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Enterprise ToolsInternal SystemsWorkflow MappingDashboard DesignResearchInteraction Design

Internal Tools for High-Volume Print Operations

Designing workflow concepts, dashboard ideas, and interface improvements for internal tools supporting high-volume print operations for an Amazon department.

Project Type
Internal tools and operations UX
Context
An Amazon department
Role
Product Designer
Platform
Internal web tools
Overview

I worked on UX for internal tools supporting high-volume print operations for an Amazon department.

The work focused on how different users managed print workflows, what information they needed to see quickly, and where more integrated tools could reduce friction across a complex warehouse environment. The setting involved many handoffs, status changes, exceptions, and decisions happening across different parts of the workflow.

My role was to explore how internal tools could better support the people managing that work. This included reviewing research, understanding operational needs, sketching dashboard concepts, creating mockups and prototypes, and making smaller interface improvements across related tools.

Dashboard concept showing workflow stages and status
Dashboard concept showing workflow stages, item status, and exception counts surfaced in a single operational view.
My Role

I worked as a product designer on internal operations tools.

  • Reviewing existing research and previous findings
  • Collaborating with researchers and warehouse stakeholders
  • Identifying important operational needs and workflow pain points
  • Exploring dashboard and landing-page concepts
  • Creating sketches, mockups, and prototypes for internal tool improvements
  • Thinking through how multiple sources of information could be brought into clearer screens
  • Helping shape future research questions with an outside research agency
  • Making smaller interface refinements, wording updates, and design adjustments across related tools
The Challenge

High-volume print operations involve many moving parts. Different users need to understand what is happening in the workflow, where attention is needed, and which actions will help keep production moving.

The challenge was not only to show more information. It was to decide which information mattered most, how it should be organized, and how a tool could help users make faster decisions without adding more noise.

The work also needed to stay grounded in real warehouse needs. Internal tools can easily become abstract if they are designed too far away from the people using them, so collaboration with researchers and operational stakeholders was important throughout the project.

Research and Process
Review existing research

I started by reviewing previous research and related findings to understand the current workflow, known pain points, and unanswered questions. This helped me avoid starting from assumptions. The work needed to build on what the team already knew while identifying where more investigation was needed.

Understand operational needs

I worked with researchers and warehouse stakeholders to better understand what users needed from the tools. That included thinking about what information needed to be visible quickly, where users might need to act, and where existing workflows created extra effort. The goal was to understand the operational rhythm of the work: what users checked, what they monitored, what required judgment, and where better visibility could help.

Explore dashboard concepts

A major part of the work involved dashboard and landing-page thinking. I explored how different types of information could be brought together into clearer, more useful screens. The question was how to create a view that helped users understand status, priorities, exceptions, and possible next actions without overwhelming them. This work included sketching different layout directions, organizing information by priority, and thinking through how users might move from a high-level view into more detailed task areas.

Prototype workflow ideas

I created mockups and prototypes to explore how internal tools might support faster decision-making in a high-volume production setting. These prototypes helped make abstract workflow ideas easier to discuss with researchers, stakeholders, and product partners. They also created a way to compare design directions before committing to implementation.

Shape future research

I also worked with an outside research agency to help shape future investigation. The goal was to make sure research questions stayed connected to the workflow challenges that mattered most for design. This helped connect future research to practical product decisions instead of treating it as a separate activity.

Support smaller product improvements

In addition to broader workflow and dashboard concepts, I completed smaller feature work across related internal tools. This included interface refinements, wording updates, and design adjustments that improved clarity or consistency within existing workflows.

Dashboard hierarchy exploration sketches
Dashboard hierarchy exploration — early sketches mapping status overview, work queue, exceptions, recent activity, and next actions.
Key Design Decisions
Focus on decision support

The dashboard work was not just about summarizing information. It was about helping users understand what needed attention and what actions might follow.

Use research to anchor design exploration

The design work stayed connected to previous findings, stakeholder input, and future research questions so the concepts reflected real operational needs.

Bring related information together

One design direction explored how information spread across different parts of the workflow could be brought into clearer, more integrated views.

Keep internal tools practical

The work needed to support people doing time-sensitive operational work. Clarity, scanning, and usefulness mattered more than visual polish.

Support both broad concepts and small improvements

The role included larger conceptual work as well as smaller interface refinements. Both mattered because internal tools improve through a mix of bigger workflow changes and day-to-day clarity improvements.

Translate expert knowledge into plain-language alerts

Some tasks depended on users knowing which numbers mattered, where to find them, and what action to take when values reached certain thresholds. A key design direction was to move that knowledge into the interface through clearer alerts, status language, and next-action guidance.

Outcome

The work produced sketches, mockups, prototypes, dashboard concepts, research-informed recommendations, and smaller interface improvements for internal tools supporting high-volume print operations.

The project helped clarify how internal tools could better support operational visibility, decision-making, and reduced friction across complex warehouse workflows.

It also helped frame future research so the team could continue investigating the most important workflow questions.

The work also helped make certain operational tasks more accessible to a wider group of users. Instead of relying on people to remember specific threshold values, check multiple tools, and interpret scattered numbers, the proposed experience surfaced clearer plain-language alerts and next actions when attention was needed.

Expert-only workflow restructured for broader access
Expert-only workflows restructured to surface plain-language alerts and next actions accessible to a wider group of users.
Learnings

This project reinforced how important it is to understand the operational setting behind an internal tool. In warehouse and production environments, small design decisions can affect how quickly people understand status, find exceptions, and decide what to do next.

It also reinforced that dashboards need a clear point of view. A dashboard should not simply collect available data. It should help users answer the right questions at the right time.

The project also showed the value of pairing design exploration with research planning. When research, design, and stakeholder input stay connected, prototypes become a useful way to test thinking rather than just present finished screens.

Tools and Methods
Research synthesisStakeholder collaborationWorkflow analysisDashboard designInternal tools UXSketchingMockupsPrototypingInformation hierarchyInterface refinementContent and wording updatesResearch planningCross-functional collaboration