/ Genesis and assumptions.
A multi-level platform for managing the company's products and services
Due to the fast and dynamic development of the company in the field of Digital Signage and Hotel TV applications, the company decided to organize its activities and build a tool that could address the growing number of customer problems and needs.
The BergOS system was intended to bring together all the company’s products in one place. It allowed clients to manage their applications and devices and build their working environment around the company’s tools and applications.
The platform included:
- Facility management, including the structure of facilities and assigning employees to them.
- Marketing and travel applications for Digital Signage devices and large touch screens.
- TV applications, including Hotel TV, Streaming and Information.
- Application builders that allowed clients to create applications without specialist knowledge.
- Integration and management of Smart Home and Hotel systems.
- Marketing tools for campaigns and marketing activities.
- Remote management of devices, including Digital Signage screens, touch screens, modems and hotel automation.
/ Business Impact
After the MVP pilot with our partner in Zermatt, BergOS was deployed in over 129 resorts across three countries: Switzerland, Germany and Italy.
The product generated approximately €2 million in revenue during its first two years.
Around 100 resort employees used the platform daily to manage applications and devices.
The application generators reduced the need for manual supervision of marketing and sales campaigns in resorts and tourist destinations by approximately 80%.
At the same time, the availability of tourist offers increased by around 40%.
/ BERGOS SYSTEM
The process of designing a product
/ Think — Discovery
The beginnings of the platform development were rather chaotic. As we continued building different products, we received a constant stream of requirements and problems to solve.
Clients needed not only a way to manage applications, but also the devices on which those applications were displayed. We initially attempted to create separate systems for each product, but these efforts were unsuccessful.
To organize the requirements and unresolved problems, we planned a series of design workshops.
We started with business stakeholders to define the business model, product goals, existing challenges and target user groups. We used tools such as the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas to organize the information and better understand customer goals, fears and motivations.
We also defined what the product should and should not be and created user stories describing the platform’s core functionalities and potential user interactions.
In later workshops, we involved technical stakeholders, mainly developers. This helped us define the technical capabilities of the solution, required technologies and integrations with external systems, as well as the estimated workload.
/ User research
To deepen our understanding of the problems identified during the workshops, we conducted research with representatives of the target user groups.
The first study was a survey used as a screener to identify user needs and problems. We compared the results with the information collected from the business team.
The second study consisted of in-depth individual interviews. We explored users’ problems, needs, motivations and concerns. To help participants understand the concept, we used user story excerpts and low-fidelity mockups of earlier solutions.
After the research, we analyzed the findings and incorporated them into the Business Model Canvas and Value Proposition Canvas.
I also conducted a competitive analysis of similar management systems from direct and indirect competitors and adjacent industries. Tools such as Wix, Squarespace, Webflow and Bubble provided useful examples, especially for application creation and management.
/ Make — Ideation
After the research phase, we moved into ideation workshops.
We used brainstorming sessions to generate functional ideas addressing the identified user and business needs. The Opportunity Solution Tree helped us organize potential functionality around specific needs.
I then collaborated with a business analyst to document the required platform features based on user stories and workshop outputs.
Together with the business team, we prioritized these features using a Priority Matrix. Although many functions seemed valuable, we focused first on the core needs of users, especially those in the key behavioral segments.
/ Make — implementation
One of the most complex tasks was creating the system map and user flows for the platform.
The large number of required features made this challenging. Working with a system analyst, we mapped core functionalities such as application, device, location and user management.
We then connected these maps while considering the relationships between them.
An important requirement was platform flexibility, including the ability to move smoothly between device and application configuration.
Mapping the functionality of the Digital Signage and Hotel TV application creators was particularly challenging. We used solutions from other industries, especially tools such as the Wix editor, as inspiration.
After finalizing the system map, I created user flows for the main platform functionalities, including: application creation, with and without the creator, device management, user creation, object structure management.
/ Wireframes
Before starting the visual design, I conducted desk research into trends and best practices for management system interfaces and revisited examples collected during the competitive analysis.
I created low-fidelity wireframes to quickly visualize the main functionalities and focus on user flows rather than visual details.
I used a top-down approach, starting with the primary user journey and then developing the secondary elements of each feature.
Once the main wireframes were ready, I started collaborating with developers before the final designs were completed.
/ High-fidelity design
I worked on the high-fidelity mockups together with the UI Designer.
We analyzed current UI trends for web applications and management systems and used industry examples to define the visual direction of the product. We iteratively tested different visual styles and created example screens.
The final designs followed the same approach as the wireframes: we started with the main user paths and then refined the supporting elements.
The work was closely connected to the implementation roadmap. A portion of the system was delivered at the end of each sprint, which allowed development of new features to continue continuously.
During this stage, we also started building a local library of reusable components as the foundation for a Design System.
The component library helped us speed up the design of future features and reduce development costs. The components were developed in parallel with developers, who created their corresponding components.
As each group of mockups was completed, I worked with developers to explain the behavior of UI elements, including interactions, transitions and animations.
/ Learn — Delivery
After launching the MVP, we started internal testing. I was actively involved in this process, which allowed us to identify bugs and system issues.
We then released the platform to our first clients with access to the core application and device management features.
To support onboarding, I created user guides in PDF and video formats explaining how to use the system’s features.
As users started reporting bugs and issues, we created a ticketing system that allowed the development team to track and resolve reported problems.
Due to a limited budget and internal resistance, we could not conduct full-scale usability testing. The large number of features would also have made such testing expensive.
Instead, I conducted guerrilla usability tests with employees and acquaintances. The tests focused on the main platform features and included preparing test scenarios and analyzing the results in structured tables.
The tests helped us identify critical usability problems, which were addressed in later iterations.
/ Main problems
Despite a detailed discovery phase and identified user needs, business decisions sometimes resulted in features that were not needed by users. This led to significant resource waste during development.
Another major issue was frequent and unjustified changes to the business logic. Because of the complexity of the product, these changes increased development costs and caused delays as the team had to return to earlier concepts.
There was also a tendency to focus on minor bugs while more important issues remained unresolved. This sometimes caused frustration among clients when high-priority improvements were not delivered.
External dependencies created additional challenges, especially when integrating third-party systems or working with hardware providers. Limitations on the supplier side sometimes required changes to the interface.
Critical firmware bugs also made some features unusable, including the application creator on Samsung and LG TVs.
Finally, the platform rollout was chaotic due to a lack of experienced personnel capable of effectively managing the implementation process.
