Enabling the power of data with EBM Studio
Streamlining data modernization through a zero-to-one application to model and interpret ones data in relation to all of the company data
Data at a large enterprise gets extremely complex. Over time without strong systems, the data...
lacks a single source of truth
there is a mismatched understanding develops across teams
and manual maintenance causes error and inefficiency
EBM Studio aims to soothe these pain points by providing a user-friendly experience for anyone in the company, whether with a business background or a technical background, to interact with their data to visualize and understand it in relation to all other data at the company.
Project Overview
Role
Lead Designer Strategy, Research, Prototyping, Project Management
Tools
Figma, Microsoft Teams
Timeline
6 months April - September 2025
Another team member had performed a series of ideation workshops at the beginning of 2025, a few months before I started the design work. I reviewed their documentation in a Mural board that covered problem definition, market analysis, and use cases for a developer, product owner, and data governance persona.
The issue was that these workshops quickly became outdated as the product team had already begun to adjust their scope and objectives alongside the changes in the over-arching data modernization initiative in the company.
Exploration/Discovery
I worked iteratively throughout the timeline by meeting weekly with the Program Manager, Technical Lead, and additional rotating stakeholders to define requirements, review design concepts and solutions, and receive feedback to implement for the next week. The work moved in phases by function/feature, starting at Data Journeys. Initially, the ask was actually only for Data Journeys. But, they were so pleased with my work I continued on to do Component Views, Search, Editors, Application Management, and Landing Pages.
This application design was a “build-the-plane-while-flying-it” (their words) type of project. So, standard processes flew out the window quickly as they prioritized speed and the ability to adapt to the larger program changes and needs. However, I did my best to push for testing especially for foreign concepts such as Data Journeys, see below in the “Research” section to learn more.
I worked in this iterative style across the entire 6 months I was assigned the project, with occasional added workshops when tackling more complex topics. As they began development, I met everyday with the team to stay up to date on workflows and build developer relationships for smooth collaboration. I frequently met with other designers on my team to do peer reviews and gut-check concepts along the way in lieu of testing (not ideal, but better than nothing).
Product Design Process
Final Designs (and some initial ones)
Data Journeys
Like routes on a map, this feature traces data lineage with a focus on the business events and processes that incur data changes rather than the technical information of the data that is changing.
Default view.
Left panel open, right panel minimized.
Application is the umbrella component for all others. Search had to differentiate all the different component types.
Application Page & Search
Initial design provided by product team.
Final application page showing global search.
Workflow and entity are two more types of components each with their own detail pages and specific editor views. The workflow editor was particularly challenging because of its freeform style editing needs paired with modeling constraints.
Workflow & Entity View/Edit
Entity page - initial design provided by product team.
Entity page - view.
Entity editor.
Workflow editor - initial design by product team.
Workflow page - view.
Workflow editor.
Additional feature to switch between versions and various model states including draft, published, pre-production, and deployed. I came up with “Change Manager” for users to easily track changes.
Application Management
Draft model view with version dropdown and change manager.
Landing Page
Guides the user to helpful actions and/or information depending on persona.
First-time user.
Returning user.
Research
Below is the report from the testing I did for Data Journeys to validate the design was landing with our internal user types. Specific details and quotes redacted from white boxes.
I conducted 12 moderated interviews walking through a prototype with users to perform basic tasks involved with Data Journeys.
Impact
Expanded my role in the project after high satisfaction of my work on Data Journeys (initial ask).
Recognized by the program manager as a “top 1% subject matter experts” of EBM and appreciated for my “work and attitude on challenging concepts”.
Successful presentation of Data Journey designs to senior leadership including the CIO who was described at data journeys being his “baby”.
Manager described me as working “two levels above [my] title”, meaning I’ve demonstrated the competency of a senior level designer in my engagement and delivery on this project.
Developers feel comfortable reaching out to me and said I am “collaborative thorough, and helpful”.
Lessons Learned
When the project is described as “building the plane as we are flying it”, processes are unconventional… or often completely disregarded. In an uncertain environment such as this one, I learned the importance of consistent and open communication channels to ensure expectations are still aligned and the users and problems are still valid. This is not ideal, but sometimes you have to work with what you got. And I learned to push for parts I felt were critical, such as testing for Data Journeys since the concept was so foreign.
Be an Advocate
It is crucial to stick with it, you are going to have to get through the “newbie” phase on a project and the more you ask questions the better things turn out. I felt completely thrown into the deep end on such a complex project with interconnected components and huge amounts of data to be visualized. However, I was able to get a strong grip and solution valuable ideas as I kept with it and probed for understanding..
Persist in Challenge