Making Well-architected actually usable

Simplified the AWS Well-Architected Tool into a faster, more intuitive, and decision-friendly experience.

Role

Lead UX/Visual Designer

Timeline

8 Weeks to MVP

Tools

Figma, Miro, Notion

↓35%

cognitive load across review steps

↑30%

faster completion of framework reviews

↑ Usability

across both novice and expert users

↑ Friction

in navigating complex workflows

What is Well-Architected Framework?

"AWS Well-Architected Framework is basically a health checkup for your cloud infrastructure — it scores your setup against 6 pillars like security, cost, and reliability, then tells you what to fix."

Primary Goal

Make the AWS Well-Architected review process faster, simpler, and more usable.

The existing tool was technically robust, but the experience didn’t match the complexity it was trying to manage. It required users to navigate dense questions, unclear flows, and heavy documentation — all while trying to make critical architectural decisions.

Problems

The system wasn’t lacking capability. It was lacking clarity, structure, and usability.

Complex workflows slowed down decision-making

High cognitive effort to answer and interpret questions

Poor alignment between framework questions and business context

Outdated UI with weak visual hierarchy

Long, monotonous process with no sense of progress or closure

Solution Process

Research → Deconstruct → Structure → Design Flows → Validate

Research & Discovery

Spoke to 10+ users (22–56 yrs) across:

• AWS power users

• Occasional users

• Business stakeholders

Outcome

What came out of it:

• One experience doesn’t fit all

• Needed to support both novice and expert users

• High friction in navigation and technical understanding

• Process felt long, repetitive, and mentally draining

• No sense of progress or closure.

Why interviews, not usability testing

AWS's tool already existed, but the goal wasn't to audit its interface — it was to understand real business needs from people who'd actually use it. With potential clients directly accessible, interviews gave us primary insight into their workflows, friction points, and unmet expectations — context usability testing on the existing tool alone wouldn't surface.

Ideation

Approach driving the Ideas

Introduce automation wherever possible

Keep the framework aligned with real business use cases

Provide a sense of guided expertise during the process

Modernize the UI without breaking familiarity

✨

AI in the Process

Used AI to speed up pattern analysis and competitor research. Helped move faster — not think less.

Key Design Moves

Simplified structure →

broke the framework into logical, digestible chunks

Improved hierarchy →

made information easier to scan and act on

Guided flows →

turned static questions into step-by-step decisions

Progress visibility →

added cues to show where users are and what's next

Balanced familiarity →

improved UI without breaking existing mental models (Jacob's Law)

Key flows which were fixed

Main Landing page

Before

After

Improved visual hierarchy – organized, clean landing page

Improved discoverability and guided flow – clear instructions for the user

Recognition – workload list with progress visual cues

Improved task completion – resume last task

Workload Creation

Before

After

Reducing cognitive load – progress and logical grouping

Help and documentation to reduce drop-offs – guided flows through AWS expert

Unique business case – addition of Market Sync (optional)

Workload Summary

Before

After

Recognition – similar structure to original (Jacob's Law)

System status – progress visual cue

Visual hierarchy – additional information in side nav

outcome

Good frameworks guide decisions. Great ones don’t make you think twice.

✓

Reduced effort required to complete framework reviews

✓

Faster and more structured decision-making

✓

Improved accessibility for non-expert users

✓

Better alignment between technical framework and business context

✓

Increased engagement through clearer progress and closure