Overview

This case describes how an internal B2B product initially built as a “gift” for a client failed to deliver value — and how I helped pivot it toward a new target user, preserve stakeholder support, and turn it into a meaningful business tool despite limited authority, no direct access to the end client, and initial resistance from stakeholders.

Initial State

EPAM is a global outsourcing company delivering complex, long-term projects for enterprise clients. Alongside client work, EPAM develops internal products to optimize processes and reduce operational costs.

I joined one of these internal initiatives shortly after its inception. The product was initiated by several managers as a client-facing portal intended to provide transparency into project status, staffing, contracts, budgets, candidate pipelines. It was designed and shipped quickly, largely based on internal assumptions rather than validated user needs.

The Core Problem

After the initial MVP release, the product entered a slower phase — and that’s when structural problems became visible.

Two critical questions emerged during internal demos:

1. Why would a client use this product at all?
   Clients could already get the same information instantly via their account managers.
2. What business value does EPAM gain from this product?
   There was no clear answer in terms of revenue, cost reduction, or efficiency.

At this point, the product was at risk of being deprioritized or shut down.

My role

I was the sole UX designer in an international, remote, cross-functional team (Product Owner, Product Expert, Business Analyst, 2× FE, 3× BE).

I initially focused on UI execution to deliver the MVP. But after release, I identified a lack of clear business value and initiated research that reframed the problem and redefined the product’s value proposition around a new primary user, securing continued sponsorship.

Following approval of the new direction, my role expanded toward product ownership. Alongside hands-on design, I:

• assessed feature feasibility,
• contributed to product strategy and roadmap planning,
• aligned stakeholders across teams and management levels,
• collaborated closely with engineering throughout delivery.

Research & Discovery

Since direct user research with the client was impossible, I took a proxy-research approach.

Understanding the System

I started by reviewing an existing Service Blueprint created by a previous team and consulted internal experts to understand:

• current processes and project stages,
• involved roles,
• known operational issues.

In parallel, I collected quantitative data from Finance, HR, and Operations departments.

Based on these insights, I facilitated a brainstorming session to identify research directions with the highest potential business impact.

Interviews & Feedback Collection

After identifying the most critical problem areas from a business perspective, I conducted 12 interviews with internal roles closely connected to client work.

• goals and success criteria,
• required information, tools and stakeholders involved,
• manual processes,
• recurring pain points.

In addition, I organized feedback sessions around the existing portal to ground discussions in a concrete product experience.

Synthesis & Brainstorming

All insights were clustered and analyzed together with managers, focusing on the business drivers they affected:

• time to money,
• revenue leakage,
• operational cost, etc.

Key Insight

The main value gap was not on the client side — it was inside EPAM, specifically in the Account Manager role.

Account Managers:

• lacked a single dedicated tool,
• manually aggregated data from multiple systems,
• spent expensive time on reporting instead of growing accounts.

As the primary “information proxy” between EPAM and the client, this role represented both:

• the biggest operational bottleneck and
• the strongest leverage point for business impact.

Reframing the Product

I proposed a strategic pivot with Account Manager as a Primary user. With this change we could generate immediate internal value, create clearer ROI justification, gradually onboard clients later via a trusted proxy user.

To support this direction, I created a Value Proposition Map, breaking the account manager’s work into:

• 8 core job areas,
• key pain points per area,
• goals and success criteria,
• tools and stakeholders involved,
• manual vs automated processes.

This reframing was presented to product sponsors and leadership and approved as the new product vision.

Outcome of the Pivot

• The product direction was approved.
• Investment and team support were preserved.
• I was asked to take on additional product responsibilities: feature prioritization, roadmap planning, stakeholder alignment, cross-team coordination.

Final Solution

The platform evolved into an internal account management tool providing:

• Project-level overviews with risk signals;
• Contract and budget analytics;
• Staffing visibility and problem highlighting;
• Financial tracking (invoices, budget deviations);
• Contextual guidance on next actions;
• Admin panel for managing projects and data visibility.

Design focused on:

• reducing manual work,
• surfacing risks early,
• supporting faster, better business decisions.

What I Learned

1. How to identify product value when it is not immediately visible
2. How to work within political and organizational constraints
3. How internal products require even stronger business justification than external ones
4. How designers can act as product leaders without formal authority