Sara Rossow
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HAWE | Nov 2023 - Apr 2025

Elevating HAWE's UX maturity and fostering a user-centric culture

Internal System
Design Process
Manufacturing
B2B

[ context ]

HAWE delivers custom hydraulic solutions for every need. Its Customer Portal, above all, enables users to quickly find and configure products that match their hydraulic needs. With over 12,000 registered customers worldwide, HAWE offers dedicated support to each one.

goals

Redesign of the platform to reflect HAWE's approach to customers

Committed to innovation, the company aspires to improve its digital experience to reflect its vision of being “a company easy to deal with".

  • Make the platform deliver seamless experience

    Using the same fonts and colors across all tools helps keep our brand consistent and increases customer loyalty.

  • Improve
    usability

    Simple navigation and functionality make it easier for users to stick around and keep discovering our products.

  • Attract new distributors to the platform

    A well-designed platform is a powerful tool for attracting new partners.

challenges

A disjointed experience holding us back

When I first joined, it felt like UX wasn’t really on anyone’s radar. Without research-driven strategy, decisions were often based on assumptions. We were losing potential deals due to poor UI and disjointed user experience.

  • Misunderstanding of UX

    UX was seen as just “making things look nice”, and not a strategic tool. This made it tough to gain traction in leadership conversations.

  • Patchworked UI

    Departments were siloed and working with different vendors. Each introducing their own UI styles.

approach

Begin with the user and work backwards

Understanding the status quo

The first step was to build trust and understand how UX was perceived and practiced across the company. I conducted over 14 stakeholder interviews to introduce myself across departments and get a feeling of expectations and issues HAWE was facing.

Key insights:

  • Design chaos drives up development costs

    Discussions with product teams revealed we lacked processes for alignment with external vendors and creating new applications.

  • Sales representatives struggle to find information

    Meeting with field experts revealed a frustrating process. The portal was slow and forced users to juggle multiple browser tabs.

  • UX demands are loud and clear

    Almost everyone recognized the need for better user experience and customer insights.

First UX wins

One of my first big initiatives was a heuristic evaluation of our customer portal. It revealed major usability gaps. Small, targeted changes made big impact. Clearer headers and consistent icons improved usability with little effort.

As we mapped each user journey, we could streamline flows and reduce cognitive load. Every screen began doing more, with less effort.

gaining traction

From insights to impact

At first, my efforts hit walls. While my manager was happy, the ideas we discussed didn’t leave the confinement of our team. At least that's what I thought. Until a lucky strike happened. An innovation manager heard about our initiative and they wanted to involve me in creation of a new tool.

Prototyping to build trust

I translated early ideas from stakeholders into low-fidelity wireframes and quick prototypes. The project took off and became a springboard for cross-functional collaboration.

This momentum helped me get looped into technical conversations and introduced me to engineers from digitalization team, who could help build the tool. This was a direct result of trust earned by solving real problems and showing how UX could unlock real value.

Gaining allies through collaboration

The digitalization team initially saw UX as a “nice to have,” especially since they worked with external agency. But once we started collaborating on internal tools, they began to see the value of fast iteration and shared standards.

Through co-creation and open communication, I gained allies in my design system and ux maturity efforts. What started as a one-off prototype evolved into a strong cross-functional partnership.

shared vision

Mediating across teams to bring them together

Spreading the UX mindset

We shared our findings with other teams. Together, we preached about usability, how it supports company customer-first values, and educated about UX during workshops.

Championing data-driven decisions

Thanks to insights from my interviews and usability tests, I created action points for improvements, clear handoff guides and my prototypes became conversation starters. As we gained speed, I co-led the effort to formalize what had been an improvisation so far.

We began documenting our workflows, design patterns, and user feedback. I introduced a simple but scalable design system with a governance model to ensure consistency across teams.

See how I improved efficiency with a design system

measuring success

Raising the bar for UX maturity

Measuring Success

While we had a strong base in qualitative research, we lacked quantitative insights. I brought in input from our digital marketing team and kicked off conversations around using web analytics to track the impact of our changes.

To get started, I introduced a simple scorecard that helped us measure improvements during user testing and after release.

Creating UX rituals

We opened up a line of communication between teams. We started weekly UX syncs to connect the dots across teams and products. These small implementations created visibility and momentum, even when we couldn’t launch big initiatives.

Shifting the mindset

As we continued to show value, more teams came to us early. Design was evolving into a strategic function rather than just an afterthought. The foundation was set, not just for the current products, but for the company’s long-term vision.

results

Looking back and in the future

What we achieved:

  • UX became part of the conversation

    More teams invited UX early in the process, shifting design from a visual afterthought to a strategic tool.

  • Streamlined
    cross-team collaboration

    Shared practices, regular UX syncs, and clear documentation helped dissolve silos and align priorities.

  • Improved usability with minimal effort

    Small changes, like better headers and clearer icons, reduced cognitive load and improved user flows.

  • Increased
    stakeholder confidence

    Low-fidelity prototypes helped translate abstract goals into tangible solutions, leading to executive buy-in.

  • Set a foundation for future scale

    Established processes, rituals, and reusable patterns to support long-term growth in UX maturity.

What I learned:

  • Driving UX change takes some grit

    Stay persistent and keep documenting every win.

  • Collaboration
    is essential

    It brings a holistic view to user-centered design and gives sense of shared ownership.

  • Data
    drives decisions

    Combining research with analytics makes a strong business case for UX.

What’s next:

  • Expand the
    design system

    Continue evolving the design system by adopting further applications.

  • Keep the
    feedback flowing

    Stay close to the data and keep the user voice at the heart of product decisions.

  • Make
    UX contagious

    Foster UX culture by mentoring and sharing knowledge.

Reach out

Let’s talk UX evolution

UX maturity is about more than just the design team's work. It's about creating a shared mindset, encouraging collaboration, and securing a user-centered approach throughout the entire organization.

If you're looking for a designer who can bridge gaps and drive meaningful change, let’s connect.

[ up next ]

HAWE - Unifying HAWE's digital experience and crafting a design system

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