How Haddock used Design thinking to align stakeholders

Problem Context

For SaaS companies like Haddock, providing consistent product improvements is critical to maintaining user trust and satisfaction. Haddock, a platform designed to help restaurant owners manage their systems more effectively, faced a significant challenge: they lacked dedicated product design support. This created a bottleneck in the continuous delivery of product updates and the implementation of valuable user feedback.

To address this, we designed a collaboration model where I worked with the team three days a week, ensuring that sprints were not disrupted and enabling a seamless flow of updates. This partnership transformed the dynamic between the CPO, Product Manager, and me as a Product Designer into a highly effective "killer combo."

The Process

Our goal was to establish a structured approach to product design and development, ensuring alignment across stakeholders and delivering impactful features like the new Inventory system.

Establishing the Collaboration Framework

To mitigate the lack of design support and prevent sprint delays, we developed a focused approach:

• Worked three days a week, fully integrated into the sprint cycles.

• Maintained continuous communication with the CPO and Product Manager to ensure priorities were aligned.

• Set up a system for rapid feedback implementation and iterative design.

Research and Stakeholder Alignment

While supporting ongoing redesigns and feature updates, we identified a gap between the product and its key stakeholders:

• Users were not fully connected with certain features.

• Sales teams lacked visibility into the product roadmap and updates.

To address this, we conducted:

• Workshops: Ideation and feedback sessions to align the team on business priorities and user needs.

• Research: Two weeks of focused research and documentation to gather insights from users and internal teams.

Design and Development of the Inventory Feature

A key deliverable was the creation of the Inventory feature, designed to help restaurant managers efficiently track and organize their stock. This involved:

• Sketching and Ideation: Collaborated with the CPO and PM to identify business priorities and outline the feature's scope.

• Wireframes and Prototypes: Designed the feature for both mobile and desktop platforms.

• Implementation Support: Worked closely with the development team to ensure seamless integration into the existing product.

The Inventory feature reduced the time restaurant managers spent on stock tracking by half, transforming what was once a tedious process into a streamlined experience.

Conclusion and Learnings

This collaboration not only addressed the immediate need for design support but also reshaped how Haddock approached product development. Key takeaways included:

The Importance of Dedicated Collaboration

Working closely with the CPO and PM created a cohesive team dynamic that allowed us to prioritize effectively and deliver impactful results.

Bridging Gaps Between Stakeholders

Our workshops and research highlighted the value of aligning product design with user needs and sales team insights, fostering a stronger connection across all stakeholders.

Continuous Feedback as a Catalyst for Innovation

Documenting and acting on feedback ensured the product remained user-centric, enabling features like Inventory to directly address pain points and deliver measurable value.