Cloud-based platform to derive geospatial data
Context
Period
2016 - 2018, Full timePlatform
Web applicationRole
Product Designer -> LeadIndustry
Web App, B2B, B2GEOS Data Analytics — is a cloud-based platform to derive geospatial data and analyze satellite imagery for business and science purposes.
Business Goal
At the time I joined, our small team was working on a product called Land Viewer. I became the second designer in this team. Our main goal was to create an ecosystem of products with integrated functionality that would meet the users' needs for searching, storing, and processing satellite images.
My Role
This experience in a product team was my first in designing complex interfaces. Within two years, I advanced from the position of Product Designer to Lead Product Designer. During this time, I was responsible for developing interfaces for products such as Land Viewer, Eos Storage, and Crop Monitoring. Additionally, I was involved in shaping and maintaining the design culture in the product, ensuring a cohesive perception of the system from a design perspective. I also managed a team of five product designers and one marketing designer, conducted interviews, and selected candidates for our team.
EOS Storage
Over the past three years, I've gained a wealth of experience in design, but one of the most memorable projects for me was EOS Storage. This was a project I led as the chief designer and stands as one of my first major accomplishments.
EOS Storage was conceived with the aim of becoming a pivotal component of the EOS Platform. The main objective of this product was to offer GIS specialists and other users the ability to store heavy satellite imagery without the need to download it to their local computer. Considering that the average size of such an image exceeds 1 TB, this was a particularly pertinent challenge. Users could easily locate their desired image in Land Viewer, conduct the required processing, and then store it in EOS Storage for subsequent use or forward it for processing in EOS Processing. Furthermore, Storage provided tools for sharing these processed images with other users or even for selling them.
Comparing it with well-known data storage solutions, EOS Storage can be described as akin to Google Drive or Dropbox, but with specialized functionalities for storing and sharing geospatial data. Schematically, the EOS Platform product looked as follows:
Process
During the development of the EOS Storage product, we adhered to the classic Agile approach, dividing our work into 2-week sprints. The team consisted of two frontend developers, three backend developers, one tester, and an experienced product manager. This project became the first genuine experience of working on a real product for most of us.
One of the pivotal moments in the development was related to the choice of UI framework. Recognizing the significance of this decision, I conducted an in-depth analysis of various options and concluded that Semantic UI would be the best fit for our objectives. At that time, Semantic UI stood out among the alternatives due to its modern design, extensive set of ready-made components, and ease of customization. Moreover, it integrated seamlessly with React, enabling us to quickly prototype and test various interface parts.
By the way, an interesting fact: at that time, design tools like Figma weren't as popular, and most designers (including myself) continued to use Photoshop. It was a period when the design world was just beginning to transition from Photoshop to newer tools.
Outcome
Based on feedback from our sales managers and collaboration with the R&D team, we successfully developed and launched the minimum viable product (MVP) of EOS Storage in eight months.
Users can register once and gain access to all products on the platform without needing to authenticate repeatedly.
An integrated file manager allows for efficient data organization and management.
Advanced search capabilities facilitate quick retrieval of essential information within the storage.
Users can effortlessly share their files with colleagues or grant access to third parties.
Supports uploading files from popular cloud storage and other external sources.
In addition to standard images, users can view and search for their areas of interest (AOI) within the storage.
An embedded tool for converting files into various formats, especially relevant for formats that require specialized processing.
And also
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Cross-Platform Integration: Users can save images from Land Viewer and view them directly in EOS Storage.
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Viewing and Searching by AOI: In addition to standard images, users can view and search for their areas of interest (AOI) within the storage.
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File Conversion:
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Notification Service: This feature allows users to receive notifications about actions and changes in one product while working in another. For example, after initiating a task in one of the platform's applications, a user can be notified of its completion without leaving another application.
Conclusions
This was an incredibly valuable period that allowed me to immerse myself in the world of product design. This experience helped me become more attuned to corporate dynamics, business objectives, and understanding the technical nuances of a product.
Over a three-year span, we built a platform used by thousands of users worldwide. Despite our efforts, the platform did not achieve the expected business results. Users continued to remain loyal to individual products, and our vision of a unified product ecosystem did not resonate with the market reality.
However, this does not mean our work on EOS Storage was in vain. For instance, a significant project I worked on was the World Bank's initiative for land-use monitoring using artificial intelligence. This led to a 5-year contract and unveiled satellite imagery analysis capabilities for more than 675,000 users. At the heart of this initiative was a proposal to develop a new product, EOS Crop Monitoring, which was seen as a groundbreaking solution in land-use monitoring.