Strategic user experience at VRT

The organization had a few highly talented UI designers. What they needed was a partner to help them prepare design projects. UX capacity was far too limited — designers had to jump from team to team, struggling to keep up, and were often involved too late in the process.

Because not every product team had a dedicated designer, it was difficult to establish a structured role for design within their processes.

This made consistency in user experience hard to maintain. Users could be confronted with inconsistent interfaces or flows, leading to frustration and confusion. It might feel like a product lacked cohesion or a clear structure. Additionally, this inconsistency could cause miscommunication and inefficiencies within teams.

First, we needed to align on a unified way of working. To do this, we gathered the entire design team to discuss both their current and ideal UX and UI workflows. Once we defined roles and responsibilities, we analyzed our findings.

Using input from the workshop, we developed a structured process that could be immediately applied — essentially, a reference guide that everyone could rely on.

Since not every product team had its own designer, it was challenging to embed design into their workflows. The first step was to assign both a UX and a UI designer to each team, forming what we call a ​“design tandem.” One designer focuses on research and functional aspects, while the other brings expertise in branding, accessibility, and interaction design.

Previously, iterations only occurred mid-development, which took more time and money and often made designers seem like a bottleneck. Now that each team had its own designers, they could iterate more frequently, even at the start of the development process.

UX and UI designers have boosted efficiency, while the amount of rework has decreased exponentially. At the same time, their work has increased the product’s impact — ensuring that it genuinely meets user needs. This makes them valuable sparring partners for product owners (POs). While POs define the vision and objectives, designers help achieve them.

User involvement often happens only when there’s extra time — either through late-stage feedback or post-launch evaluations, when teams have already moved on to the next project.

At VRT, it’s the opposite. Users are a constant factor throughout the design and development process. They are involved at multiple stages to ensure their needs are continuously addressed, allowing products to evolve in line with their expectations. A win-win situation!

A visually appealing and user-friendly design helps VRT deliver its content in a way that resonates with its audience.