AWS Managed Blockchain Service

DESIGN PROBLEM

Starting up a blockchain project is difficult. Developers rely on open-source frameworks that are difficult to learn and implement. Documentation is lacking. Amazon Web Services wanted to offer its users a way to quickly stand up a blockchain network to support application development. The scope of this project was to create a user interface console for a new service: Managed Blockchain Service. The user, a developer or admin, would come to the service to compare open-source frameworks, create a network, and invite members to join. 

Note, this project had a codename of “Taiga” before the service was named. All mockups referencing “Taiga” were eventually renamed to “AWS Managed Blockchain Service.”

My role

I designed the user workflows and the user interface with the AWS design system, reviewed the designs with the user experience team, and worked with the user researcher to create a research plan. I interviewed our internal solutions architects to get insights into the challenges of setting up a network and to understand the use cases. I worked with a UX writer to write the instruction text and name the resource types. I attended a Blockchain conference in San Jose to get a deeper understanding of blockchain technologies and the competitive landscape. I supported the front-end developer who built the console. The service launched at AWS ReInvent 2018.

CONSOLE Designs

Create a blockchain network

Create a network member

Create a peer node

Invitation to join a blockchain network

Timeline

DESIGN THINKING PROCESS

PERSONAS

I held a persona workshop with our product manager and user researcher to understand the workflows and needs of creating a blockchain network. We reached out to solutions architects working in blockchain technology with clients, who told us the struggles behind launching and debugging blockchain applications. We learned that the primary persona would often need to hire a consultant to stand up a new network, and that many development projects never ended up launching beyond the proof-of-concept phase.

USER RESEARCH

We spoke to developers and IT Admins involved in proof-of-concept projects using blockchain technology and who have started researching and evaluating blockchain technology for their company’s use cases. We discovered that many customers are still struggling to move from POC projects to production. Adopting blockchain technology is difficult because of a general lack of guidance, documentation and resources available for their use cases. Users can not see “best practices” in action.

Whiteboard sessions

Sketches

Network conceptual model

Personas

User journey map

Workflow diagrams

Screen flows