Project Overview
IMDEX's Mega Hub – A Unified Platform Vision
As the Lead Product Designer at IMDEX, I identified a key opportunity to improve client experience and business growth: unify the company’s diverse product and service offerings into a single, streamlined digital platform.
This insight led to the creation of the IMDEX Mega Hub — a conceptual, scalable platform designed to bring together IMDEX’s extensive range of
SaaS solutions, robotic tools (like BlastDOG), and physical drilling equipment and accessories.
The Mega Hub was envisioned to act as a centralized digital ecosystem
for IMDEX’s diverse global clients.
OBJECTIVES:
- Unify the user experience across software products, hardware offerings, and services
- Enable clients to purchase, rent, or subscribe to offerings in one seamless experience
- Increase visibility and discoverability of IMDEX’s full range of solutions
- Facilitate cross-selling and upselling opportunities
- Build a foundation for long-term digital transformation.
- Reduce maintenance time and costs, associated with current multi-platform management.
My Role
As the Lead Product Designer at IMDEX, I identified a strategic opportunity to enhance the client experience and support long-term business growth: unify IMDEX’s diverse portfolio of software, hardware, and services into one seamless digital platform.
This insight led to the conception of the IMDEX Mega Hub (a working title I used to differentiate it from IMDEX’s existing hubs and platforms) — a scalable, centralized ecosystem designed to unify IMDEX’s SaaS solutions, robotic tools (like BLAST DOG), and physical drilling equipment into a cohesive user experience. While the platform was conceptual, I brought the vision to life through design thinking and stakeholder collaboration, making its benefits tangible for the business.
Working closely with product owners, enterprise architects, software engineers, and client-facing teams, I:
- Defined the UX strategy and platform architecture
- Conducted research with real users across engineering, delivery, and compliance
- Delivered wireframes, interactive prototypes, and a custom component library in Figma
- Designed scalable, responsive systems for both web and mobile
- Facilitated workshops with SMEs to validate the concept
By visualizing a unified experience, I helped stakeholders clearly see the potential for greater product discoverability, improved user journeys, and cross-product synergy—laying the groundwork for IMDEX’s future digital transformation.
Skills:
UX Research, Product Strategy, UX/UI Design, Human-Centered Design, Data-Driven Design, Prototyping, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Enterprise Systems Redesign, Enterprise UX, Service Design, UX Strategy, and Platform Innovation
EMPATHIZE
Understand The Challenge
In high-value infrastructure and complex projects, collaboration between engineers, project managers, consultants, and contractors is critical. However, information required for decision-making was fragmented across multiple platforms and systems, with siloed communication causing issues.
The Problems:
- Multiple platforms for tracking real-time project status, compliance, or risk
- Delayed communication and document approval workflows
- Difficulty managing and standardizing large volumes of project documentation
- Poor visibility across project stakeholders and dependencies
- Inconsistent user experience across tools used throughout the project lifecycle
- From IMDEX's operations point of view, managing multi-platform development and customer service efforts is expensive and resource-intensive.
Mega Hub was envisioned as the single source of truth for projects—unifying data, documents, communication, and insights into a single powerful platform. This would streamline operations and significantly reduce costs associated with maintaining multiple platforms.
DEFINE
Define Solutions
To meet client and industry needs, I defined the following core capabilities for Mega Hub:
- Unified Project Dashboard – Real-time visibility of deliverables, project phases, and team responsibilities
- Smart Document Control – Versioning, approvals, and access tracking for engineering drawings and critical documents
- Workflow Automation – Customizable templates and auto-routing for project tasks and compliance checks
- Cross-functional Collaboration – Shared spaces for project teams, consultants, and contractors to interact securely
- Audit Trails & Reporting – Full transparency across approvals, decisions, and changes for risk and compliance management
This ecosystem of tools was built, to allow for role-specific views and enterprise-level scalability.
IDEATE
Explore Options
I conducted discovery workshops and mapped the user ecosystem to design intuitive workflows for key personas:
Personas Included:
Project Directors – Need high-level insights and risk status at a glance
Engineers – Require fast access to technical drawings and change logs
Project Managers – Oversee task assignments, deliverable progress, and compliance workflows
Compliance & Risk Teams – Rely on clear audit trails and standardized documentation
Imdex's and Clients Staff Admins
These activities uncovered significant inefficiencies and confusion caused by disconnected legacy systems, leading to our UX strategy focused on a single source of truth, clarity, transparency, and efficiency.
PROTOTYPE
Consolidate Exploration
I created a modular, responsive platform interface that reflected real-world project workflows.
Key Prototype features Included:
- Dashboard Design – Real-time visualizations of project milestones, approvals, and alerts
- Document Management Interface – Advanced filtering, search, version tracking, and approval flow
- Task Assignment & Workflow UI – Customizable templates for various project types
- Team Collaboration Hub – Integrated notes, version comments, and project chat
- Role-Based Access – Interfaces tailored by persona (PM, Engineer, Contractor, etc.)
The prototype was validated through feedback with future users and stakeholders across multiple projects.
IMPLEMENT
The Outcome & Impact
The IMDEX Mega Hub concept provided a clear, user-centered vision for unifying fragmented digital experiences across IMDEX’s diverse offerings.
By visualizing this centralized ecosystem, I demonstrated how a single platform could streamline client workflows, improve cross-functional collaboration, and significantly enhance product discoverability.
While still in its conceptual phase, the Mega Hub laid the foundation for:
- Improved decision-making through real-time data visibility and version tracking
- Reduced operational costs by consolidating multi-platform development and support efforts
- Enhanced customer satisfaction with a seamless, integrated user experience
- Scalable growth via better cross-sell and upsell opportunities and stronger stakeholder engagement
This strategic initiative was created d to drive long-term digital transformation at IMDEX, bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and everyday user needs.
Key Benefits of Moving to the Mega Hub
1. Single Access Point
Current State: Users juggle multiple logins and systems
Mega Hub: One login, one platform—reduces cognitive load and streamline operations
2. End-to-End Visibility
Current State: Data is scattered, making project tracking difficult
Mega Hub: Real-time dashboards show progress, fluid usage, equipment status, and team activity in one place
3. Time Efficiency
Current State: Double entry, manual syncing, and constant follow-ups waste time
Mega Hub: Smart templates, automated flows, and centralized inputs save hours daily
4. Accuracy & Compliance
Current State: Risk of version errors, missed updates, and compliance oversights
Mega Hub: Rule-based validation, live sync, and audit-ready reports reduce risk and increase trust
5. Seamless Collaboration
Current State: Teams work in silos with limited visibility into each other’s progress
Mega Hub: Unified team view, shared workspaces, real-time notifications and alerts foster better coordination
6. Scalable User Management
Current State: Manual provisioning and inconsistent permissions
Mega Hub: Role-based access, automated setup, and enterprise-level user controls
7. Faster Support & Troubleshooting
Current State: IMDEX support handles fragmented issues per system
Mega Hub: Proactive monitoring, integrated logs, and centralized tickets allow faster resolution
8. Strategic Decision Making
Current State: Manual reports, slow data aggregation
Mega Hub: Instant insights and trend tracking through advanced reporting tools and dashboards
WHAT THEY SAY
Recommendations
Rob van Selm
Software Development and User Experience Manager
IMDEX
I wanted to extend my thanks for all the work Natalie put in. She has been instrumental in working alongside the IMT / BlastDog team to represent the user in bringing the user experience to life as well as getting stuck into several other projects across our teams (GDR, HubIQ, SurveyIQ, Persona Consolidation etc). She always brings a can-do attitude to her work and this positive energy rubs off on those she interacts with.