Overview
This project demonstrates my ability to lead design at scale, build sustainable systems, and evolve processes based on feedback while maintaining quality across a massive, complex platform.
Scope: 21 business verticals, 1.5M employees, iOS/Android/Web platforms
Timeline: 2+ years of iterative development and optimization
Tools: Figma, Slack, Internal ticketing systems, Confluence
The Challenge
Amazon's A to Z employee platform was experiencing rapid growth, with 21 business verticals building features simultaneously. Teams were working in silos, creating redundant experiences and inconsistent interfaces. As the UX Lead for the A to Z Development Program (ADP), I needed to establish scalable design processes that could maintain quality while supporting 100+ feature releases across 3 platforms.
The Problem
- Fragmented experiences: Teams building from scratch without shared standards
- No design governance: Features launching without UX oversight
- Scaling bottleneck: All design decisions flowing through a single reviewer
- Tool gaps: Missing frameworks for the most common interaction patterns
My Approach
Discovery: Understanding the Ecosystem
I led cross-functional workshops with 30+ teams to map pain points across Product, Engineering, and UX roles. The research revealed five critical needs:
- Centralized design resources and usage guidelines
- Clear process documentation with defined approval gates
- Research repository and methodology guidance
- Component library with mobile-specific patterns
- Direct support channels for ongoing consultation
Strategy: Building for Scale
Rather than creating more process overhead, I focused on enabling team autonomy through better tools and clearer guidelines. The strategy centered on three pillars:
Streamlined Process
- Reduced touchpoints from 8 review stages to 3 key milestones
- Created clear accountability with UX Managers owning quality assurance
- Established reviewer rotations to distribute workload
Better Tools
- Built comprehensive design library with mobile frameworks
- Created automated ticketing system for transparency
- Developed dashboard framework for consistent feature integration
Community Enablement
- Opened design library to community contributions
- Launched office hours and Slack consultation channels
- Created reviewer rotation program to scale expertise
Key Deliverables
ADP Website & Documentation
A centralized hub addressing the five core needs: platform orientation, program onboarding, design guidelines, development resources, and support channels.
Design Library v2
Comprehensive system including:
- Mobile navigation frameworks and interaction patterns
- Cross-platform breakpoints with responsive templates
- Component usage guidelines and specifications
- Information architecture standards
Process Automation
- Self-service ticketing system for project tracking
- Automated approval workflows reducing review time from 1-2 weeks to 3 days
- Anonymous feedback collection for continuous improvement
Impact & Results
Quantified Improvements
- 113 feature releases across 44 designers in year two
- Reduced review time: 1-2 weeks → 3 days
- Scaled reviewer capacity: 2 → 11 participating designers
- Personal bandwidth optimization: 110% → 20% utilization
- Maintained 4.7/5 app rating throughout transformation
Qualitative Outcomes
- Teams gained autonomy while maintaining design quality
- Reduced redundant work through shared templates and components
- Improved cross-functional collaboration through clearer processes
- Created sustainable growth model for ongoing platform expansion
Key Learnings
Process Evolution
The most significant insight was recognizing when processes become barriers rather than enablers. By year two, I redesigned the entire system to focus on empowerment over gatekeeping.
Community-Driven Scale
Opening the design library to community contributions and creating reviewer rotations allowed the program to grow beyond what any single person could manage while improving quality through diverse perspectives.
Trust as Foundation
The most effective processes were built on trust. Rather than creating mechanisms to prevent failure, focusing on enabling success created better outcomes and team ownership.