Active Cloud Management (ACM): From internal chaos to market ready.

In September 2024, Upshot was hired by Transforming Learning Group to help them transform their internal device management tool into a commercial product. ACM was software they'd developed to help their own technicians configure education devices—laptops, desktops, tablets, and servers—along with managing user accounts for staff and pupils. It could import MIS data and sync with services like Microsoft Azure and Google Classrooms, but there was a catch: it had been built purely for internal use.

Because the software was designed to improve efficiency for their own technicians who already understood the system, it lacked consistency, clear user workflows, and an adaptable UI. TLG wanted to turn this internal tool into a service that non-group technicians could use, which meant we needed to overhaul the entire software. The challenge wasn't just making it look better—it was resolving unintuitive processes, addressing usability concerns, and creating a UI that could evolve as new features were added to the roadmap.

I started by properly understanding what we were working with. I spent time reviewing the existing software, collating observations and drafting questions for the developers to understand technical constraints and possibilities. But I knew that understanding the software itself wasn't enough—I needed to understand the people who would actually use it.

I interviewed current users of the software to identify pain points and gather feedback about what worked and what frustrated them. What became clear quickly was that this software wouldn't just be used by technicians—teachers and key stakeholders would need to interact with it too. Each of these user groups had different needs, different technical abilities, and different goals. This insight fundamentally shaped how I approached the redesign.

With a proper understanding of the users and their needs, I created application use cases and wrote out the expected user paths to complete various tasks. These use cases became my guide for understanding user behaviour and identifying where the current software was creating unnecessary friction. I then started drafting wireframes, iterating through multiple versions using these use cases as my north star.

Testing theories early was crucial. I observed technicians trying to complete simple tasks using the wireframes, which revealed assumptions I'd made that didn't match reality. The TLG CTO had provided a desire design system as a base, which gave me a solid starting point for visual consistency. I focused on designing core components first: navigations and page layouts that would form the backbone of the entire system before moving on to smaller elements.

The design process was iterative and collaborative. I created evolving prototypes and tested them with users, gathering feedback and refining the designs based on what I learned. Each round of testing revealed new insights about how different user groups interacted with the system. Teachers needed simpler, more guided workflows. Technicians needed efficient access to advanced features. Stakeholders needed clear visibility of what was happening across their organisation.

Throughout the project, I maintained close communication with TLG's development team. Since they were building the new software in-house, my role extended beyond just designing screens—I provided detailed annotations and consultation to help them understand not just what to build, but why certain decisions had been made. This consultative approach ensured that the reasoning behind the UX decisions wasn't lost in translation during implementation.

The project ran from November 2024 to January 2025, and by the end, we'd transformed ACM from an internal tool into a market-ready product. The new interface was intuitive for technicians, accessible for teachers, and clear for stakeholders—addressing the needs of all three user groups within a unified system. The PrimeOne design library provided the aesthetic cohesion TLG needed, whilst the modular component approach ensured the platform could scale as new features were added.

This project reinforced the importance of proper user research at the start of any redesign. It would have been easy to jump straight into visual design and focus purely on making the interface look more polished. But the real value came from understanding who would use the software, how they'd use it, and what they actually needed to accomplish. Sometimes the best design work happens before you open Figma—it happens in conversations with users, observing their behaviour, and mapping out their real-world workflows.