Case study · Enterprise software
Modernizing 20 years of
construction software
—
without breaking user
muscle memory.
As Alpine’s first product designer, I created a
shared foundation for a complex ecosystem of
15+ construction tools, balancing modernization with the speed and familiarity expert users depended on.
Role
First Product Designer
Scope
Research, UX/UI, Design System
Industry
Construction technology
3 months
To prepare the first
major release for BCMC
15+
product and tools supported
by one foundation
50%
estimated reduction in
development time
+2
designers hired as the
practice expanded
Alpine had spent more than
two decades building powerful
desktop software for
construction professionals.
Its products supported the full construction
lifecycle: bidding, wall layouts, truss
engineering, panel framing, plant
management, materials, and final
documentation.
These were mature professional tools. Users
needed precision and speed, and many had
spent years developing muscle memory
around the existing experience.
A complex construction ecosystem
01
Structural engineers
02
Construction estimators
03
CAD & detailing specialists
04
Field teams verifying drawings
Alpine had never had a
dedicated product designer.
Engineering teams made
interface decisions
independently as new
requirements appeared.
Similar problems were solved in different ways.
Components behaved differently across
products, and teams spent significant time
discussing layouts and revisiting decisions.
But a dramatic redesign would create a
different problem: disrupting expert users who
relied on familiarity to work efficiently.
What the business needed
A modern, unified
ecosystem
THE DESIGN
TENSION
What users needed
Speed, precision,
and familiarity
The constraint
I joined only three months before BCMC, one of Alpine’s
most important industry events. There was no time to
redesign an entire ecosystem—and no reason to throw
away everything teams already knew.
The job was to identify the changes that would create the
greatest impact now, while building a foundation that
could keep growing after the event.
01
I mapped existing products, recurring interface patterns, and the
components teams were rebuilding independently.
02
I separated visual inconsistency from interactions users depended
on, so modernization would not erase hard-earned muscle
memory.
03
Build on
technical reality
I adapted an existing engineering UI kit into Alpine’s first Design
System instead of introducing a foundation the team could not
ship.
04
Validate
with experts
I worked directly with customers, engineers, and truss designers to
test decisions against real construction workflows.
A pragmatic Design System
From repeated debates to a
shared product language
BEFORE
Independent decisions
Button A
Button B
Button C
Different patterns, repeated work, more discussion.
→
FOUNDATION
Shared components
One source for reusable patterns and product
decisions.
→
AFTER
Consistent products
Faster delivery with a more unified experience.
PaperSpace
One workflow, made safer
Shared annotations
for consistent
construction
drawings
Construction drawings often require specific notes based on
state or regulatory requirements. Teams needed to make sure
the right information appeared on every sheet.
We designed a cloud-based annotation experience where
people could access approved notes and apply them directly to
drawings—making information easier to reuse and reducing
the risk of required details being missed.
05
Scaling the work
What began as a focused
launch became the
foundation for a broader
product transformation
The same principles expanded into more of Alpine’s ecosystem, creating
consistency without pretending every product had identical needs.
PaperSpace
A CAD-like drawing environment built around Alpine’s workflows
Scheduler
Planning tools for coordinating specialized construction work.
IntelliSheets
Documentation workflows designed for accuracy and repeatability.
3D PaperSpace
Early exploration of a more dimensional CAD
The impact
01
Delivered a credible, modernized product direction for the BCMC deadline.
02
Created Alpine’s first product-design practice and shared Design System.
03
Reduced duplicated decisions, engineering rework, and delivery back-and-forth.
04
Contributed to an estimated 50% improvement in development speed.
05
Demonstrated enough value for Alpine to hire two additional designers.
Reflection
“Modernizing a legacy product
isn’t about replacing everything.
It’s about knowing what should
change, what users need to
recognize, and how to help the
organization move forward.”
The most important outcome wasn’t only a more modern interface. It
was creating the foundation for design to become part of how Alpine
built products.
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Stefany Andrade · Lead Product Designer
Brazil · Working globally
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