect Watts and BTU/Hr specifications in PDFs and emails - Memory dropdown quantities not reflecting minimum configuration requirements | - Modified logic to only display totals for actual component selections - Implemented precise calculation and formatting for power specifications - Implemented dynamic dropdown adjustments based on system requirements |
| Configure buttons appearing incorrectly on the website due to partial MPN matches | Implemented exact MPN matching to ensure proper button display |
*Successful completions measured by a user's ability to fix configuration errors and submit an inquiry. Data collected via screen captures.
Research
Invest Upfront to Reduce Debt
Past quick fixes led to integration issues. Thorough research upfront keeps the system healthy and reduces downstream complexity.
System Simplicity
Prioritize Maintainability
Simplifying component behavior and reducing assumptions created a more scalable design system.
Collaboration
Align Early and Often
Staying closely synced with engineering and QA improved technical decisions and surfaced constraints earlier.
Quality Assurance
Clarify Testing Protocols
Hardware-based edge cases highlighted the need for clearer documentation and a better split between automated and manual QA paths.
Workflow
Build Logic First, UI Second
Earlier in the project, several components broke during integration because they were built with hard-coded text or without real data context
