Transforming complex regulatory requirements into a scalable SaaS platform, with configurable access and guided workflows that help non-technical users navigate with confidence.
Transforming complex regulatory requirements into a structured SaaS product.
A law firm was managing compliance processes through Excel, with more than 850 rows covering documentation, responsibilities, deadlines and follow-up actions.
I led the product design of a platform intended to bring 10 specialised modules into one coherent system, with configurable access and structured compliance workflows.
My focus was defining how the product should work across different organisations, user responsibilities and regulatory requirements.
From fragmented spreadsheets to a structured compliance platform.
The challenge went beyond digitising existing processes. The platform needed to support different organisations, user responsibilities and regulatory requirements without overwhelming non-technical users.
I led the end-to-end product design, translating complex business and regulatory requirements into a structured product experience.
- Product architecture — Defining the information architecture and the relationships between 10 specialised modules.
- Access & permissions — Designing a configurable access model adapted to different organisations and user responsibilities.
- Workflow design — Structuring complex compliance processes into clear, guided user journeys.
- Stakeholder collaboration — Working with business stakeholders and engineering to translate requirements into product decisions and design solutions.
Designing beyond the interface — connecting business requirements, system logic and user needs.
The challenge wasn't simply to digitise existing compliance processes. It was to translate complex legal requirements into a product that could adapt to different organisations, guide users through critical workflows and keep the underlying system consistent.
The platform brought together 10 modules covering different business and compliance needs, including HR, Appointments, Support, GDPR, Whistleblowing and other regulatory workflows.
Each module served a specific purpose, with its own processes, information and user requirements. The challenge was to bring them together into one coherent product without creating disconnected experiences or duplicating core functionality.
I defined a shared product architecture connecting data, permissions, workflow states and audit history across modules, while allowing each area to retain its specific logic and requirements.
Roles needed to reflect real organisational structures.
A job title alone couldn't determine what a user should be able to access. Responsibilities could vary across organisations, even when users shared the same role.
I designed a configurable access model that allowed administrators to define which modules and actions were available to each user, supporting different organisational needs without relying exclusively on fixed permission profiles.
Key principle
Configurable access. Structured control.
Show users what they can do, not what they cannot.
The initial approach was to restrict access by blocking interface elements that users were not authorised to use.
I identified a UX risk: exposing unavailable features could create unnecessary uncertainty and make the interface feel restrictive.
I proposed a contextual dashboard that displayed the modules, information and actions available to each user, based on their assigned access.
Key principle
Relevant by default. Clear by design.
Guide users through compliance, not through legal documents.
Processes such as GDPR and Whistleblowing involved detailed legal requirements and extensive explanatory content.
Presenting all this information directly within the user journey risked overwhelming users who simply needed to complete the process.
I proposed a step-by-step wizard that presented the information required at each stage, while allowing users to access additional detail when needed.
Key principle
Simplify the experience, not the legal requirements.
The hardest part wasn't designing the flow. It was designing the rules behind it.
Each step is linked to the appropriate role. Actions become available only when the required conditions are met. Deadlines and pending actions trigger system-driven follow-up, while important actions are recorded with their actor, timestamp and state.
Instead of asking users to remember the process, the system guides them through it.
Explore a representative prototype of the platform, including the compliance dashboard, role-based access concepts and guided workflows.
The prototype illustrates how complex regulatory requirements can be translated into structured product experiences. All screens have been recreated as representative abstractions to respect confidentiality.
The project reached approximately 90% design completion, translating complex compliance requirements into a structured SaaS platform spanning 10 specialised modules.
Before development was completed, the proposed experience was evaluated with internal participants across technical and non-technical roles, helping assess how the platform could support users with different levels of technical expertise.
The design established a consistent foundation across 10 specialised modules, bringing together permissions, workflows and compliance requirements within a single platform.
The platform was designed to adapt available information and actions to users' access levels and responsibilities, supporting different roles without exposing everyone to the same complexity.
Complex regulatory processes were structured into guided steps, making required actions clearer while preserving access to additional information when needed.
- Simplifying complexity is about deciding what users need to see. Legal compliance requires detailed rules, but users don't always need to understand the entire regulatory framework to complete a task. I learned to focus on what users need to know at each step, while keeping additional information accessible when necessary.
- Architecture is part of the user experience. Decisions about roles, permissions and workflow logic directly shape how people experience a product. Designing the underlying system well is essential to creating interfaces that feel clear, relevant and predictable.
- Good design requires questioning the proposed solution. Working with legal stakeholders taught me that translating requirements into interfaces isn't always enough. Understanding the reason behind a requirement made it possible to challenge approaches that introduced unnecessary complexity and propose alternatives that better balanced compliance and usability.
- A scalable product needs both consistency and flexibility. Designing across 10 regulatory modules reinforced the importance of shared patterns and underlying rules. At the same time, different organisations and user responsibilities required flexibility. The challenge was to create a coherent platform without forcing every context into the same experience.