Team: Team of three including a Data Scientist, Power BI Developer

Role: UX Consultant (Research, Design, and User Testing)

Duration: 2 Months

<aside> 💼 UI Design | User Research | Design System | AB Testing | Data Visualization | Power BI

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Project Overview

Gerdau is a leading steel manufacturer in the US with a deep commitment to sustainability. Forging the steel that shapes skylines, it transforms more than 11 million tons of recycled scrap metal annually into new, world-class steel products. DAP is a suite of Power BI dashboards designed to bring data visibility and exposure to the Sales Team at Gerdau to improve their decision-making, reduce wastage, and improve efficiency as a Sustainability Initiative.

My Role: As the lead UX designer on a cross-functional team, I spearheaded the design of the dashboards. Through comprehensive user research and testing, I translated complex data into actionable insights and fostered user adoption. Additionally, I established a scalable design system for consistency and efficiency, laying the groundwork for future iterations.

<aside> ✏️ Objective: Help the sales team be independent and make quick decisions to reduce resource wastage and enhance steel production efficiency.

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The Problem & Opportunity

The scale and internal complexity of production create a unique problem for Gerdau. Before we discuss these problems, let’s understand the current flow of Order Creation.

Steel production is long, tedious, and complex, with many schedules and calculations. The current manual and siloed ordering process, reliant on phone calls and limited data visibility, is leading to the following problems:

• Limited Data Visibility: The sales team’s visibility into internal processes and data is fragmented across multiple portals, hindering accurate order processing and sales forecasting. In their haste to meet targets, they cannot do the due diligence needed to create efficient line items.
• Overbooking & cancellations: Steel's high demand compels customers to overbook to secure supply, creating excess inventory and cancellations later. This wastes resources and hinders production efficiency, delaying Gerdau's sustainability goals.
• Inefficient scheduling: Frequent order cancellations disrupt planned production schedules, causing delays and impacting overall order fulfillment. Inefficient cycles