Turning rigid approvals into a flexible visual workflow builder
Turning rigid approvals into a flexible visual workflow builder
Sastrify is a B2B platform that helps companies control their software spending. When someone wants to buy, renew, or cancel a SaaS tool, it goes through an approval workflow - who signs off, in what order, under what conditions. The existing builder only supported simple, linear approvals. Enterprise clients with complex procurement needs were leaving for competitors.
Sastrify is a B2B platform that helps companies control their software spending. When someone wants to buy, renew, or cancel a SaaS tool, it goes through an approval workflow - who signs off, in what order, under what conditions. The existing builder only supported simple, linear approvals. Enterprise clients with complex procurement needs were leaving for competitors.
+20%
Initiative creation
50+
Enterprise customers
adopted
+60%
Workflows by IT personas
Repeat use Among first-wave customers
+20%
Initiative creation
+60%
Workflows by IT personas
50+
Enterprise customers
adopted
Repeat use Among first-wave customers
+20%
Initiative creation
50+
Enterprise customers
adopted
+60%
Workflows by IT personas
Repeat use Among first-wave customers
My role
My role
Led the end-to-end redesign of Workflow Setup, collaborating with PMs, engineers, CSMs, procurement, and leadership. Also expanded the Design System and connected Initiatives to the workflow experience.
Led the end-to-end redesign of Workflow Setup, collaborating with PMs, engineers, CSMs, procurement, and leadership. Also expanded the Design System and connected Initiatives to the workflow experience.
Product design
User research
Systems thinking
Design system
Enterprise UX
Visual design
Affinity map from 10+ stakeholder interviews
Affinity map from 10+ stakeholder interviews
The brief was to redesign Workflow Setup. I realised that wasn't the full problem.
The brief was to redesign Workflow Setup. I realised that wasn't the full problem.
The brief was to redesign Workflow Setup. I realised that wasn't the full problem.
Interviewing our procurement team, I discovered that Initiatives - a feature the team spent months building - had low adoption, not because of its own UX, but because Workflows (which it triggers) were too rigid. I flagged this connection and pushed to include both in the scope.
Interviewing our procurement team, I discovered that Initiatives - a feature the team spent months building - had low adoption, not because of its own UX, but because Workflows (which it triggers) were too rigid. I flagged this connection and pushed to include both in the scope.
Before - linear form
Before - linear form
After - node-based builder
After - node-based builder
Visual logic builder with inline editing
Visual logic builder with inline editing
Built for procurement teams first (our primary users), but structured so IT admins could use it too. The node-based approach made complex conditional workflows visual for procurement, while templates kept it simple for IT. Side drawer for node editing - faster to ship than the planned popup.
Built for procurement teams first (our primary users), but structured so IT admins could use it too. The node-based approach made complex conditional workflows visual for procurement, while templates kept it simple for IT. Side drawer for node editing - faster to ship than the planned popup.
10 incremental releases, not one big launch
10 incremental releases, not one big launch
We had shipped previous features as a single big release, with low adoption. I pushed for a different approach: small, testable releases. This let us catch problems early - for example, users struggled with drag-and-drop node creation in release 2, so we switched to a simpler plus-sign interaction for release 3.
We had shipped previous features as a single big release, with low adoption. I pushed for a different approach: small, testable releases. This let us catch problems early - for example, users struggled with drag-and-drop node creation in release 2, so we switched to a simpler plus-sign interaction for release 3.
FROM BLANK PAGE TO WORKING WORKFLOW IN UNDER 2 MINUTES
FROM BLANK PAGE TO WORKING WORKFLOW IN UNDER 2 MINUTES
50+
50+
Enterprise customers adopted
Enterprise customers adopted
ADOPTED IN THE FIRST RELEASE CYCLE
ADOPTED IN THE FIRST RELEASE CYCLE
A feature with low adoption led me to the real problem. By connecting Initiatives and Workflows into one system, prioritising with an impact matrix, and shipping in small testable releases, a feature redesign became a platform-level improvement.
Visual logic builder with inline editing
Built for procurement teams first (our primary users), but structured so IT admins could use it too. The node-based approach made complex conditional workflows visual for procurement, while templates kept it simple for IT. Side drawer for node editing - faster to ship than the planned popup.
10 incremental releases, not one big launch
We had shipped previous features as a single big release, with low adoption. I pushed for a different approach: small, testable releases. This let us catch problems early - for example, users struggled with drag-and-drop node creation in release 2, so we switched to a simpler plus-sign interaction for release 3.
Visual logic builder with inline editing
Built for procurement teams first (our primary users), but structured so IT admins could use it too. The node-based approach made complex conditional workflows visual for procurement, while templates kept it simple for IT. Side drawer for node editing - faster to ship than the planned popup.