Ratiodata — FolderApp

01

Summary

FolderApp handled meetings management for Ratiodata, the German IT services company behind B4: preparing an agenda, running the meeting, and dealing with what comes out of it. It was one of more than fifteen applications built on the Ratiodata design system, alongside B4, Extranet, Rollout and HelpMe.

This was the project where the process was the deliverable. Discovery workshop, competitive analysis, personas, customer journey map, user story map, user flows, tree testing, wireframes, then visual design, in that order.

NOTE:Draft pending Paul’s review. The process and artefacts below are from the project; the outcome numbers are the gap.

02

Understanding the problem first

Meetings software is deceptively crowded, so the work started by establishing what already existed and where it failed. Competitive analysis compared feature coverage, pricing and integration across the field. The customer journey map then split the experience into before, during and after the meeting, which is where the real gaps were: most tools handle the meeting itself and abandon the user at both ends.

A competitive analysis matrix comparing meetings products across features, integrations, pricing and scoring. — Competitive analysis. Feature coverage and integrations scored across the field, so feature decisions had a baseline to argue from.

A customer journey map for the meeting organiser persona, split into before, during and after the meeting with activities, touchpoints and pain points. — The journey map, split into before, during and after the meeting. Preparation and follow-up carried more pain than the meeting itself.

03

Structure before screens

A user story map turned the journey into a build order, and the flows were drawn before any interface existed. The information architecture was then validated with tree testing rather than assumed: participants were asked to find things in the proposed structure, and the structure was judged on whether they could.

A user story map with activities across the top and prioritised stories arranged in rows beneath. — User story map. The journey converted into a prioritised build order.

Tree testing results showing the proposed navigation hierarchy and participant paths through it. — Tree testing the proposed information architecture before committing to it in design.

A detailed user flow diagram covering the meeting management paths through the application. — User flows, drawn before the first wireframe.

04

Design

Designed the whole cycle, not just the meeting
The journey map put the heaviest pain in preparation and follow-up, so agenda building and post-meeting actions got first-class treatment.
Validated the structure before drawing it
Tree testing decided the navigation, which meant the wireframes started from a hierarchy that had already survived contact with users.
Built on the shared Ratiodata design system
Fifteen-plus applications used the same system, so FolderApp inherited navigation, forms, tables and state feedback rather than re-solving them.

Wireframes for the workspace, calendar and meeting detail screens across desktop and mobile. — Wireframes across desktop and mobile, including handwritten note capture.

Visual design screens for FolderApp showing workspace, calendar, meeting agenda and mobile views in the Ratiodata blue palette. — Visual design, on the shared design system.

05

The system behind it

The Ratiodata design system is the through-line between this project and B4. I designed and maintained components inside it while working on both in the same period.

The Ratiodata design system library in Figma, showing action, alert, toast and modal components in multiple states. — The Ratiodata design system: components in their states, shared across more than fifteen applications.