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TL;DR
The Challenge
A powerful yet dated desktop application needed transformation into a modern web solution—with a clear UX focus.
Our Approach
A Lean UX Workshop and prototyping for fast, reliable results.
The Outcome
A thoroughly refined prototype as a blueprint for technical implementation and enhanced organizational understanding of UX.
The Challenge: Functional, Yet Not Intuitive
The existing KWIS software is a classic local desktop application that has been under development for many years. While the application is functionally mature and continuously maintained and extended, it needed optimization for modern work practices: mobile work was possible but not with the full feature set. Access to key functions needed to be more direct and user guidance clearer.
For the planned new web solution, GEFAK had already completed extensive groundwork: concepts, workflows, and process charts existed. The goal was clear: the user experience needed noticeable improvement. However, they lacked a path to turn numerous ideas into concrete, actionable steps. Something tangible that could be tested, evaluated, and further developed – without consuming the resources that previous, laboriously coded prototypes had required. With precisely this requirement in mind, GEFAK searched for a service provider and found what they needed in INNOQ’s service offering.
The Task: UX First
In modernization projects, technical aspects almost always take center stage initially: an architecture redesign, a new codebase, or scalability. User experience often enters consideration much later. However, GEFAK approached INNOQ with a clear UX challenge: the software should showcase its strengths even better through intuitive operation and a modern interface that appeals to all user groups – including younger ones. Additionally, INNOQ as an external service provider should not only contribute technological expertise but also handle moderation, structure the process, and provide guidance. The goal was to achieve tangible results as quickly as possible.
The external moderation helped us maintain focus and finally make decisions that we had often postponed internally.
Regine JahnProduct Owner at GEFAK
Our Approach: A Workshop to Initiate Progress
To start the project, INNOQ proposed a Lean UX Workshop – an ideal methodological entry point to structure the multitude of existing ideas, prioritize problems, and develop initial solution approaches. GEFAK embraced this approach from the start and brought representatives from all relevant areas: product owner, management, development, and support. Together, they quickly agreed on a central use case: the filter process for creating recipient lists. This provided a clear, shared focus that formed the foundation for subsequent steps.
A Lean UX Workshop is a structured, methodological entry point into UX-oriented projects. In a short time, existing ideas, assumptions, and requirements are collectively sorted and prioritized. The workshop typically involves people from product management, development, and other relevant areas.
The goal is to develop a shared perspective on a specific use case. This generates initial hypotheses that can later serve as the foundation for prototyping and testing. Topics that don’t relate to the current focus are documented and deliberately set aside to maintain focus.
The workshop creates a shared understanding of target groups, workflows, and problem areas. In projects with legacy systems, this format helps organize existing structures and establish a clear starting point for further development.
The workshop helped organize and connect existing knowledge. This clarified the logical next steps and made it straightforward to decide on concrete measures toward achieving a long-term goal. Simultaneously, it laid the groundwork for an iterative, user-centered design process at GEFAK, fully aligned with User-Centered Design principles: understand the context of use, specify requirements, develop design solutions, and test.
Implementation: Prototyping for Testing
With a deliberately smaller, focused team, the next step followed: INNOQ created a clickable, interactive prototype without time-consuming coding. This approach was new to GEFAK and proved revelatory: without costly programming and implementation, they had created a discussion and testing foundation that illustrated the new interaction concept. This click dummy was first tested with internal users. INNOQ closely supported test preparation, including through a structured test guide. GEFAK gained valuable insights from observing the initial tests and subsequently conducted several rounds independently. This allowed them to identify obstacles and systematically optimize usability further.
The Outcome: A Foundation for Direct Implementation
After conducting the tests, an iteratively refined, validated prototype was ready — a clear conclusion to the joint project and a concrete deliverable that answered all open questions around interaction design and information architecture.
For GEFAK, this meant: no further coordination loops, no retrospective fundamental discussions. The internal development team could immediately use the prototype as a template for implementation and begin programming the new web application right away. The UX decisions made collaboratively during the project flowed seamlessly into development and laid the foundation for a focused start. Particularly valuable: the team could build on validated assumptions. This created confidence and helped establish the right priorities. The project timeline was not only accelerated, but costly changes in later phases were systematically avoided.
The project demonstrated how much more efficient it is to test early with prototypes. Instead of developing first and then discovering what’s missing, we were able to identify and address weaknesses upfront.
Regine JahnProduct Owner at GEFAK
