The workflow
User Story
As an internal IBM team member responsible for launching a website,
I want to quickly generate a compliant, well-structured site using AI-driven recommendations, So that I can focus on the content that matters without reinventing the wheel or risking non-compliance.
Personas
Users aren’t designers or devs — they need tools that “do the thinking” for them
Most users care more about speed and simplicity than customization
Many are unaware of compliance requirements or IBM’s design language
Metrics analysis
Low reuse of shared templates or components
Support tickets frequently mention confusion about structure
Time-to-publish is longer than acceptable for internal needs
Competitive research
Call out a feature, benefit, or value that can stand on its own.
Polls & surveys
Call out a feature, benefit, or value that can stand on its own.
A bold headline
that delivers
Go ahead and say just a little more about what you do.
Call to action
Secondary
See the Big Picture
Area turns your data into clear, vibrant visuals that show you exactly what's happening in each region.
Research tools + key learnings
Alicia Brooks Design
Work
About
IBM Ai Solutions
Case Study
Introduction
IBM is a global company with over 500,000 employees, all needing websites for:
HR resources, executive announcements, product launches, workflows & internal communications.
But every site typically requires designers, developers, product managers, and brand compliance reviews — a heavy lift at scale. To solve this, we created an internal enterprise SaaS website builder that empowers teams to build compliant, consistent sites without needing full design or development resources for every project.
Role // Product Design Lead
- Lead & mentor 3 junior designers
- Work cross-functionally with product and development leadership
The product
Publisher is a global enterprise tool
Scope
- Global Tool
- 70k sites created
- 14m sessions/mo
Features
- Blogs
- Comments
- @mentions
- Tables
- Forms
- Panels
- Stock photo library
- Metrics
- ect.
Support
- Office hours
- Slack support channel
- Support site
The workflow
User Story
As an internal IBM team member responsible for launching a website,
I want to quickly generate a compliant, well-structured site using AI-driven recommendations, So that I can focus on the content that matters without reinventing the wheel or risking non-compliance.
Benefits
Ideation
Area provides real insights, without the data overload.
Team FigJam Workshop
Unlock data-driven decisions with comprehensive analytics, revealing key opportunities for strategic regional growth.
Cross-functional brainstorming
Manage and track satellite offices, ensuring consistent performance and streamlined operations everywhere.
Impact versus effort Matrix
Adapt to diverse markets with built-in localization for clear communication and enhanced user experience.
Voted on 2 winners
Generate precise, visually compelling reports that illustrate your growth trajectories across all regions.
Ideation
Figjam (Mural) workshop
Bring ideas
- Add features to board
- Impact vs. Effort Matrix
Impact vs. Effort matrix
Organized ideas by potential user impact and implementation effort
- Identified quick wins (high-impact, low-effort)
- Flagged longer-term bets for future planning
Vote on feature list
Organized ideas by potential user impact and implementation effort
- Identified quick wins (high-impact, low-effort)
- Flagged longer-term bets for future planning
See the Big Picture
Area turns your data into clear, vibrant visuals that show you exactly what's happening in each region.
Research tools + key learnings
Personas
Users aren’t designers or devs — they need tools that “do the thinking” for them
Most users care more about speed and simplicity than customization
Many are unaware of compliance requirements or IBM’s design language
Metrics analysis
Low reuse of shared templates or components
Support tickets frequently mention confusion about structure
Time-to-publish is longer than acceptable for internal needs
Competitive research
Call out a feature, benefit, or value that can stand on its own.
Polls & surveys
Call out a feature, benefit, or value that can stand on its own.
Product scope
The problem
Business problem
- Internal sites are built manually and inconsistently
- Brand, accessibility, and content compliance often missed
- Wasted time and duplicated effort across teams
- Lack of scalable, efficient internal infrastructure
User problem
- Too much guesswork in building navigation and IA
- Manual, repetitive tasks (e.g., adding team members)
- Tools lack guidance on compliance and best practices
- Frustration and time lost on non-core tasks
Market problem / Trend
- Leaner teams, but higher output expectations
- Market shift toward AI-assisted, self-serve tools
- Demand for faster, compliant, scalable solutions
- Competitors improving productivity with automation.
Specs
Proposed Solutions
AI-Powered Site Starter (Prompt-Based Generator)
Problem Type
Business
User
Market Trends
Pros
✅ Reduces redundant work
✅ Enforces compliance
✅ Guided flow removes guesswork
✅ Structured site from day one
✅ Competitive with modern AI site builders
Cons
❌ Higher implementation complexity
❌ May require platform overhaul
❌ Could feel rigid or prescriptive
❌ Learning curve if too “new”
❌ More complex to maintain and evolve
❌ Harder to modularize across markets
Specs
AI Helping in Existing Builder
Problem Type
Business
User
Market Trends
Pros
✅ Easier to implement and scale
✅ Supports compliance retroactively
✅ Familiar builder flow preserved
✅ Helpful when users get stuck
✅ Aligns with current trend of embedded AI assistants
✅ More adaptable for lean teams
Cons
❌ Doesn’t reduce site setup time upfront
❌ Doesn’t help at the very start
❌ Relies on user knowing when to ask for help
❌ Less headline-grabbing innovation
Solution 2: Practical, Scalable, Aligned
1 is more transformative but harder to build and scale. 2 is more practical and aligned with our current architecture and user habits — making it the right choice for now, with room to grow.
John Smith
Head of Data
Outcome
Discover More
70%
User Satisfaction
With our intuitive setup, you’re up and running in minutes.
50%
Reduction in time to Publish
Adapt Area to your specific requirements and preferences.
70%
Increase in compliance
Make informed decisions to exceed your goals.
Wireframing
A bold headline
that delivers
Go ahead and say just a little more about what you do.
Call to action
Secondary
See the Big Picture
Area turns your data into clear, vibrant visuals that show you exactly what's happening in each region.
01
Spot Trends in Seconds: No more digging through numbers.
02
Get Everyone on the Same Page: Share easy-to-understand reports with your team.
03
Make Presentations Pop: Interactive maps and dashboards keep your audience engaged.
04
Your Global Snapshot: Get a quick, clear overview of your entire operation.
Discover More
Connect with us
Schedule a quick call to learn how Area can turn your regional data into a powerful advantage.
Learn More
Benefits
© Area.
2025
All Rights Reserved
Benefits
Specifications
How-to
Contact Us
IBM Ai Solutions
Case Study
Introduction
IBM is a global company with over 500,000 employees, all needing websites for:
HR resources, executive announcements, product launches, workflows & internal communications.
But every site typically requires designers, developers, product managers, and brand compliance reviews — a heavy lift at scale. To solve this, we created an internal enterprise SaaS website builder that empowers teams to build compliant, consistent sites without needing full design or development resources for every project.
Role // Product Design Lead
- Lead & mentor 3 junior designers
- Work cross-functionally with product and development leadership
The product
Publisher is a global enterprise tool
Scope
- Global Tool
- 70k sites created
- 14m sessions/mo
Features
- Blogs
- Comments
- @mentions
- Tables
- Forms
- Panels
- Stock photo library
- Metrics
- ect.
Support
- Office hours
- Slack support channel
- Support site
The workflow
User Story
As an internal IBM team member responsible for launching a website,
I want to quickly generate a compliant, well-structured site using AI-driven recommendations, So that I can focus on the content that matters without reinventing the wheel or risking non-compliance.
Benefits
Ideation
Area provides real insights, without the data overload.
Team FigJam Workshop
Unlock data-driven decisions with comprehensive analytics, revealing key opportunities for strategic regional growth.
Cross-functional brainstorming
Manage and track satellite offices, ensuring consistent performance and streamlined operations everywhere.
Impact versus effort Matrix
Adapt to diverse markets with built-in localization for clear communication and enhanced user experience.
Voted on 2 winners
Generate precise, visually compelling reports that illustrate your growth trajectories across all regions.
Ideation
Figjam (Mural) workshop
Bring ideas
- Add features to board
- Impact vs. Effort Matrix
Impact vs. Effort matrix
Organized ideas by potential user impact and implementation effort
- Identified quick wins (high-impact, low-effort)
- Flagged longer-term bets for future planning
Vote on feature list
Organized ideas by potential user impact and implementation effort
- Identified quick wins (high-impact, low-effort)
- Flagged longer-term bets for future planning
See the Big Picture
Area turns your data into clear, vibrant visuals that show you exactly what's happening in each region.
Research tools + key learnings
Personas
Users aren’t designers or devs — they need tools that “do the thinking” for them
Most users care more about speed and simplicity than customization
Many are unaware of compliance requirements or IBM’s design language
Metrics analysis
Low reuse of shared templates or components
Support tickets frequently mention confusion about structure
Time-to-publish is longer than acceptable for internal needs
Competitive research
Call out a feature, benefit, or value that can stand on its own.
Polls & surveys
Call out a feature, benefit, or value that can stand on its own.
Product scope
The problem
Business problem
- Internal sites are built manually and inconsistently
- Brand, accessibility, and content compliance often missed
- Wasted time and duplicated effort across teams
- Lack of scalable, efficient internal infrastructure
User problem
- Too much guesswork in building navigation and IA
- Manual, repetitive tasks (e.g., adding team members)
- Tools lack guidance on compliance and best practices
- Frustration and time lost on non-core tasks
Market problem / Trend
- Leaner teams, but higher output expectations
- Market shift toward AI-assisted, self-serve tools
- Demand for faster, compliant, scalable solutions
- Competitors improving productivity with automation.
Specs
Proposed Solutions
AI-Powered Site Starter (Prompt-Based Generator)
Problem Type
Business
User
Market Trends
Pros
✅ Reduces redundant work
✅ Enforces compliance
✅ Guided flow removes guesswork
✅ Structured site from day one
✅ Competitive with modern AI site builders
Cons
❌ Higher implementation complexity
❌ May require platform overhaul
❌ Could feel rigid or prescriptive
❌ Learning curve if too “new”
❌ More complex to maintain and evolve
❌ Harder to modularize across markets
Specs
AI Helping in Existing Builder
Problem Type
Business
User
Market Trends
Pros
✅ Easier to implement and scale
✅ Supports compliance retroactively
✅ Familiar builder flow preserved
✅ Helpful when users get stuck
✅ Aligns with current trend of embedded AI assistants
✅ More adaptable for lean teams
Cons
❌ Doesn’t reduce site setup time upfront
❌ Doesn’t help at the very start
❌ Relies on user knowing when to ask for help
❌ Less headline-grabbing innovation
Solution 2: Practical, Scalable, Aligned
1 is more transformative but harder to build and scale. 2 is more practical and aligned with our current architecture and user habits — making it the right choice for now, with room to grow.
John Smith
Head of Data
Outcome
Discover More
70%
User Satisfaction
With our intuitive setup, you’re up and running in minutes.
50%
Reduction in time to Publish
Adapt Area to your specific requirements and preferences.
70%
Increase in compliance
Make informed decisions to exceed your goals.
Wireframing
A bold headline
that delivers
Go ahead and say just a little more about what you do.
Call to action
Secondary
Reflections
01
Spot Trends in Seconds: No more digging through numbers.
02
Context is everything
→ Generic AI felt off; specific, contextual AI was trusted and helpful.
Keep prompts minimal
→ Users preferred speed over long onboarding flows.
Support habits, don’t replace them
→ Adoption was higher when AI fit into existing workflows.
FigJam drove clarity
→ Visual, cross-functional collaboration helped prioritize quickly.
Compliance needs to be invisible
→ Proactive, embedded guardrails worked better than documentation.
03
Keep prompts minimal
→ Users preferred speed over long onboarding flows.
Support habits, don’t replace them
→ Adoption was higher when AI fit into existing workflows.
FigJam drove clarity
→ Visual, cross-functional collaboration helped prioritize quickly.
Compliance needs to be invisible
→ Proactive, embedded guardrails worked better than documentation.
04
Support habits, don’t replace them
→ Adoption was higher when AI fit into existing workflows.
FigJam drove clarity
→ Visual, cross-functional collaboration helped prioritize quickly.
Compliance needs to be invisible
→ Proactive, embedded guardrails worked better than documentation.
05
Support habits, don’t replace them
→ Adoption was higher when AI fit into existing workflows.
FigJam drove clarity
→ Visual, cross-functional collaboration helped prioritize quickly.
Compliance needs to be invisible
→ Proactive, embedded guardrails worked better than documentation.
Discover More
Connect with us
Schedule a quick call to learn how Area can turn your regional data into a powerful advantage.
Learn More
Benefits
© Area.
2025
All Rights Reserved
Benefits
Specifications
How-to
Contact Us
IBM Ai Solutions
Case Study
Introduction
IBM is a global company with over 500,000 employees, all needing websites for:
HR resources, executive announcements, product launches, workflows & internal communications.
But every site typically requires designers, developers, product managers, and brand compliance reviews — a heavy lift at scale. To solve this, we created an internal enterprise SaaS website builder that empowers teams to build compliant, consistent sites without needing full design or development resources for every project.
Role // Product Design Lead
- Lead & mentor 3 junior designers
- Work cross-functionally with product and development leadership
The product
Publisher is a global enterprise tool
Scope
- Global Tool
- 70k sites created
- 14m sessions/mo
Features
- Blogs
- Comments
- @mentions
- Tables
- Forms
- Panels
- Stock photo library
- Metrics
- ect.
Support
- Office hours
- Slack support channel
- Support site
The problem
Business Problem
- Internal sites are built manually and inconsistently
- Brand, accessibility, and content compliance often missed
- Wasted time and duplicated effort across teams
- Lack of scalable, efficient internal infrastructure
User Problem
- Too much guesswork in building navigation and IA
- Manual, repetitive tasks (e.g., adding team members)
- Tools lack guidance on compliance and best practices
- Frustration and time lost on non-core tasks
Market Problem / Trend
- Leaner teams, but higher output expectations
- Market shift toward AI-assisted, self-serve tools
- Demand for faster, compliant, scalable solutions
- Competitors improving productivity with automation
The workflow
User Story
As an internal IBM team member responsible for launching a website,
I want to quickly generate a compliant, well-structured site using AI-driven recommendations, So that I can focus on the content that matters without reinventing the wheel or risking non-compliance.
Research tools + key learnings
Personas
Users aren’t designers or devs — they need tools that “do the thinking” for them
Most users care more about speed and simplicity than customization
Many are unaware of compliance requirements or IBM’s design language
Metrics analysis
Low reuse of shared templates or components
Support tickets frequently mention confusion about structure
Time-to-publish is longer than acceptable for internal needs
Competitive research
Call out a feature, benefit, or value that can stand on its own.
Polls & surveys
Call out a feature, benefit, or value that can stand on its own.
Research Tools +
Key Learnings
Personas
- Users aren’t designers or devs — they need tools that “do the thinking” for them
- Most users care more about speed and simplicity than customization
- Many are unaware of compliance requirements or IBM’s design language
Metrics Analysis
- Low reuse of shared templates or components
- Support tickets frequently mention confusion about structure
- Time-to-publish is longer than acceptable for internal needs
Competitive Research
- Other enterprise (like Notion, Webflow, Wix AI) offer auto-generated structures and copy suggestions
- Competitors use AI to guide layout, content, and compliance — reducing friction
- Best-in-class tools emphasize reusable components and onboarding simplicity
- Clear trend: shift toward intelligent defaults and smart suggestions
Polling & Surveys
- Majority of users want “pre-filled,” guided starting points (not blank slates)
- Strong desire for auto-populated team lists, content & site maps
- Users are open to AI help if it feels trustworthy and editable
- Many didn’t know what “compliant” meant until shown examples
Benefits
Ideation
Area provides real insights, without the data overload.
Team FigJam Workshop
Unlock data-driven decisions with comprehensive analytics, revealing key opportunities for strategic regional growth.
Cross-functional brainstorming
Manage and track satellite offices, ensuring consistent performance and streamlined operations everywhere.
Impact versus effort Matrix
Adapt to diverse markets with built-in localization for clear communication and enhanced user experience.
Voted on 2 winners
Generate precise, visually compelling reports that illustrate your growth trajectories across all regions.
Ideation
Figjam (Mural) workshop
Bring ideas
- Add features to board
- Impact vs. Effort Matrix
Impact vs. Effort matrix
Organized ideas by potential user impact and implementation effort
- Identified quick wins (high-impact, low-effort)
- Flagged longer-term bets for future planning
Vote on feature list
Organized ideas by potential user impact and implementation effort
- Identified quick wins (high-impact, low-effort)
- Flagged longer-term bets for future planning
Wireframing
Specs
Proposed Solutions
AI-Powered Site Starter (Prompt-Based Generator)
Problem Type
Business
User
Market Trends
Pros
✅ Reduces redundant work
✅ Enforces compliance
✅ Guided flow removes guesswork
✅ Structured site from day one
✅ Competitive with modern AI site builders
Cons
❌ Higher implementation complexity
❌ May require platform overhaul
❌ Could feel rigid or prescriptive
❌ Learning curve if too “new”
❌ More complex to maintain and evolve
❌ Harder to modularize across markets
Specs
AI Helping in Existing Builder
Problem Type
Business
User
Market Trends
Pros
✅ Easier to implement and scale
✅ Supports compliance retroactively
✅ Familiar builder flow preserved
✅ Helpful when users get stuck
✅ Aligns with current trend of embedded AI assistants
✅ More adaptable for lean teams
Cons
❌ Doesn’t reduce site setup time upfront
❌ Doesn’t help at the very start
❌ Relies on user knowing when to ask for help
❌ Less headline-grabbing innovation
Solution 2: Practical, Scalable, Aligned
1 is more transformative but harder to build and scale. 2 is more practical and aligned with our current architecture and user habits — making it the right choice for now, with room to grow.
John Smith
Head of Data
Outcome
Discover More
70%
User Satisfaction
With our intuitive setup, you’re up and running in minutes.
50%
Reduction in time to Publish
Adapt Area to your specific requirements and preferences.
70%
Increase in compliance
Make informed decisions to exceed your goals.
Reflections
01
Define success early
→ Lack of clear success metrics made tradeoffs harder to evaluate.
02
Context is everything
→ Generic AI felt off; specific, contextual AI was trusted and helpful.
03
Keep prompts minimal
→ Users preferred speed over long onboarding flows.
05
Compliance needs to be invisible
→ Proactive, embedded guardrails worked better than documentation.
A bold headline
that delivers
Go ahead and say just a little more about what you do.
Call to action
Secondary
The problem
Business problem
- Internal sites are built manually and inconsistently
- Brand, accessibility, and content compliance often missed
- Wasted time and duplicated effort across teams
- Lack of scalable, efficient internal infrastructure
User problem
- Too much guesswork in building navigation and IA
- Manual, repetitive tasks (e.g., adding team members)
- Tools lack guidance on compliance and best practices
- Frustration and time lost on non-core tasks
Market problem / Trend
- Leaner teams, but higher output expectations
- Market shift toward AI-assisted, self-serve tools
- Demand for faster, compliant, scalable solutions
- Competitors improving productivity with automation.
Connect with us
Schedule a quick call to learn how Area can turn your regional data into a powerful advantage.
Learn More
Benefits
© Area.
2025
All Rights Reserved