ACQUAA - Streamlining Operations & Real-Time Insights for Water Utility Company
Role
Lead Product Designer
Timeline
2023 - 10 Months
(May' 23 - Feb' 24)
Project type
B2B SaaS | Operations & Permitting
Team
1 Product Designer
2 Product Owners
2 Business Analyists
6 Developers
“This project demonstrates my ability to design and validate complex enterprise workflows involving payments, accessibility, and operational risk.”
My Journey
Embarking on an exciting journey at Ampcus from May 2023 to Feb 2024, I had the incredible opportunity to join the innovative Acquaa Team. Tasked with shaping the user experience for a water utility SaaS website, I delved into the world of product design. Collaborating with a dynamic team of 2 product owners, 2 business analysts, and 8 developers.
Overview of the product
In developing Acquaa, a SaaS website designed for Water Utility Company, we introduce specialized modules for backflow prevention, fire hydrant management, and FOG modules. Through meticulous planning and collaborative efforts, Acquaa is set to optimize water infrastructure management, improve operational efficiency, and deliver real-time insights tailored to DC Water's diverse requirements.
Glimpse of the Prototype
Prototype for Fire Hydrant Permit creation
Problem
User research and behavioral data revealed major friction in core workflows:
🧩
Permit creation was slow and error-prone
Operational users had to navigate long, fragmented forms with unclear system feedback. This increased cognitive load, led to frequent validation errors and slowed down time-sensitive permit submissions.
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Payment steps were fragmented and confusing
Payment was treated as a separate, disjointed step rather than part of the core workflow. Users were unsure when payments were required, whether submissions were successful, and how to recover from failures.
⚠️
Users lacked confidence during critical submissions
Unclear system states forced operational teams to adopt manual and offline workarounds, increasing effort, slowing workflows, and introducing the risk of human error during critical submissions.
These issues resulted in task abandonment, delayed incident response, and increased support overhead.
What did I do in this project?
My substantial involvement in the backflow prevention module and comprehensive leadership in developing the fire hydrant module. Users and Admin, aiming for functionality and a seamless, visually cohesive experience across the entire website.. This dual role ensures a well-rounded and effective solution for DC Water's specific needs within the Acquaa platform.
My Impact
The redesigned workflows delivered measurable improvements:
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SUS score improved from ~56 → ~78
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Boosted task completion by 70%
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Incident response time reduced by 25% after streamlining payment-dependent workflows
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Time to complete payment flow reduced by ~20%
Outcome
The redesign modernized a critical enterprise system, improved operational efficiency, and enabled faster, more reliable permit handling for municipal teams. The work also established scalable UX patterns that were reused across dashboards and notification systems.
User Flow
Flow Level Chart
Few Admin Screens
Few User Screens
