I model the system before the UI.
I map roles, permissions, rules, data, and states, and validate them with product and engineering before drawing a single screen.
COMPLEX PRODUCT DESIGN · SERVICE 03
Complex B2B platforms your users understand and your team can scale.
I model roles, rules, and data before the UI, simplify the critical flows, and leave a design system engineering can implement without reinterpreting.
Leandro Balbian · Growth Product Manager & Product Designer · 8 years in B2B SaaS and marketplaces
- FOR
- Heads of Product, CPOs, CTOs, and founders at B2B SaaS companies
- SCOPE
- One critical workflow, one module, or the full platform in phases
- FORMAT
- Phased project or embedded in your team
- YOU LEAVE WITH
- Validated flows, a design system, and a development-ready handoff
02 / THE PROBLEM
Your product does a lot, but it's hard to use.
Every new feature solved something, but it also added screens, options, and exceptions. Now the business feels it: users ask for help with the basics, get less out of the product than it offers, and every change costs your team more.
- Users need training or support for tasks that should be simple.
- Valuable features go almost unused because people can't find or understand them.
- Demos and onboarding drag on because the product needs explaining.
- Every screen solves the same thing a different way, and it's harder for engineering to maintain.
THE PRINCIPLE
A product can be complex without being complicated.
03 / HOW I DO IT
How I bring order to a complex product.
I simplify the costliest flows.
I redesign critical tasks to cut steps, decisions, and errors, and test them in a prototype before they're built.
I leave a system engineering reuses.
I consolidate components, tokens, and specs so every new feature is built on the same patterns.
04 / FEATURED CASE STUDY
The method, applied to a platform that was already in use.
REDESIGN OF A LIVE PRODUCTSIAC · Operations monitoring · Industrial safety and IoT
- MODELED
- Distinct operating states, each with its own visual token.
- SIMPLIFIED
- A hierarchy that puts critical info first and alarms handled in a few steps.
- SYSTEMATIZED
- 8 interconnected views with reusable components for KPIs, tables, maps, alarms, and role-based permissions.
05 / WHERE IT APPLIES
Products where data, roles, and rules intersect on every screen.
B2B SAAS
Multi-role platforms
Permissions, settings, and long flows that need to feel simple.
OPERATIONS
Dashboards
Critical information that has to be read and acted on fast.
INTERNAL
Internal tools
Systems your team uses all day and works around by hand today.
AI
AI products
Clear states, human oversight, and exception handling.
I design in Figma with component systems. When a flow is hard to evaluate in static screens, I prototype it in code so your team can try it before it's built.
06 / WHAT THE PROCESS LOOKS LIKE
A phased process, with something concrete to review at each step.
BEFORE WE START
Scope
WHAT I DO
I agree with the team on which workflow or module to tackle first.
WITH YOUR TEAM
Product access and one point of contact per role.
PHASE 1
Model
WHAT I DO
I map the system's roles, rules, data, and states.
WITH YOUR TEAM
Model validation with product and engineering.
PHASE 2
Simplify
WHAT I DO
I redesign and prototype the critical flows.
WITH YOUR TEAM
Flow review with users or stakeholders.
PHASE 3
System and handoff
WHAT I DO
I consolidate components and document the handoff.
WITH YOUR TEAM
Handoff session with engineering.
Important: we define scope and duration together before we start. I recommend someone from engineering joins from phase 1.
07 / WHAT YOU GET
Four deliverables, and what you can do with each one.
Product model and baseline
FORMAT
Map of roles, rules, and states + task metrics
WHAT YOU DO WITH IT
Product and engineering work from the same definition, and you know what to measure the redesign against.
Information architecture
FORMAT
Navigation and content structure
WHAT YOU DO WITH IT
Every role finds what it needs without relying on support.
Critical flows and prototype
FORMAT
Figma file + clickable or coded prototype
WHAT YOU DO WITH IT
Validate the flows with users and stakeholders before they're built.
Design system and handoff
FORMAT
Components, tokens, specs, and acceptance criteria
WHAT YOU DO WITH IT
Engineering implements and reuses without reinterpreting the design.
This doesn't include backend development or production deployment. If the scope is a single flow, I consolidate the patterns that flow needs, not a full design system.
08 / ENGAGEMENT MODELS
Three ways to work together, depending on the size of the problem.
FIXED-SCOPE PROJECT
One critical workflow
One flow or module with a defined goal and roles. It's the most direct way to start.
PHASED PROGRAM
The full platform
A progressive redesign, module by module, without stalling the team's roadmap.
EMBEDDED IN YOUR TEAM
A senior product role
I join your team as a Senior Product Designer or Growth PM, working the same way.
Format, duration, and investment are defined after an initial conversation about scope.
09 / BEFORE AND AFTER
The full product is the last step, not the first.
If the problem is already defined, we start here. If it's still not clear what to solve or what works, we start earlier: the diagnosis defines the problem and the experiment validates the solution.
- 01 Diagnosis
- 02 Experiment
- 03 Product (you are here)
01 · PRODUCT & GROWTH DIAGNOSIS
Find what to solve first.
If it's still not clear where conversion leaks, the diagnosis finds the cause and the priority.
02 · GROWTH EXPERIMENTS & ACTIVATION
Test before you build.
If the solution is still a hypothesis, the experiment validates it with data before the full design.
10 / MORE CASE STUDIES
More complex products, each labeled for what it actually is.
CONCEPT WITH PROTOTYPE
Sentinel OS
Exception-based oversight for 50 AI agents: states, escalation, and gradual human control.
WORKING APP · DEMO DATA
CertifyX
Certifications, profiles, and compliance for industrial companies in one B2B platform.
CONCEPT
ABLA
Three connected profiles (student, guardian, and professional) in a single follow-up process.
11 / NEXT STEP
If complexity is already slowing down your product or your team, let's sort it out.
Tell me which part of the product got hard to use or maintain, and I'll reply with a first take.
Can you work on a product that's already built?
Yes. We can focus on a critical workflow, a new capability, or a progressive restructuring.
Is Design Engineering a separate service?
No. It's a capability I use when a flow needs to be tested in a working prototype before it's built.
Do you also work on AI products?
Yes, especially when they need clear states, human oversight, exception handling, trust, and traceability.
How long does a project take?
It depends on the scope. A critical workflow fits in a short cycle; a platform goes in phases. We define it together before we start.
Can you join my team full-time?
Yes. Besides projects, I'm open to remote senior product and design roles.