Cloudways Autonomous
Server autoscaling for high-traffic reliability
Proactive scaling and monitoring for Cloudways users
Services:
UX Research, Product Design, Design Leadership
UX Research, Product Design, Design Leadership
Client:
Cloudways by Digital Ocean
Cloudways by Digital Ocean
Year:
2022
2022
Discovery & Research
Why? – What was the goal
High-traffic events like launches or campaigns meant potential server slowdowns, downtime, and lost sales for Cloudways users. The goal was to design an Autoscale solution that gave users confidence their websites would stay up, without needing technical expertise.
My Role
I was Lead Designer, guiding the end-to-end UX vision. I managed a team of three designers, worked closely with developers, product managers, and data scientists, and ensured the solution balanced technical complexity with user simplicity. My responsibility was to define the design strategy, run research and testing, and maintain coherence across all stakeholders.
Who we designed for
Non-Technical Business Owners running e-commerce sites.
Marketing Managers launching campaigns.
IT Specialists monitoring infrastructure performance.
Context
Users were under pressure during time-sensitive, high-stakes events. Downtime directly translated to financial loss and damaged reputation. Existing solutions felt overcomplicated and untrustworthy, especially for non-technical users.
Constraints & MVP
We had to deliver fast, so the MVP was focused:
Unified dashboard to see everything in one place.
Quick scaling controls for manual or automatic server adjustments.
Predictive analytics for proactive alerts.
User Interviews – Research
We conducted qualitative interviews across business owners, IT specialists, and marketers.
Pain Points
Complex interfaces full of jargon.
Scaling was reactive, not proactive.
Surprise billing created mistrust.
Assumptions Tested
Would an autoscale toggle be trusted?
Would predictive alerts reduce anxiety?
Could we design a single interface that worked for both technical and non-technical users?
Testing showed users wanted simplicity first, with depth available only when needed.
Strategy & Problem
The design challenge:
Proactive not reactive: Stop failures before they start.
Simple not overwhelming: A slider and toggle instead of multi-step forms.
Transparent not unpredictable: Show clear costs and server status.
Goals & Hypothesis
Goal: Increase reliability and user trust during high-traffic events.
Hypothesis: If we design a streamlined dashboard with predictive alerts and simple scaling controls, adoption will increase, downtime will drop, and users will feel in control.
Design
Sketches & Brainstorming
We started with quick sketches and low-fidelity wireframes to validate the layout and flows with users.
Information Architecture
Rebuilt around user actions, not system logic. Monitoring, scaling, and alerts were surfaced first.
Using the Atmosphere Design System
We leveraged Cloudways’ Atmosphere Design System, based on atomic design principles. This allowed us to:
Reuse consistent components.
Maintain visual coherence across desktop, tablet, and mobile.
Meet WCAG accessibility standards.
Customer Journeys & Flows
We mapped three key scenarios:
Business owner scaling during a flash sale.
IT specialist monitoring performance metrics.
Marketing manager reacting to live-event spikes.
Highlighted flows:
Scaling flow: slider → confirm → instant confirmation feedback.
Predictive alert flow: notification → accept suggestion → autoscale applies automatically.
Solution & Results
Final Solution
Unified Dashboard: Health, load, uptime, predictive analytics, all colour-coded for instant clarity.
Quick Scaling Controls: Slider for manual, toggle for auto.
Predictive Alerts: Based on real-time and historical data, users stayed ahead of failures.
Results
83% increase in event reliability during surges.
41% boost in user engagement, with more users actively monitoring and adjusting.
52% drop in downtime, cutting losses.
76% beta retention and high CSAT (3.69).
What I Learned
Simplicity drives trust: Stripping away jargon and unnecessary steps increased adoption.
Predictive UX is powerful: Anticipating issues reassured users at critical moments.
Cross-functional collaboration was key: Balancing engineering, business, and user perspectives was as important as the design itself.
Autoscale turned scaling from a stressful manual task into a proactive, intuitive experience. For Cloudways users, it meant peace of mind during the moments that mattered most.
Discovery & Research
Why? – What was the goal
High-traffic events like launches or campaigns meant potential server slowdowns, downtime, and lost sales for Cloudways users. The goal was to design an Autoscale solution that gave users confidence their websites would stay up, without needing technical expertise.
My Role
I was Lead Designer, guiding the end-to-end UX vision. I managed a team of three designers, worked closely with developers, product managers, and data scientists, and ensured the solution balanced technical complexity with user simplicity. My responsibility was to define the design strategy, run research and testing, and maintain coherence across all stakeholders.
Who we designed for
Non-Technical Business Owners running e-commerce sites.
Marketing Managers launching campaigns.
IT Specialists monitoring infrastructure performance.
Context
Users were under pressure during time-sensitive, high-stakes events. Downtime directly translated to financial loss and damaged reputation. Existing solutions felt overcomplicated and untrustworthy, especially for non-technical users.
Constraints & MVP
We had to deliver fast, so the MVP was focused:
Unified dashboard to see everything in one place.
Quick scaling controls for manual or automatic server adjustments.
Predictive analytics for proactive alerts.
User Interviews – Research
We conducted qualitative interviews across business owners, IT specialists, and marketers.
Pain Points
Complex interfaces full of jargon.
Scaling was reactive, not proactive.
Surprise billing created mistrust.
Assumptions Tested
Would an autoscale toggle be trusted?
Would predictive alerts reduce anxiety?
Could we design a single interface that worked for both technical and non-technical users?
Testing showed users wanted simplicity first, with depth available only when needed.
Strategy & Problem
The design challenge:
Proactive not reactive: Stop failures before they start.
Simple not overwhelming: A slider and toggle instead of multi-step forms.
Transparent not unpredictable: Show clear costs and server status.
Goals & Hypothesis
Goal: Increase reliability and user trust during high-traffic events.
Hypothesis: If we design a streamlined dashboard with predictive alerts and simple scaling controls, adoption will increase, downtime will drop, and users will feel in control.
Design
Sketches & Brainstorming
We started with quick sketches and low-fidelity wireframes to validate the layout and flows with users.
Information Architecture
Rebuilt around user actions, not system logic. Monitoring, scaling, and alerts were surfaced first.
Using the Atmosphere Design System
We leveraged Cloudways’ Atmosphere Design System, based on atomic design principles. This allowed us to:
Reuse consistent components.
Maintain visual coherence across desktop, tablet, and mobile.
Meet WCAG accessibility standards.
Customer Journeys & Flows
We mapped three key scenarios:
Business owner scaling during a flash sale.
IT specialist monitoring performance metrics.
Marketing manager reacting to live-event spikes.
Highlighted flows:
Scaling flow: slider → confirm → instant confirmation feedback.
Predictive alert flow: notification → accept suggestion → autoscale applies automatically.
Solution & Results
Final Solution
Unified Dashboard: Health, load, uptime, predictive analytics, all colour-coded for instant clarity.
Quick Scaling Controls: Slider for manual, toggle for auto.
Predictive Alerts: Based on real-time and historical data, users stayed ahead of failures.
Results
83% increase in event reliability during surges.
41% boost in user engagement, with more users actively monitoring and adjusting.
52% drop in downtime, cutting losses.
76% beta retention and high CSAT (3.69).
What I Learned
Simplicity drives trust: Stripping away jargon and unnecessary steps increased adoption.
Predictive UX is powerful: Anticipating issues reassured users at critical moments.
Cross-functional collaboration was key: Balancing engineering, business, and user perspectives was as important as the design itself.
Autoscale turned scaling from a stressful manual task into a proactive, intuitive experience. For Cloudways users, it meant peace of mind during the moments that mattered most.
