Insituware
Software that improves electronic manufacturing by simplifying the quality control process for materials like solder paste and conformal coatings.
Overview
Insituware helps companies improve their electronics manufacturing processes by making it easier for them to conduct quality control on their materials – solder paste and conformal coating.
Defects in solder paste can arise at any time due to changes in materials or improper preparation prior to application. This can cause many issues in production including, but not limited to, unexpected rework, delays, cost, etc. It’s important to recognize common solder paste defects that can occur before and after the reflow process and how they can be prevented beforehand.
During the pandemic, I joined Insituware to help work on the interfaces of their cloud web platforms and award-winning handheld device, the Vision MARK-1.
The Challenge
User interface auditing & optimizing for usability
The Vision MARK-1 is a handheld diagnostic tool that provides rapid, small sample solder paste measurements for quality control solutions. The device helps to reduce printing defects by monitoring solder paste quality before printing, and to quickly eliminate solder paste as the root cause of defects in the manufacturing process.
The device interacts with various cloud platforms and portals, all of which needed significant help on the UX/UI front. The original interfaces were outdated, clunky, and built using generic templates. Over the span of several weeks, I helped the Insituware engineering team bring their software interfaces up to modern standards by conducting audits, refining the UI, designing for consistency, and optimizing for usability.
Refining the client portal UX/UI
I was also responsible for redesigning the organization portal, allowing electronic manufacturing companies to manage their organizations and subscription plans for Insituware’s cloud software.
The original portal was buggy, poor, and needed a design refresh. This involved dozens of micro UX and UI adjustments to improve the overall experience for its users, all the way from starting to and managing their users, devices, and paid subscriptions.
Crafting the Cobalt Design System
One of the most critical tools I delivered to Insituware was the Cobalt Design System. This system was created to help the product and engineering teams make their interfaces more consistent, modern, and to help speed up the creation of new features by componentizing elements and building blocks.
I worked closely with the front-end engineers – using Chromatic and Storybook – to review and approve design changes. As a result, Insituware is on its way to becoming a more user-centric company keeping its end users in mind.
