Publication
3 Best Practices for Successful SaaS Design
https://www.toptal.com/designers/saas/saas-design
Ahsan is currently unavailable
Ahsan Jalil
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Slough, United Kingdom
Toptal member since April 1, 2020
Bio
Ahsan is a UX, and product design lead with 15+ years of transforming enterprise applications into intuitive software as a service (SaaS) and data as a service (DaaS) platforms for Fortune 500 clients (GSK, Cisco, Western Union). He's initiated UX strategies that boosted user engagement by 40%, reduced onboarding time by 25%, and drove $10+ million in revenue growth through user-centered design.
Experience
- UX Design - 20 years
- User Experience (UX) - 20 years
- Rapid Prototyping - 15 years
- Web App Design - 15 years
- Product Design - 15 years
- Wireframing - 15 years
- Usability Testing - 10 years
- SaaS - 10 years
Portfolio
IT Service Management (ITSM) Platform Design (Toptal Project)
User Experience (UX)Information Architecture (IA)WireframingUX DesignAxure RP ProUX Workshops+ 18 more
Work Experience
Head of UX
2021 - 2023
Cutover
- Formed product and UX design strategy, driving organization-wide adoption of user-centered design principles.
- Validated design decisions through user testing and stakeholder collaboration, ensuring alignment with business goals.
- Guided a team of UI/UX designers and researchers, fostering skill growth and cross-functional collaboration.
- Streamlined workflows and design handoff processes, reducing inefficiencies between teams.
- Partnered closely with Product and Engineering to address technical constraints and preempt bottlenecks.
- Managed 3rd-party vendor relationships to augment project delivery and resource scalability.
Technologies: Figma, Axure RP Pro, UX Research, Automation, Enterprise SaaS, UX Strategy
UX Designer—Platform for Clinicians
2021 - 2021
Holmusk (Toptal Client)
- Designed an Electronic Health Record (EHR), a digital version of a patient's paper chart. Worked towards the MVP version of the product and reviewed current designs.
- Understood the new requirements in the roadmap and provided designs. Provided input and conceptual designs for the next version of the product and guidance on how to improve their current designs.
- Created the interaction design and wireframes. Produced high-fidelity mockups ready for dev handoff. I also designed and delivered specs for devs.
Technologies: Figma, User Interviews, Design Thinking, Customer Experience, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Dashboards, Dashboard Design, UX Research, Mobile UX, Web App Design, SaaS Design, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, B2B, Interaction Design (IxD), Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, Miro, UX Strategy, Product Design, MVP Design, Enterprise SaaS, Heuristic Evaluation, Design Systems, High-fidelity Mockups, Electronic Health Records (EHR), User Personas, Usertesting.com, Web App UI, Competitive Analysis, Mobile UX Design, Mobile Design, Responsive Web Apps, Product Discovery, UX Audits, User Testing
Lead UX Designer
2021 - 2021
NEOM City
- Worked directly with the NEOM City project in Saudi Arabia. Worked as a Lead UX designer in their business and tourism sectors. Created functional flows, wireframes, and prototypes for web applications.
- Observed how various countries have a business lifecycle, including setting up, managing and closing down the business. I was also part of the tourism sector, creating a tourism app that offers the best UX.
- Collaborated with product owners as a part of the product team to identify how NEOM City can create things better than the rest of the world. Researched competitors and existing products and performed a heuristic evaluation.
- Used the data collected during the research to design low-fi wireframes to validate my concepts with stakeholders.
Technologies: Figma, User Interviews, Design Thinking, Customer Experience, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Dashboards, Design Strategy, Dashboard Design, UX Research, Mobile UX, Information Gathering, User Journeys, B2B, Interaction Design (IxD), Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, Miro, UX Strategy, Product Design, User Flows, Service Design, MVP Design, Enterprise SaaS, High-fidelity Mockups, Usertesting.com, Competitive Analysis, Mobile UX Design, Mobile Design, Product Discovery, UX Audits, Design Leadership, Leadership, User Testing
Product Designer—Cloud Platform UX Redesign
2021 - 2021
Cloudways
- Improved Cloudways.com, a managed cloud hosting platform UX. Learned and documented the product's users' behaviors, pain points, and needs so the Cloudways platform can serve users and businesses better.
- Conducted user research and surveys to learn about the users and how they feel about the product.
- Created POC wireframes and presented them to the stakeholders. Engaged with the product and engineering teams and created high-fidelity prototypes.
- Tested the prototypes with the users, iterated as needed, and conducted a card-sorting exercise to organize navigation. I also performed one-on-one user interviews.
Technologies: Axure RP Pro, User Interviews, Design Thinking, Customer Experience, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Dashboards, Design Strategy, Dashboard Design, UX Research, Web App Design, SaaS Design, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, Interaction Design (IxD), Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, eCommerce Platforms, Miro, UX Strategy, Product Design, Service Design, B2C, Enterprise SaaS, Heuristic Evaluation, High-fidelity Mockups, Wireframe to Product, Web App UI, Competitive Analysis, Responsive Web Apps, Product Discovery, UX Audits, Enterprise, User Testing
Lead UX Designer
2021 - 2021
GlaxoSmithKline
- Directed UX and design strategy for SaaS platforms.
- Delivered comprehensive digital assets successfully.
- Coordinated effectively with product management, engineering, and design teams.
- Engaged end-users to identify needs and pain points.
- Addressed technical constraints with development teams.
- Produced rapid prototypes for iterative development.
- Conducted UX workshops to mentor and educate colleagues.
Technologies: Axure RP Pro, User Interviews, Design Thinking, Customer Experience, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Design Strategy, UX Research, Content Management Systems (CMS), SaaS Design, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, B2B, Interaction Design (IxD), Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, Miro, UX Strategy, Product Design, User Flows, Service Design, Enterprise SaaS, Design Systems, High-fidelity Mockups, Wireframe to Product, Usertesting.com, Web App UI, Competitive Analysis, UX Audits, Design Leadership, Leadership, Enterprise, User Testing
UX Designer—Analytics Platform for Amazon Sellers (Toptal)
2021 - 2021
Scale Insights (Toptal Client)
- Performed a UX audit for the whole platform. Made improvements per the request of the client based on my reports.
- Conducted user research and surveys to identify where users are struggling. Created a UX audit report highlighting usability, accessibility, and architectural information flaws.
- Created low-fi wireframes to quickly validate the POC and also created high-fidelity prototypes.
Technologies: Axure RP Pro, Wireframing, Function Flow, Prototyping, User Interviews, Design Thinking, Customer Experience, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Design Strategy, Dashboard Design, UX Research, Content Management Systems (CMS), Web App Design, SaaS Design, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, B2B, Interaction Design (IxD), Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, eCommerce Platforms, Banking & Finance, Miro, UX Strategy, Product Design, User Flows, Service Design, MVP Design, Heuristic Evaluation, High-fidelity Mockups, Wireframe to Product, Web App UI, Competitive Analysis, Fintech, Responsive Web Apps, Product Discovery, UX Audits, Design Leadership, User Testing
UX Expert for Business Analysis and MVP
2020 - 2020
ServiceRocket Inc. (Toptal Client)
- Worked directly with Aljazeera Network on their ITSM migration from ServiceNow to Jira Service Desk.
- Reviewed the current ServiceNow platform, performed heuristic evaluation, and proposed the functional flow showing how Jira Service Desk can be better utilized.
- Designed the wireframes using the Atlassian design system based on the approved functional flow.
- Ran weekly UX workshops with Aljazeera management.
Technologies: Axure RP Pro, Wireframing, UX Workshops, User Interviews, Design Thinking, Customer Experience, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Design Strategy, Dashboard Design, UX Research, Content Management Systems (CMS), Web App Design, SaaS Design, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, B2B, Interaction Design (IxD), Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, Miro, UX Strategy, Product Design, User Flows, Service Design, MVP Design, Enterprise SaaS, Heuristic Evaluation, High-fidelity Mockups, Wireframe to Product, Competitive Analysis, Responsive Web Apps, Product Discovery, UX Audits, Design Leadership, Enterprise, User Testing
Lead UX Designer
2020 - 2020
ISB Global
- Converted 15-year-old SAP-based software into a web application. The software is one-of-a-kind for recycling and waste management.
- Created a components library for the software to be compatible with OutSystems. The new application was based on the OutSystems low-code framework.
- Uncovered various UX issues accumulated due to features being added without the end-user in mind.
- Broke the software down into multiple segments and mapped out the functional flows for each segment.
- Created low-fidelity wireframes to validate the functional flows by the stakeholders and customers.
- Developed an interactive prototype using Axure and tested the functionalities and features with real users.
Technologies: Information Architecture (IA), Axure, Design Thinking, Customer Experience, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Design Strategy, Dashboard Design, UX Research, Content Management Systems (CMS), Web App Design, SaaS Design, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, B2B, Interaction Design (IxD), Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, Miro, UX Strategy, Product Design, User Flows, Service Design, MVP Design, Enterprise SaaS, Heuristic Evaluation, Design Systems, High-fidelity Mockups, Wireframe to Product, Web App UI, Competitive Analysis, Responsive Web Apps, CRM Design, Product Discovery, UX Audits, Design Leadership, Leadership, Enterprise, User Testing
Senior UX Designer
2019 - 2019
Red Blue Blur Ideas (RBBi)
- Led the UX design at Dubai’s semi-government project involving Dubai Customs, DP World, and JAFZA.
- Built a highly complex mobile-responsive portal that offered trade, logistics, and business services to millions of users worldwide.
- Led the project for RBBI to present to the client.
- Created low-fidelity wireframes using existing research that were validated by all business units.
- Created low-fidelity prototypes using Figma that users tested.
Technologies: Information Architecture (IA), Figma, Axure, Customer Experience, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Design Strategy, UX Research, Mobile UX, Web App Design, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, B2B, Interaction Design (IxD), Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, Miro, UX Strategy, Product Design, User Flows, Service Design, MVP Design, High-fidelity Mockups, Wireframe to Product, User Personas, Competitive Analysis, Mobile UX Design, Mobile Design, Responsive Web Apps, Product Discovery, UX Audits, Design Leadership, User Testing
Senior UX Designer
2018 - 2019
Affinion Group
- Worked with two of Affinion’s major clients, RBS and Natwest, as the senior UX designer. Managed the UX updates of the current legacy application for travel benefits.
- Designed the desktop and mobile app that offer benefits such as travel, cinema, and holidays to Natwest/RBS premium customers.
- Gathered information, requirements and interviewed premium banking customers and stakeholders to understand their pain points.
- Liaised with development teams and business analysts to pinpoint technical and business constraints.
- Delivered user journeys, app functional flows, and high-fidelity interactive prototypes.
Technologies: Information Architecture (IA), Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Axure, Design Thinking, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Dashboards, Design Strategy, Dashboard Design, UX Research, Mobile UX, Web App Design, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, Interaction Design (IxD), Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, eCommerce Platforms, Travel & Leisure, Miro, UX Strategy, Product Design, B2C, Design Systems, High-fidelity Mockups, Wireframe to Product, Online Payments, User Personas, Competitive Analysis, Fintech, Mobile UX Design, Mobile Design, Responsive Web Apps, Product Discovery, UX Audits, Design Leadership, User Testing
Lead UX Designer
2018 - 2019
Cisco
- Updated the website as part of the Cisco EMEAR digital team. Cisco was exploring opportunities to introduce online eCommerce solutions for customers to purchase Cisco products and services via cisco.com.
- Worked as the UX lead on various projects. To achieve the user and business goals, I analyzed regional data, met stakeholders and existing customers, collaborated with program managers, project managers, and UX headquarters in the USA.
- Created user flows, journeys, wireframes, interactive prototypes, and performed usability testing.
- Worked with Cisco partner agencies like Harte Hanks to conduct quantitative and qualitative research.
Technologies: Information Architecture (IA), Adobe Photoshop, Axure, Design Thinking, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Design Strategy, Dashboard Design, UX Research, Content Management Systems (CMS), Mobile UX, Web App Design, SaaS Design, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, B2B, Interaction Design (IxD), Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, eCommerce Platforms, Miro, UX Strategy, Product Design, User Flows, Service Design, Enterprise SaaS, High-fidelity Mockups, Wireframe to Product, User Personas, Usertesting.com, Web App UI, Competitive Analysis, Responsive Web Apps, Product Discovery, UX Audits, Design Leadership, Leadership, Enterprise, User Testing
UX Manager
2014 - 2018
GTT Communications
- Designed and improved UX of various SaaS products generating multi-million pounds in revenue every month.
- Created an end-to-end solution for a complex online platform called Virtual Data Centre, similar to Amazon AWS. The platform enables users to deploy and manage virtual infrastructure remotely.
- Defined UX goals and strategy. Collaborated with usability research, analytics, consumer insights, A/B testing, engineers, and development teams.
- Conducted user research usability testing and held company-wide monthly UX workshops.
- Mentored and developed a team of UX and UI designers; set clear goals, managed project loads, and allocated resources accordingly.
- Introduced the Design Thinking culture and set up the UX process in the company.
Technologies: Information Architecture (IA), Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Axure, Design Thinking, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Dashboards, Dashboard Design, UX Research, Web App Design, SaaS Design, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, B2B, Interaction Design (IxD), Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, eCommerce Platforms, UX Strategy, Product Design, User Flows, Service Design, MVP Design, Enterprise SaaS, Heuristic Evaluation, Design Systems, High-fidelity Mockups, Wireframe to Product, User Personas, Web App UI, Competitive Analysis, Responsive Web Apps, Product Discovery, UX Audits, Design Leadership, Leadership, Enterprise, User Testing
UX Designer
2014 - 2014
XE.com
- Designed an online payment platform for B2B and B2C customers.
- Took large complex data sets, visualized that data into useful information, and made it simple for users to interact with.
- Conducted initial user research, created card sorting to build the main navigation, created personas, drew user journeys, designed wireframes, high fidelity prototypes, and the UI.
- Performed usability testing to improve the product UX.
- Worked with developers and test teams to implement the design in the product code.
Technologies: Information Architecture (IA), Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Axure, Design Thinking, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Design Strategy, Dashboard Design, UX Research, Mobile UX, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, B2B, Interaction Design (IxD), Qualitative Research, eCommerce Platforms, Banking & Finance, Product Design, MVP Design, High-fidelity Mockups, Wireframe to Product, Online Payments, User Personas, Competitive Analysis, Fintech, Mobile UX Design, Mobile Design, Responsive Web Apps, Product Discovery, UX Audits, User Testing
UX Designer
2013 - 2014
April-Six
- Worked as a contract UI/UX designer on a wide range of online projects, mainly for VMWare, Microsoft, Experian, Avanade, and Computer Associates.
- Collaborated with UX designers, creative directors, and development teams to ensure timely project delivery.
- Designed UI and UX for a website and small web apps.
- Performed usability testing for various native apps.
Technologies: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Axure, Design Thinking, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, UX Research, Information Gathering, Interaction Design (IxD), Product Design, B2C, High-fidelity Mockups, User Testing
UX/UI Designer
2013 - 2013
Western Union
- Collaborated with a team to design the UX for Western Union Business Solution and global partner sites.
- Designed an online payment platform for international students, allowing them or their guardians to pay the fees from anywhere in the world to any institute.
- Created interactive high-fidelity prototypes designed wireframes and user interfaces for mobile responsive web applications working in a strict agile environment.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Axure, Design Thinking, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, UX Research, Information Gathering, Interaction Design (IxD), eCommerce Platforms, Banking & Finance, B2C, High-fidelity Mockups, Online Payments, Fintech, Mobile Design, User Testing
UI/UX Designer
2007 - 2011
NVIDIA
- Collaborated with the design team to continuously improve the user experience of nvidia.co.uk and find a digital solution for Nvidia’s graphics products.
- Assisted a global team of UI/UX designers to craft great ideas and validate concepts.
- Adhered to design guidelines UX directions and provided solutions to regional challenges.
- Maintained tight deadlines and multi-tasking without compromising performance.
- Prioritized and worked efficiently while adhering to and defending the process.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, eCommerce UI, UX Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, Information Gathering, Interaction Design (IxD), B2C, High-fidelity Mockups
Other Experience
Certifications
MAY 2019 - PRESENT
Human-Computer Interaction for User Experience Design
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
JULY 2014 - PRESENT
User-centred Design
Interaction Design Foundation (IDF)
Skills
Tools
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Axure RP Pro, Miro, Usertesting.com, InVision, Adobe CC, Hotjar
Industry Expertise
Banking & Finance, Travel & Leisure
Platforms
Axure, Figma
Other
UX Workshops, Web UX, Mobile UX, Web App Design, Prototyping, B2B, Web App UX, SaaS Design, SaaS, Web Applications, Sitemaps, Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, eCommerce Platforms, User Research, Information Gathering, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Journeys, Information Architecture (IA), Wireframing, Rapid Prototyping, Interaction Design (IxD), Usability Testing, UX Design, Function Flow, UX Strategy, Product Design, User Flows, Service Design, Dashboard Design, B2C, MVP Design, Enterprise SaaS, Online Payments, Electronic Health Records (EHR), User Experience (UX), User Interviews, Heuristic Evaluation, User Personas, Design Systems, Design Thinking, Customer Experience, High-fidelity Mockups, eCommerce UI, UI Design, Dashboards, Design Strategy, UX Research, Content Management Systems (CMS), Competitive Analysis, Fintech, Mobile UX Design, Mobile Design, Responsive Web Apps, CRM Design, Product Discovery, UX Audits, Design Leadership, Leadership, Enterprise, User Testing, Wireframe to Product, Web App UI, Automation
Collaboration That Works
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
1
Share your needs
Discuss your requirements and refine your scope in a call with a Toptal domain expert.
2
Choose your talent
Get a short list of expertly matched talent within 24 hours to review, interview, and choose from.
3
Start your risk-free talent trial
Work with your chosen talent on a trial basis for up to two weeks. Pay only if you decide to hire them.
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring