Enterprise · SQL Tooling · Product & UX Design
Re-designing the SQL engineer experience
The database was highly performant, but its interface was dated, so most SQL users reached for third-party tools instead. As the lead designer, I rebuilt it around how they actually explore data, write queries, and manage statements.
The problem
The company's flagship database product powered thousands of hospitals, financial institutions, government agencies, and supply chain customers, but the interface those teams used to query it was dated and difficult to navigate. Most SQL administrators, developers, and data engineers I spoke with (including people inside the company) reached for third-party tools to avoid opening the one we shipped, which meant the product had little say in how people actually worked with the data.
Approach
Partnering with product managers, engineers, and product leadership, I ran two design workshops of seven users each and three in-depth interviews with SQL experts, alongside a comparative analysis of third-party SQL tools. That research pinned down the core use cases an effective SQL interface has to nail. From there I sketched initial concepts and iterated with users and internal experts on what a new interface should offer, focusing on making it easier to write complex queries, quickly understand the shape of the data, and structure statements efficiently.
Two anchor features
Two tools came back as essential in every conversation, and I designed the redesign around them.
In the table viewer, every column header carries a mini bar chart of the distribution and range of its data. It gives the user a fast read on the shape of the data, and an early indicator of data quality: extreme values or an unexpected distribution flag something amiss in a way that scrolling the first 10 or 100 rows never would.
In the query editor, output sits at the bottom; the tables and fields the user has referenced in their query appear in a right-side toolbar, acting as a memory aid for what's in the schema and what's already in play. Syntax highlighting and multi-cursor support followed from user feedback as the design progressed.
From wireframe to working
Research scope
- 2
- Design workshops
- 14
- Participants
- 3
- Expert interviews
Outcome
In usability testing the redesign outperformed the legacy interface by orders of magnitude on the core tasks, and internal reviewers rated it highly for desirability; several pushed for it to be officially built. Implementation is ongoing; the team has approvals to keep designing and developing additional features against the new interface, refining the concepts from initial sketches through increasing levels of fidelity.
Higher fidelity
