cClear is a high-speed networking product that allows network engineers high-level visibility and progressive drill-down to complete packet-level view of the network data. cClear combines detailed performance/security monitoring and is used to help monitor company networks around the globe.

As Director of User Experience, my role at cPacket is to make their products usable and highlight all the brilliant engineering they had already done to deliver amazing networking products. My efforts focus mainly on cClear. I reorganized and redesigned the product. I’ve started usability testing and interviewing customers that drives the focus of my work. I helped establish and continue to help run the front-end development team. I continue to share my knowledge and try to make UX as approachable and relevant to the focus of the company. 

Challenges

Introducing User Experience to a very technical enterprise software product and company. The goal remains to help amplify the value of the cPacket’s products by making cClear a user-friendly product that allows network engineers to accomplish their work and experience pride in doing a good job.

Approach

First, I spent a significant time educating the team about UX and its value and asking for everyone’s help to bring UX into the company’s culture. I then spent time understanding who their users are and then demonstrating how designing for those needs gathered from sales engineers and customer support helps creates a stronger product. Campaigning and then helping form and run a team of front-end developers who developed a more approachable UI. Always championing the UX philosophy that feedback is a gift because it allows us to understand the needs and demands of our customers with minimal development investment.

Outcome

Before the redesigning of cClear, very few customers were willing to use it. The customers saw cPacket as a hardware company. In the last two years, there has been a significant shift, and now customers are understanding the value of cClear and are excited to give feedback and see the changes their contributions make to the product. The front-end team continues to grow as cPacket continues to integrate User Experience into its ethos.