How My Spontaneity in a Tightly Structured Project Turned a Diagram into Disney Land
The Digital Public Goods Alliance is a UN-endorsed, multi-stakeholder initiative dedicated to accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by promoting the discovery, development, use, and investment in digital public goods (DPGs). DPGs are defined as open-source technologies, data, AI systems, and content collections that are non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning they can be freely accessed and used by anyone without preventing others from doing the same. The project aimed to refine the user experience of the DPGA registry, enhance the functionality and visual appeal of the DPGA roadmap, support strategic alignment within the DPGA team through a design sprint, and foster digital inclusivity and sustainable development by improving access to and usability of digital public goods.
Tags
Product Design, Co-Design Workshops, UX/UI Design, Bubble Race Chart, Information Architecture, Web Platform, Database, iterative prototyping, Product Registry
Client
Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA)
Project goal
Enhancing the user experience and functionality of the registry page, member profile, and roadmap to increase user engagement on the website. The platform overhaul should enable the client's goal towards making the DPG certification process become recognized as a globally accepted stamp of Open Source software and tools.
Time Period
Q2 2024 — Q3 2024
My Role
UX/UI design, data collection, conceptualisation, wireframing, information architecting, user testing
I planned and conducted a modified design sprint aimed at strategic alignment and digital enhancement for the DPGA website. My responsibilities included planning and orchestrating the design process, facilitating engaging and productive workshops, and detailing the prototype using Figma. The sprint commenced with defining clear goals for the project and the end product alongside the various stakeholders. Techniques such as How Might We, inspiration hunts, Crazy 8s, idea voting, and storyboarding were conducted to generate innovative ideas collaboratively. The process included internal team feedback sessions and one external user test, ensuring that the design met both internal and external expectations.
The project was divided into two phases; one for insight collection and the other for product development. The contributions of the first team led to the creation of multiple journey maps, storyboards. sitemaps and low fidelity concept prototypes that helped the second team with establishing a solid foundation for their work and see the overall whole picture of the project.
I was a part of both teams, and had primary responsibility to produce concepts and turn them into higher fidelity prototypes iteratively together with user tests along the way. Through meticulous planning, collaborative workshops, and iterative prototyping, I ensured the delivery of a user-centered solution that enhanced DPGA’s digital registry, DPG Profile, Member Profile and DPGA Member Roadmap.
The final solution by team 2 provided the client with solutions that had the goal of providing an arena that effectively shows of the true value of being a part of the alliance (highlighting DPGA's USP) and showed how some creative changes can increase the collaborations between members of the alliance.
We performed three core data collection srategies: co-design workshops, lightning jams and iterative feedback sessions through ad-hoc user testing. Our priority was establishing new concepts for the Alliance Roadmap, DPG- and Member Profiles, and DPG Registry.
We perfomed in total 8 user tests per (proxy) end user team for each iteration of our concepts. The tests were designed to last between 30min-1h due to our participants' busy schedules. Our participants icluded internal teams, the Secretariat, proxy users and completely external individuals ("blind" testers with no prior knowledge of the platform). Our participants were scattered across the West, including Canada, Europe and Mexico!
The feedback was systematically organized to identify commonalities. The design team then proceeded with prioritizing the major experience-changing feedbacks to form the path for the new concepts. The changes were tested and adjusted ad-hoc iteratively until the final evaluation of the concepts with the stakeholders.
Additionally, we established a new design system including component libraries for multiple interface variants. The focus was primarily interfaces for desktop web platforms, but extended to mobile web platforms.
Finally, we strategized the most efficient way to tackle the implementation of the new concepts, and the client's next steps after our collaboration. For the roadmap, we provided both short-term and long-term investment changes to provide the most value to the alliance members over time.
By lifting the ideas and challenging them, we were able to land a more convenient visual representation of the alliance members. By taking inspiration from the bubble race chart style of diagrams, we were able to repurpose the design to provide valuable and crucial information about alliance members, their activities and their products to see similarities between alliance members and foster collaboration.
The registry redesign created more meaningful interactions for the end-users, in which they are able to find which activities the digital goods are used in, its lifecycle and documentation. By highlighting the UN's SDGs, we have also successfully been able to increase the visibility of other DPGs that work towards the same SDG goals. Following the implementation strategy the team curated, parts of the solutions are now live!
My collaboration with the Digital Public Goods Alliance has been a defining experience in shaping my role as a designer. This project reinforced that my sharp analytical approach thrives in high-complexity, fast-paced environments.
One of the most powerful lessons I took away was the importance of creating an atmosphere where participants feel true ownership of the design process. Co-design is more than just collaboration—it’s about ensuring that every voice is seen, heard, and valued. When participants feel a strong sense of agency, even the most tightly scoped projects can become dynamic, engaging, and highly efficient.
By establishing a structured yet adaptable design framework from the start, we not only exceeded our initial expectations but also accelerated concept development exponentially. While we initially believed a meticulous plan would be our primary driver, it was our openness, curiosity, and enthusiasm that allowed us to achieve far more within a condensed timeframe.
The key takeaway? A well-curated project plan should leave space for ad-hoc ideation and spontaneity. When structure and flexibility coexist, they unlock a wealth of creativity—leading to ideas that are not only innovative but also deeply grounded in purpose.
