Oracle Corporation • BI Cloud Data Modeler
Democratizing
data modeling
CHALLENGE
Oracle's Business Intelligence apps struggled to compete, requiring deep data modeling expertise and an outdated desktop application for administrative setup.
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GOALS
Redesign the desktop experience for the cloud, and democratize data modeling workflows without 'dumbing down' for experts
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MY ROLES
Designer, Researcher
Original desktop experience (top) and its cloud-based replacement (bottom)
Leaving the legacy behind
Nicknamed 'Admin Tool', the legacy desktop application required SQL expertise and a dedicated Windows computer — barriers that hindered user adoption and stymied business growth.
Visual reference I created to familiarize myself with the desktop app
A more logical paradigm
User feedback confirmed that the legacy application's 'trees-and-columns' paradigm failed to convey either a logical task flow or key object relationships.
Iterative concept exploration led me to favoring an interactive 'canvas' paradigm that clarified object relationships and invited engaging interactions such as drag & drop.
Low-fidelity prototype exploring a 'canvas' paradigm
Evaluating the new design
I evaluated interactive prototypes with both external users and internal stakeholders.
One key finding — participants found it easier to create joins between database tables, previously a daunting task and a key milestone in simplifying the overall experience.
Results from user evaluations of 'join' functionality
Ensuring consistency
Several different development teams worked independently on the new experience, so maintaining a consistent design vision was essential.
To accomplish this, each of the design specifications I created used a common structure, voice, and visual language.​
Typical page from one of the many design specifications
Final product
Excerpts from a reseller blog highlighting the new data modeling experience
Impact
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Democratization: Customer feedback confirmed that the new application made data modeling more accessible to non-experts.
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The new application was could not fully replace the original, as a few advanced features were not fully migrated.
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This was my first project for the Business Intelligence group. Our VP and my colleagues gave me kudos for my design specs, prototypes, and user testing & moderation skills.