Maximizing Developer Productivity
At a company where developers shape the future, their own day-to-day experience was fractured. Too many tools. Too little clarity. No single place to start. This is the story of how we turned that fragmentation into focus, that finally gave 20,000+ developers what they needed: DevHub.
Overview
My Role
Lead Designer
Team
- Me + 1 Senior Designer
- 1 Contractor Designer
- 2 Platform Developers
- 6 Service Developers
- 1 Product Manager
Timeline
2022 - 2023 (4 Quarters)
Key Responsibilities
Discovery • Design Strategy • User Research • Cross-functional Collaboration • Prototyping • Usability Testing
Business Impact
- 80% reduction in onboarding time (3 weeks → <5 days)
- +40% tool engagement in first quarter
- 15% reduction in project turnaround time
- 25% reduction in duplicated services
User Impact
- 20,000+ developers with unified access
- 30% increase in usability scores
- 2x faster path to action for developers
- Reduced dependency on tribal knowledge
Product Overview
DevHub is a centralized platform that gives VMware developers unified access to tools, workflows, and resources - tailored to their roles. It's the "command center" for building software at scale.
Goal
Transform fragmented developer workflows into a role-aware, personalized platform that boosts productivity and cuts onboarding time.
Constraints
Inherited complexity from siloed platforms and no central UX before this initiative.
Success Metrics
- 80% reduction in onboarding time
- 40% increase in tool engagement
- 15% faster project turnaround
- 25% reduction in service duplication
Hands-on UsersUnderstanding the Developer Ecosystem
We identified three key user groups with distinct needs and pain points in the developer workflow ecosystem.
Needed easy access to tools and services, without searching Slack or Confluence every time.
Pain Points
- Spending more time looking for things than building
- Relying on tribal knowledge and bookmarks
- Overwhelmed by 80-page onboarding docs
Wanted visibility into team tooling, workflows, and developer onboarding without micromanaging.
Pain Points
- Lack of visibility into team tooling
- Time spent handholding new developers
- No centralized view of team workflows
Aimed to reduce duplicated effort and streamline the onboarding and maintenance of internal services.
Pain Points
- Rampant service duplication due to lack of visibility
- Fragmented service discovery
- Inefficient resource allocation
ProcessDiscovery: Finding the Friction
We kicked off with alignment sessions mapping the stakeholders, pains and goals across the developer ecosystem.
Workshops & Ecosystem Mapping
We conducted comprehensive workshops to understand the developer ecosystem and identify key stakeholders, pain points, and goals.
User Research Insights
We conducted 12+ user interviews across roles, levels, and teams. Common themes emerged:
- Tribal knowledge ruled: devs used bookmarks, Slack, and old wikis
- Service duplication was rampant due to lack of visibility
- New hires were overwhelmed by an 80-page onboarding doc
"I spend more time looking for things than building things."
MTS Engineer
Heuristic Audit
A heuristic review of existing portals revealed low usability, overwhelming options, and broken mental models. We needed clarity and cohesion.
Design StrategyCo-Creating the Solution
We co-created a prioritized backlog with product and engineering, aligning on way forward. This helped us seamlessly plan to stay ahead of dev by 2 sprints.
Designing for Developer Intent
Instead of launching into "design mode," we prototyped around user intent:
- "I want to start a project."
- "I need a toolkit for a service."
- "I want to know what tools I should be using."
Key Design FeaturesBuilding the Developer Command Center
We designed five core features that transformed the developer experience from fragmented to unified.
Concept Sketches
Initial concept exploration through rapid sketching to explore different approaches to the developer experience.
Role Based UI
Streamlined dashboards per user type, showing only relevant tools and workflows for each developer's role and responsibilities.
Quick Actions
Common workflows in 1-click reach - Git repo creation, CI pipeline setup, and other frequent developer tasks surfaced smartly.
Personalization
Let developers pin what they use most, creating a personalized workspace that adapts to individual workflows and preferences.
Smart Onboarding
Pre-packaged toolchains to cut ramp-up time, providing new developers with everything they need to get started quickly.
ResultsTransforming Developer Productivity at Scale
DevHub exceeded all expectations, delivering transformative results that proved the power of unified developer experience design.
80%
Reduction in onboarding time
From 3 weeks to <5 days+40%
Tool engagement increase
In first 3 months15%
Faster project turnaround
Reduced development cycles25%
Reduction in duplicated services
Improved resource efficiency"Having all my tools in one place makes my workday so much simpler."
MTS III Engineer
"DevHub revolutionized our workflow—it's like having a personal assistant for development."
Lead Engineer
"DevHub isn't just a portal. It's how I start my day."
Staff Developer
LearningsWhat This Taught Me
- Iterate Early & Often: Engaging users early led to a 30% boost in usability.
- Prioritize Personalization: Tailoring interfaces to user roles maximizes relevance and efficiency.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Leveraging metrics (e.g., 25% reduction in duplication) validated our design choices.
- Foster Co-Design: Cross-functional collaboration ensured comprehensive solutions.
- Communicate Impact: Clear KPIs (e.g., reduced onboarding time, increased engagement) drove stakeholder confidence.
- Cultivate a User-Centric Culture: Listening to user feedback led to meaningful design improvements.