Olga Stepanova

Product designer

SaaS platform for construction companies that helps manage end-to-end operational processes in one service: estimates and cost control, procurement, scheduling, inventory, on-site progress tracking, and document flow.

SKILLS: UX DESIGN, UI DESIGN, DESIGN SYSTEM
2021–2023
Gectaro

Problems

When I joined Gectaro, the platform was scaling rapidly as more construction companies adopted it. The product had to support complex end-to-end workflows (estimates and cost control, procurement, scheduling, inventory, on-site tracking, documents) across different roles — while staying consistent, easy to learn, and efficient in daily operations.

Objective

Improve product adoption and operational efficiency by enabling construction teams to manage end-to-end processes in one platform, reducing manual work and process fragmentation.

Success metrics

  • Activation / time-to-first-value (first project / estimate / procurement / document created)
  • Feature adoption across key modules
  • Workflow efficiency (time to complete key actions)
  • User feedback loop: We collected feedback continuously through direct communication with customers (small user base enabled frequent live sessions). I regularly reviewed raw user input (problem descriptions, pain points), mapped it to real construction workflows, and translated it into UX improvements and product tasks.

Tasks

  • Own core UX flows and UI across key modules
  • Define UX strategy and end-to-end user scenarios together with PMs
  • Drive discovery, prototyping, and validation to improve activation and module adoption
  • Design and iterate on new features, prioritizing workflow efficiency and usability
  • Establish scalable UI patterns/components to speed up future iterations
  • Collaborate with engineers from discovery to delivery and post-release iteration

Role-based module access model

Role-based module access model

Scenario mapping for complex workflows

Scenario mapping for complex workflows
Before
Before - Estimate tool
  • The estimate tool was inconvenient and inflexible.
  • It was hard to edit data and rearrange steps.
  • Large estimates were difficult to navigate.
  • Users needed to share estimates with clients without showing sensitive internal fields (e.g., margin).
After
After - Estimate tool
  • Conducted user interviews and analyzed real estimate templates from different companies.
  • Designed a flexible estimate structure that can be customized per company.
  • Improved editing: easier to rearrange steps and update individual cells.
  • Added filtering/navigation to quickly find information in large estimates.
  • Enabled sharing with configurable visibility (users can choose which fields to show).
Before
Before - Task management
  • Users couldn't attach materials/files to a task.
  • Mentions were often missed, so teammates didn't receive notifications.
  • Large tasks with many subtasks were hard to add and manage.
  • A task couldn't be linked to multiple projects.
After
After - Task management
  • Added the ability to attach materials/files to a task.
  • Introduced @mentions with notifications.
  • Added checklists/subtasks to break down large tasks.
  • Enabled linking a task to one or multiple projects.
Before
Before - Progress report
  • The progress report didn't provide a quick overview of labor vs. plan (including overages).
  • Users needed to attach photos of daily construction progress, but the system didn't support this.
  • Projects often involved multiple contractors, but contractor information wasn't available in the report.
  • There wasn't enough space or flexibility to leave comments.
After
After - Progress report
  • Added a dashboard with summary metrics so users can instantly see progress and labor vs. plan.
  • Enabled attaching photos to document daily construction progress.
  • Added contractor details to the project report.
  • Introduced a comments section for updates and clarifications.

The design library grew 10+ times.

Design library — Text fields, Buttons, Dropbox

Mobile app

Gectaro mobile app — three smartphone screens

My impact over 3 years

  • Product usage increased 2.5x.
  • User satisfaction improved (survey results): 8/10 average rating.
  • The number of active companies increased 3.8x.
  • The number of projects created increased 4.3x.
  • The product was officially accredited and added to the national register of compliant software.