Business IntelligenceWeb Application

SaaS Analytics Dashboard

Duration

6 months

Role

UX Director

Team

2 Designers, 6 Engineers

Tools

FigmaPrincipleMixpanelLinear

Project Overview

A modern, customizable business intelligence platform for SaaS founders and growth teams to track real-time KPIs.

Business Background

The client wanted to disrupt the BI market by offering a tool that was as powerful as Tableau but as easy to use as Google Analytics.

The Problem

Existing BI tools were too complex for non-technical users, requiring SQL knowledge to generate basic reports, leading to low adoption across marketing and sales teams.

Objectives

Democratize data access for non-technical users
Enable 1-click dashboard customization
Provide actionable insights, not just raw data

Success Metrics

↑ 60% user adoption across non-technical roles
↓ 40% reduction in data-related support tickets
95% CSAT score

The Challenge

Translating complex data querying into a simple, visual drag-and-drop interface without losing the power required by power users.

1.Steep learning curve in data visualization

2.Customization vs. Consistency (allowing users to edit dashboards without breaking the layout)

3.Performance issues rendering large datasets in the browser

Discovery & Research

Kickoff & Audit

Aligned with the product team on the core "North Star" metrics that SaaS companies care about (MRR, Churn, LTV, CAC).

Reviewed the MVP prototype which suffered from cluttered UI and lack of visual hierarchy.

Key Pain Points

Users didn't know how to build a chart from scratch.
Filtering data across multiple widgets was tedious.
Dashboards looked ugly when users resized widgets poorly.

Opportunities

Provide pre-built "Templates" for common SaaS metrics.
Implement a smart auto-aligning grid system for the dashboard.
Use natural language processing (NLP) for querying (e.g., "Show me revenue by month").

Research Methodology

Interviews with 15 SaaS founders, marketers, and product managers.

Key Insights:

Users want answers, not charts. (e.g., "Why did churn spike yesterday?")

Sharing data via Slack/Email is just as important as viewing it in the app.

Visual aesthetics matter—founders want dashboards they can screenshot for investors.

Personas & Journey

Michael, SaaS Founder

Decision Maker

Goals

• Track MRR growth
• Prepare investor updates

Behaviors

Wants high-level overviews with the ability to drill down if a metric looks off.

Sarah, Growth Marketer

Operator

Goals

• Track campaign ROI
• Analyze conversion funnels

Behaviors

Explores data deeply, heavily utilizes segmentation and cohort analysis.

User Journey Shift

Before

Ask Data Team for report -> Wait 3 days -> Receive static CSV -> Build chart in Excel.

After

Select "Marketing Template" -> Connect data source -> Instant beautiful dashboard -> Share via Slack.

Design Execution

UI Exploration

Typography: Inter for clean, modern readability. Large, bold typography for key metrics (Big Number widgets).

Colors: Glassmorphism aesthetic with subtle gradients, deep dark mode backgrounds, and neon accents for chart lines to make data pop.

Design System Components

Dashboard Grid EngineChart Library (Line, Bar, Cohort, Funnel)Date Range PickersData Source Connectors

Final Design Execution

A high-fidelity look at the final polished interfaces, components, and key interactions that were successfully handed off to engineering.

Final Outcome & Impact

The redesigned analytics platform successfully empowered non-technical users to harness their data, becoming the central operating system for their growth teams.

↑ 60%

increase in user adoption across non-technical teams

↓ 40%

reduction in support tickets related to report building

Achieved a % CSAT score

Key Learnings

•Designing a robust charting library that works in both light and dark modes.
•Handling empty states elegantly when data sources are still syncing.

Future Improvements

•Introduce collaborative features like inline commenting on specific data points.
•Build an AI query assistant.