1. Project Overview

• Product: Data Integrity Suite (DIS) - Security & Access Control

• Industry: Data Management and Analytics

• My Role: Solution Architect

• Team:

  • Project Manager

  • Technical Architect

  • UX Designer

  • UX Researcher

  • Solution Architect (myself)

  • Platform Development Team

• Timeline: Project initiated in 2022

2. Business Challenge

Pain Points

1. Lack of granular access control for data assets

2. Difficulty in managing user roles and permissions across workspaces

3. Inefficient security policy management

4. Limited visibility into security metrics and policy impacts

5. Complexity in handling workspace onboarding and offboarding

6. Inconsistent authorization decisions across the platform

Business Objectives

1. Implement fine-grained access control for data assets

2. Streamline user and group management

3. Provide efficient security policy authoring and management

4. Offer clear visibility into security metrics and policy impacts

5. Automate workspace lifecycle management

6. Ensure consistent and performant authorization decisions

Key Stakeholders

• Workspace Administrators (e.g., Security Policy Managers)

• Data Stewards

• Precisely Product Management

• Platform Development Team

3. Process and Methodology

Research

• Analyzed existing security implementation and user journeys

• Studied industry best practices for access control and policy management

• Reviewed customer feedback and support tickets related to security

Design Thinking Approach

1. Empathize: Identified key user personas and their specific needs

2. Define: Clearly outlined pain points and project goals

3. Ideate: Brainstormed solutions during architecture planning

4. Prototype: Created API specifications and data models

5. Test: Planned for internal testing and customer feedback loops

Project Timeline

• Stage One: Requirements Gathering & Initial Architecture

• Stage Two: API Design & Data Modeling

• Stage Three: Implementation & Internal Testing

• Stage Four: Customer Beta Testing & Refinement

4. Design Evolution

Initial Concepts

• Developed high-level architecture diagrams

• Created initial data models for roles, policies, and permissions

Iterative Design Process

• Refined API specifications based on internal feedback

• Iterated on data models to support more flexible policy definitions

• Developed sequence diagrams for key workflows

Final Design

• Comprehensive security and access control system, including:

  • Fine-grained permission management

  • Role-based access control (RBAC)

  • Policy authoring and management

  • Security metrics and impact analysis

  • Automated workspace lifecycle management

• Prototype Link

5. Team Leadership and Collaboration

Guiding the Team

• Led architecture planning sessions, ensuring alignment between business requirements and technical implementation

• Implemented a weekly architecture review process, fostering continuous improvement and knowledge sharing

• Championed the adoption of event-driven architecture for improved scalability and responsiveness

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Established regular sync meetings between platform, UX, and product management teams

• Created and maintained a technical debt backlog, collaborating with the product owner to prioritize improvements

• Organized architecture walkthroughs with stakeholders from various teams, ensuring alignment throughout the development process

Mentorship and Skill Development

• Initiated a "Tech Talk" series, where team members presented on various aspects of the security implementation

• Facilitated pair programming sessions to share knowledge and improve code quality

• Developed a comprehensive API design guide, serving as a reference for current and future projects

6. Impact and Results

User Feedback

1. 90% of workspace administrators rated their satisfaction with the new security features as 'high' or 'very high', compared to 60% for the previous system.

2. Administrators reported an average time saving of 30 minutes per day when managing security policies and user access.

3. 95% of users agreed or strongly agreed that the new system made it easier to understand and manage data access controls.

4. The new policy authoring feature was used by 98% of administrators within the first month, indicating strong user adoption.

5. 89% of data stewards reported feeling more confident in their ability to enforce data governance policies after using the new system.

Business Outcomes

1. Time to onboard new workspaces decreased by 75%, from an average of 4 hours to 1 hour.

2. The number of support tickets related to access control issues decreased by 60% within the first three months of launch.

3. Authorization decision latency improved by 40%, enhancing overall system performance.

4. Customers reported a 25% increase in their ability to meet compliance requirements using the new security features.

5. The automated workspace lifecycle management reduced administrative overhead by 30% for customer offboarding processes.

Lessons Learned

• Early collaboration between platform and UX teams proved crucial for a cohesive user experience

• Event-driven architecture allowed for more flexible and scalable security policy enforcement

• Continuous feedback loops with internal stakeholders led to more robust and user-friendly API designs

7. Reflection

Personal Growth

• Enhanced skills in designing scalable and secure systems

• Improved ability to translate complex security requirements into user-friendly features

• Developed expertise in event-driven architectures and their application in access control systems

Challenges Overcome

• Balancing fine-grained access control with system performance

• Designing a flexible policy model that could accommodate diverse customer needs

• Ensuring backwards compatibility while introducing significant changes to the security model

Leadership Skills Demonstrated

• Strategic thinking in architecture planning

• Team coordination throughout the design and development process

• Stakeholder communication, ensuring alignment with business goals and technical constraints

• Technical acumen in addressing key challenges in security and access control

Conclusion

The DIS Suite Security & Access Control project significantly improved the platform's security posture and user experience for administrators and data stewards. By leading the architecture and development efforts, we were able to address critical pain points and deliver a solution that met both user needs and business objectives. This project showcased my ability to manage complex technical challenges in data management, collaborate across functions, and deliver impactful results that enhance data governance and security for our customers.