Scale & Impact

• Over 1,000,000 registrations — the largest leadership competition in Russia
• Participants from 180+ countries — an international community of professionals
• 250,000+ finalists — a multi-stage selection: tests, case studies, interviews
• Mentors — top leaders: ministers, governors, and executives of major corporations

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My role

• Set up cross-team processes and a product-oriented workflow
• Designed the site map and user flows
• Created and developed interface layouts
• Developed and implemented a unified design system
• Oversaw UX quality and managed design handoff to developers
• Prepared project documentation and specifications for development

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Site Map & Key User Flows

When I joined, the platform lacked structure, documentation was minimal, and user flows were unclear, making it hard to plan our work.

I requested the service architecture from developers and used it to create a site map. I identified key user flows and pages, then aligned priorities with the product owner, lead developer, QA.

Result:

We gained a clear vision of the product’s structure and scope. The site map became the basis for user flows and interface design, making the process systematic and transparent.
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Processes & Problem-Solving

Initially, UX/UI tasks were handled manually and without a clear system—there were no defined stages, handoffs, reviews, or synchronization.

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I introduced and visualized a new workflow:

• Outlined key steps from task creation to final review
• Presented and aligned the process with the team
• Implemented a system that made our work structured and manageable for everyone

Result

The team began working within a unified, predictable process, leading to higher quality and consistency. The workflow diagram became the foundation for the team's future work.

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User flows

When designing user flows, I frequently used flowcharts. This helped me dive deeper into the logic behind each scenario and communicate with the product owner and developers on a structural—not just visual—level.

It allowed us to focus on user logic, clarify key paths, and ensure everyone was aligned on how the product should work.

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Competition Roadmap — Stage Navigation Redesign

This is the central hub of the platform and its most frequently used page. Here, participants spend the majority of their time: tracking statuses, collecting feedback, and navigating every stage of the competition.

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Before the redesign

• The page was cluttered, with no clear hierarchy between stages and sub-stages.
• Statuses were ambiguous, making it hard to tell where the user was and what to do next.
• Visual grouping was weak — all blocks looked similar, reducing the sense of structure and progress.
• Inconsistent styles for buttons, badges, and labels created visual noise.
• Key actions (e.g., downloading reports) were buried among less important elements

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Process

The initial task sounded simple: “just redesign it to look nice.” But once I started, it became clear that the documentation was incomplete and, in places, unclear.

The biggest challenge was figuring out the statuses — not just redesigning them, but structuring them and making them truly understandable for participants. The documentation didn’t provide direct answers, so I gathered information from: existing materials and guidelines, the working test version of the website;, conversations with colleagues.

It took several iterations, as even team members were sometimes confused and gave contradictory answers. Eventually, I compiled a complete list of existing statuses, removed duplicates and unnecessary ones. Then I presented the structured version to the team, explained the logic, and got final approval.

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The stage card

The stage card replaces the old table layout with a clear “journey” format, inspired by transit route maps. It presents each stage and substage in a structured hierarchy with clear statuses and concise descriptions, making navigation easier while instantly showing progress, context, and next steps.

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Final Competition Stages Design

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Key Improvements and Design Decisions

• Created custom icons for each status;
• Introduced a clear color-coding system for better recognition;
• Moved from a “table” format to a “journey map” format, inspired by public transport route diagrams;
• Established a clear hierarchy between stages and sub-stages, both visually and logically;
• Simplified and standardized statuses, separating them for stages and sub-stages;
• Added a motivational block (“You’ve already surpassed 156,493 participants — that’s 80%!”);
• Ensured participants always know where they are, what they’ve completed, and what’s next.

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‍Finally, I documented the entire page — describing the logic, structure, statuses, and visual rules — so that it could be easily maintained and scaled in the future.

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Questionnaire

One of the first competition stages — and the one where most participants drop out.

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Before

Initially, the task was simply to “make it look better with a new UI.” But once I saw this wall of text, I was genuinely shocked. I actually felt sorry for our users. Some sections — for example, Career — were incredibly long, containing hundreds of questions. Filling this out on mobile was almost impossible.

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Process

I decided to postpone UI work and focus on UX first. After studying the questionnaire in detail before a team meeting, I proposed:

• Split into 4 logical sub-stages: General Info → Work Experience → Managerial Experience → Plans & Ambitions.
• Broke complex sections into manageable steps.
• Introduced autosave, ensuring answers persist even when users switch devices.
• Validated changes via quick user testing + team review.
• Cleaned up UX errors: removed ALL CAPS, improved readability, swapped inappropriate inputs, added tooltips..

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Result

• +30% increase in completion rate.
• Mobile submissions tripled post-redesign.
• User testing showed reduced frustration and higher satisfaction scores.
• The new interface became concise, intuitive, and visually inviting.
• Autosave eliminated most "lost progress" support tickets.

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Other Key Contributions

Beyond the Questionnaire and Competition Roadmap, I redesigned key participant and admin flows — registration, login, password recovery, email/phone verification, profile, video interview, moderation, and support — applying one principle: clarity first, friction last.

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Design System

One of my proudest achievements on the project was creating a design system from scratch — a unified framework that kept the platform visually coherent and technically scalable.Before starting, I collaborated closely with the brand team to ensure the system fully reflected the visual identity and spirit of the competition.

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Color variables

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Typography

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Grid & Navigations

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Inputs

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Other components

Impact:

• Consistent visual language across all products
• Faster development via reusable components and templates
• Higher implementation accuracy with documentation
• Better cross-team collaboration and decision-making
• Components adapted for perfect display on any platform

The system became the single source of truth, cutting inconsistencies and speeding up delivery.

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Conclusion

LeadTrack was a project where I not only delivered design solutions but also restructured the entire product experience under tight deadlines and incomplete documentation.

I combined deep user empathy, systematic thinking, and active cross-team collaboration. When faced with unclear requirements — like the Competition Stages statuses — I gathered input from stakeholders, structured it, and proposed a clear model that was approved.

Despite strict timelines, I balanced UX quality with technical feasibility, iterating quickly and aligning closely with development.

Key contributions:

• Turned complex flows (Questionnaire, Competition Stages) into clear, intuitive, and motivating experiences.
• Built a brand-aligned design system that improved consistency, sped up delivery, and reduced ambiguity.
• Reduced support requests by making participants more self-sufficient.
• Increased questionnaire completion rates through better structure, navigation, and mobile usability.

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While some ideas remain for future iterations, the project showed how communication, empathy, and structured design thinking can directly improve both user satisfaction and business results.