ICV asked for a database, we built a client-journey platform

The Challenge

Client data is fragmented across systems

As a nonprofit, ICV's funding depended on reporting their impact accurately. But messy spreadsheet data meant staff had to count each new client, handout, and check-in by hand. With a clicker.

The Ask

Digitize ICV's client intake for tablets
and automate their data analysis.

My Role & Process

As the Product Design Lead...

I owned the end-to-end design and coordinated handoffs to engineering, PM, and client stakeholders across a 6-month 0-to-1 build. From there, I led the team through a full cycle: research, synthesis, ideation, prototyping, usability testing, iteration, and handoff, designing responsively across tablet, laptop, and desktop use cases.

Responsibilities

• Split and assigned design work across the team based on developer pairings, keeping design and engineering moving in sync
• Designed the client profile screens myself, consolidating medical, biographical, family, and housing data
• Presented and defended design decisions to stakeholders, translating tradeoffs (like the Head of Household model) into terms the client could weigh in on

Discovery Research

Surfacing blockers in ICV's client workflows

Methods

• 4 one-hour, 1:1 stakeholder interviews
• Competitive analysis on 5 database systems

Insight

We discovered that while ICV asked us to digitize intake and automate analysis, the core pain point was actually a fragmented journey. Everything in between intake and reporting—check-ins, case notes, updates—still lived scattered across paper documents, Dropbox files, and spreadsheets. This discovery transformed the scope from a basic data-entry tool into a comprehensive client management system.

Pivot

Not just a database,
a system that tracks a client's journey

• description

  Intake form

  Standardizes data entry and auto-generates a client profile

• edit_note

  Case Notes

  Logs check-in notes and keeps full case history in one place

• home

  Housing History

  Tracks housing history and generates impact reports

• document_scanner

  Scanned documents

  Keeps client records on hand to send to shelters instantly

• database

  Database

  Surfaces all client data with filters built for reporting

Design Decisions

Working around existing structures

For staff to actually adopt the system, it had to work within ICV's existing workflows. Even when a cleaner structure would've been more efficient, these tradeoffs had to be made

01

ICV only intakes adults in a household, causing dependents to be double-counted across family members’ profiles.

What I tried

Removing the household structure and treating dependents as individual clients, but this conflicted with ICV’s policy.

What I shipped

After consulting with stakeholders, we created the Head of Household label that moves dependent information under one primary profile.

02

ICV has 3 different types of check-ins

What I tried

One multi-step check-in flow, which worked for longer 1:1 check-ins but slowed down quick, high-volume check-ins

What I shipped

Three different entry points and journeys that map to the time and complexity of each check-in type

03

Check-in reminders needed a calendar, but ICV already ran on Google Calendar

What I tried

Importing Google Calendar events via API, but our product would creep into ICV’s internal operations, which was out of scope.

What I shipped

A purpose-built calendar scoped solely to client check-ins, with every event linked directly to a case note in the client’s profile.

Final Product

Guiding a client through their housing journey

Impact

50% faster, fully adopted

• 40→20

  minutes to intake a client

• 500+

  client profiles created

• 92.4%

  task success rate during user tests