A Governance, Risk, and Compliance platform leveraging AI agents to automate evidence collection and documentation.
At a glance
Role: Founding Product Designer
Timeline: 3-week engagement
Team: Founders Neha Kotha, Mansi Hukmani, and Frank Albanese
Stage: Pre-seed
Challenge: Make SOC 2 compliance workflows clearer and faster for clients
Outcome: Clients’ time spent on compliance dropped 65%
Introduction
My initial collaboration with this startup focused on entering the alternative medicine space. However, as the company pivoted to cybersecurity, they began developing AI agents to automate the manual and time-consuming processes of SOC 2 compliance. After finding product-market fit, they re-engaged me as Founding Product Designer to design the website, app and core compliance flow.
I surveyed our 8 clients to understand their pain points and shape a better flow. That research helped drive a 65% drop in the time clients spent on compliance. This case study focuses on the UI design process and how those client insights informed the product.
Home Dashboard
The project began with the design of a dashboard as a proof of concept. After successfully delivering the initial phase, the team was impressed with the results and requested that I take on the design of the entire product. This required expanding the dashboard into a comprehensive, cohesive user experience that aligned with both their vision and business goals.
I worked closely with stakeholders to ensure the product’s design not only maintained the simplicity and functionality of the initial dashboard but also scaled seamlessly to support additional features and complex user workflows. This process involved iterative feedback and continuous refinement to create a product that met user needs while driving business objectives.
Log in Screen
Approach
I drew inspiration from Mobbin, a platform that showcases UI designs from leading products. By reviewing these examples, I identified industry-proven UI patterns and best practices to use as visual inspiration for the project.
By integrating these patterns, I established a solid design foundation that aligns with common enterprise expectations. Client surveys with our 8 clients then helped refine the flow based on their real compliance pain points.
Controls Screen
I chose this design for the Controls page because it's a structure commonly used in effective SOC 2 compliance dashboards, similar to Vanta’s dashboard. This layout prioritizes clarity and ease of navigation, ensuring users can quickly access key controls for SOC 2 audits. My goal is to create an intuitive design for users familiar with security and compliance standards, reducing cognitive load and minimizing the steps required to locate necessary information.
Client surveys with our 8 clients helped confirm whether the layout made key controls easy to find and reduced the time spent navigating compliance data.
Challenge
Balancing Technical Complexity with User-Friendly Design:
One of the main challenges during the project was balancing the technical complexity of SOC 2 compliance automation with the need for a user-friendly interface. SOC 2 compliance involves handling a vast amount of detailed, highly specialized information. While the backend processes required sophisticated AI agents to automate tasks, the front-end UI needed to present this data in a way that was simple, clear, and accessible for users who may not have a deep technical background.
Solution:
To overcome this challenge, I worked closely with the CTO to fully understand the technical aspects of the AI agents and how they automate compliance processes. I then translated this complex functionality into a series of easy-to-understand visuals and intuitive workflows. By leveraging user interface patterns from similar compliance tools and surveying our 8 clients about their pain points, I created a dashboard that broke down complex tasks into digestible steps, while also allowing more experienced users to access detailed information if needed. This iterative process of aligning technical requirements with user needs ensured that the final product was both powerful and approachable, enabling users to easily navigate the complexities of SOC 2 compliance while benefiting from the automation offered by the AI agents.
Setting Screen -- User Permissions
My primary focus for the settings page is ensuring intuitive navigation across multiple tabs, similar to industry standards for enterprise platforms. The goal is to create a seamless experience where users can efficiently invite team members to the company’s account, manage user permissions, and compartmentalize tasks related to these features. I focused on minimizing friction in managing settings, making complex operations feel straightforward.
Client surveys with our 8 clients helped shape how inviting teammates, assigning permissions and managing settings should feel in practice.
What I learned
This project taught me how to balance complex technical functionality with user-friendly design. I gained a deeper understanding of SOC 2 compliance automation and learned the importance of close collaboration with developers to ensure the design supports technical processes. By leveraging established UI patterns, I simplified intricate workflows, making them accessible to users. Client surveys also reinforced the value of iterative design, allowing for refinements based on real feedback from our 8 clients. This experience strengthened my ability to design intuitive interfaces for complex, enterprise-level software.
Conclusion
This project successfully transformed complex SOC 2 compliance processes into intuitive, user-friendly designs. I designed the website, app and core flow, and surveyed our 8 clients to shape the experience. Clients’ time spent on compliance dropped 65%. This case study highlights the importance of balancing technical complexity with accessible design to deliver a solution that is both functional and user-centric.