ASN - Alcatel Submarine Network
Pricing Application
From Excel Chaos to a Tailored, Collaborative Tool
ASN, a leader in optical fiber implementation across the oceans, needed a better way to manage their complex pricing projects. The team had been relying on Excel, which, while flexible, was becoming a nightmare for collaboration, data visualization, and performance tracking.
The goal: Design a dedicated pricing application that keeps Excel’s flexibility but brings structure, clarity, and ease of use.
Discovery - Understanding the need
The first step was to dive deep into how the Sales & Marketing team worked.
I conducted user interviews, observations, and workflow mapping to uncover their goals, daily frustrations, and hidden needs.
Key insights:
Users loved Excel’s flexibility but struggled with its limitations in collaboration and visualization.
Many “needs” were actually workarounds created because of Excel’s constraints.
The pricing process involved complex calculations, multiple dependencies, and required clear, at-a-glance project visibility.
Challenge: Distinguish between real user needs and Excel-driven behaviors..
Define - Mapping the experience
To synthesize my research:
I created personas representing the different types of users
Designed user journey maps to visualize pain points and opportunities.
Defined user flows to align business goals with actual user behavior.
These artifacts helped the whole team — from business to development — understand the process and align on priorities.
Design - Concept to prototype
With a clear understanding of needs, I started shaping the product:
Built a complete design system from scratch — since none existed.
Designed wireframes and interactive prototypes to test concepts quickly.
Created visual dashboards to track KPIs and project progress intuitively.
Focused on data visualization, clarity, and ease of collaboration.
Approach: Constant iteration and feedback. I organized workshops and conducted A/B testing sessions with users to validate assumptions and refine features
Test & Iterate - Building with Users
Testing was not a one-off stage but a continuous loop.
Through hands-on user sessions, we identified what worked, what confused, and what could be simplified.
Examples of iteration outcomes:
Simplified workflows by grouping related tasks into clear modules.
Turned complex data models into visual components users could understand at a glance.
Improved navigation and terminology to match user vocabulary.
Delivery - Bringing It All Together
The final design offered:
A user-friendly interface that simplified complex concepts.
Interactive dashboards for clear KPI visualization.
A consistent design system with reusable components.
Seamless collaboration between users and teams.
The tool transformed how the team managed pricing projects — replacing messy Excel sheets with a clean, smart, and flexible digital solution.
Beyond Design
In parallel with design, I took on product ownership responsibilities:
Managed the backlog and defined epics, features, and user stories.
Coordinated with developers to plan sprints and releases.
Ensured design and product vision stayed aligned through every iteration.
