I craft ideas into joy.
IA
With 7 years in UX design and product management, I've launched successful platforms like AppCity and 'alo,' driving user growth and revenue. I excel in creating user-centric solutions, leading teams, and have earned certifications in UX and product management.
As part of my commitment to continuous personal development, I dedicate time to enhance my skills. Each specialization consists of a series of courses, typically 4 weeks long, with at least 5 courses comprising one specialization.
I’m a product chameleon, blending design, development, and business strategy to create user-focused products that deliver results. My passion lies in bridging the gap between what users want and what businesses need.
Each project includes apps, web interfaces, and admin systems. For more details, email me at Ifaz.ahmed.63@gmail.com. While all projects are live, some have restricted access or are under NDA.
I love building things, and I understand that it’s more than just creating products. Successful products are the result of a sequence of smart, calculated decisions, which I refer to as 'story snippets'. These are directly connected to my work. I’m sharing the latest 7 story snippets here, and if you’re interested in more, feel free to reach out. However, please note that I don’t provide case studies.
AppCity features an 'SMS App' that delivers content-based messages to subscribed users via USSD, SMS, and Web. The subscription engine queues users and continuously attempts to send SMS until successful. However, various factors—such as network issues, insufficient mobile credit, phone being turned off, or SMS Do Not Disturb mode—can cause delivery failures. These persistent attempts increase transactions per second (TPS), leading to higher infrastructure costs and slowing down the entire system.
We’ve optimized the SMS delivery attempts to 4 times every 6 hours, leading to an impressive 80.21% reduction in infrastructure costs. For an estimated 1M users, this change decreased the TPS from 1,400 to 277, significantly reducing the required capacity by five times in the worst case. TPS (transactions per second) measures server load and is crucial for telecom services like SMS and USSD. 🎉💪🏻
Here’s the best part: the entire optimization was based on the 'worst case.' Our 2-month testing revealed that encountering such extreme scenarios is less than 1% likely. Although we’ve statistically reduced costs by five times, in reality, it’s even more significant. With a 98% success rate for SMS delivery after the second attempt, the actual average load for 1M users is about 2,200,000 hits or ~3 TPS. This means not only are we prepared for the worst case, but our system is also highly reliable and capable of handling high user volumes with minimal issues. Hypothetically, this optimization has reduced costs by 99.78%. 🎉
AppCity is a local marketplace that directly competes with Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Its unique selling proposition (USP) is providing telecom APIs, including SMS, mobile balance billing (direct operator billing), and local digital payment gateways. Given that only 12% of BD users have credit cards, AppCity serves the 88% who can't make purchases on other platforms. Targeting a diverse audience—aged 20-45 for consumers and 10-50 for developers—AppCity needed a lean journey to offer a holistic experience for users with varying education levels. Additionally, AppCity plans to introduce a signature module in the future.
We opted for Next.js to create a single-page application (SPA) with on-demand component loading, excellent caching, faster performance, secure authentication, and scalability. The app is also a Progressive Web App (PWA), allowing installation without a distribution channel and offering offline support and hyper-caching. We adhered to WCAG 3 standards for accessibility, optimized SEO, and managed keyboard operations for efficiency. The design includes dark and light themes, linear UX steps, and limited animations to enhance user experience while avoiding motion sickness, following Nielsen's heuristic evaluation.
Our initial observations showed that maintaining consistent flows across the three platforms (admin, developer, and users) created a seamless experience with no learning curve. 🌟 Around 82% of developers immediately switched to dark mode 🌙, while admins began using keyboard navigation for faster operations ⌨️. Impressively, 92% of users installed AppCity as a PWA without needing external tutorials 📲. The SPA performance received a 95% satisfaction rate in focus group discussions compared to a traditional website 👍, and the user journey required no additional guidance 📚. This confirms that our business decisions were accurate. 🚀
This will be the last snippet from AppCity, though I have more if you're interested—just email me at Ifaz.ahmed.63@gmail.com. 👉🏻 When building the product, we faced a decision: should we launch with all features at once to onboard developers and users quickly, or roll out features in chunks each quarter? 👉🏻 We use OTP for registration and login, but non-Grameenphone SIMs sometimes fail due to their system issues, which we can't track as they're not integrated with our system. 👉🏻 Additionally, we needed to figure out how to schedule content created by developers.
Based on the challenges, I made the following decisions: 👉🏻 For the project journey, I designed 70% of the entire project but chose to develop only 20% of the planned features initially. This approach mitigates risks associated with a marketplace, such as security and transparency, which can become evident only after feature release. 👉🏻 To address the issue with non-Grameenphone SIMs, I added an optional email field alongside OTP. Users can now receive OTPs via both SMS and email if they provide both. 👉🏻 Developers can create content for up to 60 days before their app is approved, with each approved piece of content automatically scheduled for the next available date.
The results exceeded my expectations: 👉🏻 The 20% of features we released were well-received, and we successfully mitigated the first set of risks as planned. On the first day of the soft launch, we gained over 5,000 subscribers ✅. 👉🏻 We identified and began addressing potential risks associated with new features in parallel ✅. 👉🏻 The email OTP feature was used 100% of the time by users registering with other operators ✅. 👉🏻 Developers wasted no time after submitting their apps, as they could start creating content immediately ✅.
Oops, I broke my promise—this will truly be the last one, I promise 😝. Building a platform to attract developers who will use our APIs and services requires a deep understanding of their preferences. Onboarding should be as simple as sharing a web app link, with the rest being intuitive. Content creation and app setup need to be well-guided, so even if developers don't follow every step, they can easily grasp what to do. Additionally, we aimed to achieve broad reach with minimal effort, recognizing that time is money.
Based on the challenges, I implemented a step-by-step journey for registration, profile creation, and content setup, introduced a rejection journey with detailed improvement steps, and created a 2-step icon builder for customizable, royalty-free icons. I also added skip options to bypass certain pages, allowed content creation before app approval, ensured mobile responsiveness, enabled simultaneous app creation, and allowed developers to schedule up to 60 days of content for each pending app.
We conducted a workshop with 50 developers, and 100% were able to create an app without any guidelines. If a content or app was rejected, 100% of developers received approval on their second attempt. Among 400+ developers, 399 utilized the Icon Builder. Developers created an average of 60 days of content for two apps before approval. Two additional workshops at SUST, Sylhet, and GPShop Workshop 2 saw 96% of over 800 participants using mobile apps to join the developer community. Some developers created 4-5 apps while their previous submissions were pending approval. The full onboarding process, from registration to app creation, takes an average of 20 minutes.
Alo is Grameenphone's venture into the IoT ecosystem. Given that Bangladesh is still in the early stages of IoT, there is a significant opportunity to educate the target audience and achieve product-market fit. During the alo launch, we faced tight deadlines with over 700 stories to address within 3-4 months, leading to the omission of a landing page. Alo offers a unique experience where users cannot sign up directly; instead, an account is created upon device purchase, and account details are sent via SMS and email. Other aspects such as installation fees, product information, and online purchase channels were communicated manually. Additionally, the login page lacks a call-to-action (CTA) to redirect users to a landing page, requiring them to remember the login details.
To address the challenges, I implemented the following solutions: I introduced a landing page with a futuristic design and crisp animations to provide a premium feel, incorporating three key CTAs. Although the standard is usually two CTAs, this approach works for our needs. The CTAs include a link to the login portal, details on installations, and an option to purchase the device online, catering to different customer needs while the hero section serves all of them. The landing page also features sections on product information, pricing, and features, and highlights our corporate customers to build trust with new clients, serving both B2B and B2C audiences. Additionally, I integrated analytics into the landing page to track conversion rates and gather insights.
The results have been very promising: The landing page provides all the necessary information for new customers, and our analytics reveal that 44% of users go to the login page, 32% visit the online shop, and 24% engage with the landing page itself. This offers valuable insights. We've also observed a 21% increase in online purchases, which we attribute to the landing page. This estimate was based on comparing predicted versus actual online sales before and after the page's launch. Additionally, physical stores are now using the landing page to present information, leading to a 42% faster information retrieval rate and reducing the average wait time from 30 minutes to approximately 10 minutes.
IoT is a new concept that customers cannot grasp instantly, and the same applies to your colleagues, especially those on the front lines. It’s crucial to educate and adjust the journey accordingly. Grameenphone, the leading telecommunications company in Bangladesh, has front-line staff who are experts in selling SIM cards. They use a distribution app for sales and distribution tasks, including revenue booking, commission, performance tracking, inventory, sales orders, work orders, purchase orders, and invoicing.During our initial soft launch of Alo, we introduced a new order platform specifically for Alo-related items, while the legacy application continued to handle everything else. Although the staff managed well during workshops, they struggled when dealing with live customers (unbeknownst to them, these were simulated scenarios), resulting in confusion and mistakes.
The issues stemmed from the new software, product, and journey, combined with significant tech complexity. To address these, we integrated the new platform with existing software to ease the transition for front-line staff, appointed a dedicated professional to handle customer scheduling and maintain brand value, formed partnerships with relevant organizations for targeted outreach, and adjusted the pricing and subscription model to an 'infra-business model' to better fit Bangladesh’s evolving IoT market.
We spent a month developing APIs to integrate the new platform with the existing legacy system, resulting in a seamless experience with no issues since. We implemented a coordinator role to handle order assignments and scheduling, and added a 'self-installation' option for tech-savvy users, leading to zero complaints in the order journey. We introduced the COIP model for B2B2C, launched an online shop, and made alo available nationwide. Users can browse and order in guest mode. Additionally, we revamped pricing, updated inventory management, and improved the commissioning deal, effectively addressing all challenges encountered during the soft launch.
Alo, Grameenphone's pioneering platform, marked a significant shift from a traditional telco to a telco-tech mindset. We developed a robust application with over 500 features, offering a unified omni-experience where users can manage all devices, billing, and charging from one place. However, a major challenge arose with authentication. Grameenphone's strict policies, including complex passwords and two-factor authentication, while essential for security, proved cumbersome for users. The absence of clear guidelines for adding devices further complicated the experience for those with limited tech knowledge. Despite these complex issues, straightforward solutions were implemented to enhance user experience.
Luckily, these issues were identified during our focus group testing, allowing us to find solutions. We needed to resolve the complex password policy without compromising security. While two-factor authentication is essential for the web due to its vulnerability, we sought to simplify it. With too many features, we had to find ways to educate users on how to utilize them and effectively market these features. We also needed a smarter way to handle mobile authentication. The alert system, while beneficial for tech-savvy users, needed simplification for default users, as 30% of our paying customers preferred using the app with default settings. Additionally, we had no way of tracking which features were used by specific customers, and we needed to provide a way for customers to onboard their devices if they wished.
We shared the situation with the CXOs and secured an exception, eliminating the password condition, which resulted in a 100% positive response and reduced the journey time to 1-2 minutes. We defaulted 2FA off for the app while keeping it on for the web, leveraging the save password feature for web users. This change received a neutral response from 30% of users, but the remaining 70% responded very positively. I created user manuals and video tutorials for self-installations and feature usage, ensuring all users understood the process. Default values were set for all features, allowing default users to utilize them without adjustments, and market testing with 40-55-year-old customers yielded 100% positive feedback. Additionally, I implemented Google Analytics and introduced biometric authentication, resulting in zero complaints since the changes.
I’m Ifaz Ahmed. If you’ve read through everything about me, let’s catch up! Feel free to email me at Ifaz.ahmed.63@gmail.com if you’d like to hear more stories.
👉🏻 I am a versatile resource with multiple attributes. My strongest skills include designing and managing digital services, particularly for enterprise projects. I excel as both a product owner and UX/UI designer, and have a proven track record in project management and as a scrum master. Think of me as a Captain Planet 💪🏻—combining roles as a technical product manager, product designer, UX/UI designer, product owner, scrum master, and project manager. This diverse skill set enables me to deliver quick, yet professional results.
alo offers product features, leads, and scalability ☀️ (2024). CommSuite is the most crucial business project ☀️ (2024). BDE provides swift target management with no capex ☀️ (2024). Locator is a project that makes sense ☀️ (2024). Nationwide Crisis is a beacon of hope in health management ☀️ (2024).
I haven’t shared any case studies because they often don’t reflect the true situation. Having worked in startups, MNCs, MNC agencies, and software firms, I found that case studies rarely match my experiences. Instead, I prefer to share business stories.
With great power comes great responsibility. Fate has granted me opportunities that might take years for others to achieve, and I've had the privilege of being mentored by some of the most talented individuals. That’s why I believe in giving back to the community. Every now and then, I make it a point to contribute and support those around me.
Personal projects are pursued during my leisure time. Some are live, while others are in the design phase.
Want to chat? Just email me at ifaz.ahmed.63@gmail.com and I'll respond whenever I can.