Proz Education

Proz Educação, a technical vocational school with over 20 units in Brazil, was experiencing rapid growth fueled by investor funding. Their flagship nursing program had a high employment rate of 80%. However, the company’s legacy systems were a major roadblock. They lacked documentation, research, and a clear mapping of business rules, creating a critical need for a new tech team to rebuild the core platforms.

# Challenge

• As the lead product designer for a new technology team, my core challenge was to orchestrate a complete redesign of the company’s ERP, student, and teacher portals from the ground up. I faced a few critical constraints:
• No Existing Structure: The team had no Product Owners (POs) or Product Managers (PMs), no established documentation, and no design processes.
• High-Stakes, Fast-Paced Environment: I had to structure a workflow and deliver prototypes for the dev team with extreme urgency while simultaneously establishing a long-term, scalable design process.
• Limited Resources: We were directed to use Material UI as our design system foundation, which required immediate adaptation and optimization.

# Process

As the lead designer, I strategically focused on building a scalable design culture from day one, rather than just delivering features. My approach was to implement a dual-track scrum methodology, balancing urgent deliverables with foundational process building.

• Strategic Alignment: I negotiated a two-month window with the technology team to allow me to conduct research and create foundational prototypes. During this period, I:
  • Structured Research: Conducted qualitative interviews and surveys with teachers and students across different units to understand their needs, challenges, and user journeys. This research directly influenced the new system’s information architecture.
  • Established Workflow: Introduced a continuous design cycle based on Design Thinking, including interviews, quantitative research, and analytics. I also established business and legal requirements by collaborating with stakeholders and directors.
  • Pioneered a Design System: Adapted the Material UI library into a custom design system with a defined voice and tone, providing developers with clear, high-fidelity prototypes.
• System & Leadership: With a clear process established, I led the redesign of the student and teacher portals first, creating a template for the larger ERP system. This iterative approach allowed us to:
  • Standardize User Experience: I streamlined the interface, simplifying the user experience and standardizing the architecture across all modules.
  • Automate & Simplify: Introduced features that automated repetitive tasks for teachers, enabling them to focus on core activities.
  • Define Roles & Processes: After three months, I created an initial project roadmap and introduced scrum methodologies, which helped define clear priorities for the CTO and development teams. This foundational work streamlined the onboarding for new hires, including Product Owners and QA specialists.
  • Mentored the Team: I initiated pilot programs for design team growth and career planning, a model that was later adopted by the broader technology department

# The Results

My strategic leadership and hands-on design work led to significant, quantifiable business outcomes:

• Enhanced User Satisfaction: The redesigned portals were highly praised by both teachers and students.
• Increased Operational Efficiency: We significantly reduced the workload on school secretaries by automating tasks and providing self-service features for students and teachers. This directly lowered the institution’s cost-to-serve.
• Built a Scalable Foundation: I laid the groundwork for an agile team structure and a user-centered culture, establishing a sustainable process that allowed the company to scale its product teams and deliver value faster

# Final deliveries