Doing More With Less. Leading a Small Team to Big Results
At Limble, I transformed a small, struggling design team into a powerhouse that delivered major product redesigns faster, smarter, and with higher quality.
A little background
When I joined Limble, the design team was basically starting from scratch. There were no systems, no templates, no standards, and no forum for the team to give feedback to each other. Before I joined, the team had 8 people but no design leader. When I stepped in I took over a team of six product designers, which eventually dropped to four due to RIFs. At the same time, the business had changed direction, and the team didn’t have all the right skills and systems in place for the new goals.
The Challenge
I had to figure out how to deliver major product re-designs and re-writes while also building a strong, capable design team. Some of the challenges I faced included:
A small team under pressure to design and deliver multiple new products simultaneously.
No tools, templates, or processes to guide the work.
A mix of skills that didn’t fully match the business needs.
The need to make products look and work better while keeping the team coordinated and productive.
Two major initiatives running in parallel: a large desktop rewrite and a reimagined mobile experience.
Engineering had already started development work on the major rewrite before design was involved, meaning we were literally designing the plane while it was being flown.
The pace and scale of what needed to be done didn’t match our headcount, forcing us to work smarter, faster, and in tight alignment.
What I did
Built Cross-Functional Alignment
Led a 3-day onsite with designers, product managers, engineers, and executives to align on outcomes, strategy, and priorities.
Ensured everyone understood the ambitious timeline for the desktop rewrite and mobile re-imagined projects.
Established clear ownership, responsibilities, and alignment on critical decisions to keep the team moving efficiently and reduce miscommunication.
Designing the Plane While Flying It
Stepped into the re-write project where engineering had already started development before design was involved.
Worked under high pressure to integrate design seamlessly while development was ongoing.
This required rapid iteration, quick alignment with engineers, and constant adjustment to keep the project on track without slowing delivery.
Right Team, Right Skills
Evaluated the team and made tough choices, letting one person go and hiring a design system specialist to fill a critical gap.
Trained the remaining team so everyone could focus on the right areas for our new goals.
Built Skills That Matter
Created a quality manifesto with the team, and introduced the team to design critique.
Taught the team how to create accessible and inclusive experiences that work for everyone.
Brought in AI tools to make design work faster and smarter.
Created a space for regular feedback and collaboration so the team could improve together.
Built Research Muscle
Got buy-in for an unmoderated research tool to gather rapid user insights.
Created a customer testing pool for quick volunteer reach-outs, so we could test designs faster.
Leveraged subject matter expert (SME) feedback when needed to make decisions quickly without slowing down delivery.
This allowed the team to make informed design decisions even under tight timelines.
Built a Strong Foundation
Created reusable templates and guides for both desktop and mobile products.
Built a mobile and desktop design systems so future work would be faster and more consistent.
Managed Scope, Trade-Offs, and Stakeholders
Constantly balanced speed versus quality, deciding what could be reduced or postponed without compromising the user experience.
Negotiated scope adjustments with stakeholders to ensure the team could deliver on time while maintaining critical quality standards.
Realigned priorities repeatedly as business needs shifted, keeping the team focused and aligned with key outcomes.
Delivered Big Projects
Re-imagined and shipped the mobile product in six months.
Led a re-write with a focus of improving the UX, UI and accessibility of a large desktop product also at the same time.
Made sure both products were easy to use, high quality, and consistent with each other.
Tradeoff conversations galore!
Every decision was a careful balance between speed and quality. We had to decide what we could compromise on to move fast, and what we couldn’t sacrifice to ensure improved quality and experience.
By building specialized skills, establishing processes, and fostering alignment, I turned a small, under-resourced team into a force multiplier, delivering more, faster, and with higher quality than the sum of its parts.
The Results:
Shipped multiple products faster without completely sacrificing quality.
Made the team stronger, more organized, and better at working together.
Built systems, templates, and processes that will help the team succeed long-term, even with fewer people.
Turned a team with no leadership into a high-performing, specialized unit capable of tackling big projects in parallel.
Takeaways
Leading through change means making tough team decisions while also building skills for the future.
Creating strong foundations early—templates, systems, and feedback—makes work faster and better.
Training the team in key areas and giving them structure helps even a small team deliver big results.
Managing trade-offs and stakeholder alignment is critical when balancing speed, quality, and shifting business priorities.
Building research muscle and rapid decision-making frameworks allows teams to move fast without losing insight or quality.
Sometimes, you have to design while the plane is already flying—rapid iteration, constant alignment, and flexibility are key to keeping projects on track.
Mobile Re-Imagined
Mobile Re-imagined outcomes and impact:
Delivered Early and Loved by Customers
The mobile re-imagined experience was delivered ahead of schedule and designed closely with real customers throughout the process. We used:
Onsite customer observations
Usability testing
Rapid feedback and iteration
Accessibility was built in from the start. The experience was designed to be easy to use:
One-handed
In bright sunlight
In low-light environments
Under real-world conditions technicians actually work in
The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Customers are sharing that the new experience:
Feels faster and more reliable
Has less waiting, fewer timeouts, and smoother performance
Is much easier to use and navigate
Builds more trust in the product
Several technicians have said they will never go back to the old version, which is a strong signal that the work truly improved their day-to-day experience.
Beyond user sentiment, the product is already showing clear business impact. We are seeing early signs that the new experience is helping prevent customer churn and contributing to winning new deals, reinforcing that strong product experience directly supports revenue and retention.
Desktop Re-write
Desktop Re-write outcomes and impact:
Shipping Soon with Meaningful Improvements
The desktop product is now nearing launch. While the timeline did not allow for a full redesign, we focused on high-impact improvements that matter most to users.
What we delivered:
Clear UX and UI improvements
Updated information architecture (how content is organized) to better match how users think and work
Better alignment to real user goals and jobs to be done
We used fast, lightweight research methods to guide decisions, including:
Tree testing (to validate navigation)
Quick usability testing
Card sorting
Rapid feedback sessions
Even within constraints, the improvements meaningfully increase:
Consistency across the product
Clarity and ease of use
Modern look and feel
Trust in the experience
Design that can scale as the functionality and user-base scales
The result is a more cohesive, standardized, and usable product that sets a stronger foundation for future improvements.
