No One Knew What We Were Building — I Mapped It, Unblocked It, We Shipped It

To abide by a non-disclosure agreement, company, client, and product identities have been obscured in this case study.

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The Mapping that Created Alignment

Overview

Facilitated UX mapping techniques aligned a feuding product and development team. Removing blockers, the product is able to launch on time.

8 Personas Defined
6 Terms Documented
Created UX Blueprinting
Created 48-Step Cross-functional Flowchart

Steps Mapped to User Stories
Facilitated Product/Dev Syncs
Created Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi Designs
Managed Development Work

My Role

Collaborated with Product Manager and 6-person developer team on a 6-month web project for the Dept of Defense, serving military personnel on desktop and mobile.

The Challenge

Multiple, product and developer meetings were ending with no resolution. Different opinions about solutioning were pushing us beyond the product deadline.

STEP 1

Two Teams. Zero Alignment. One Map That Changed Everything.

Defined 8 distinct personas, 6 critical terms, built service blueprinting, a visual roadmap and cross-functional flow so everyone finally knew who was doing what — and why.

See the Mapping That Made Misalignment Obvious image description

STEP 2

We Stopped Guessing and Started Sketching What Users Actually Needed

Created rapid lo-fi mockups rooted in mapped flows and real user goals. Facilitated design critiques and aligned with PM/dev on feasibility. Negotiated and tweaked concepts in real time with stakeholders.

See the Lo-Fi Iterations That Turned Misalignment into Momentum

FINAL STEP

Designed. Aligned. Delivered.

Built high-fidelity prototypes that reflected stakeholder feedback and user needs. Partnered directly with developers to ensure accurate implementation. Proactively cleared blockers, answered edge case questions, and kept momentum.

See the Final Designs and How I Helped Ship User-Centered Design