AWS AppConfig: Service console UX
Customers using the AWS AppConfig console struggled to understand how to move forward after completing key actions. Customer feedback repeatedly surfaced confusion around core workflows, with users asking questions like, “What do I do after I deploy?” and “Why do I need to create an Application before I can create configuration data?” Although AppConfig is a powerful service, I needed to streamline the console experience for customers to better orient themselves, understand system states, and identify their next best action.
Company
Amazon Web Services
Role
UX Design+Research
Year
2024
Process
Ground assumptions with insights
Early customer signals had already prompted strong stakeholder opinions and numerous ideas for enhancing the console, but it was unclear which assumptions would actually address users' primary needs. I performed qualitative research with customers and identified a consistent mismatch between the console’s structure and their mental models. This was key to align stakeholders on priorities and inform a strategic direction I could prototype.
Design and test a concept prototype
I designed a future-state prototype that introduced a side navigation and dashboard, reorienting the console around action and clarity. These elements surfaced key AppConfig concepts, exposed configuration metadata upfront, and created direct pathways to common tasks such as creating, managing, and deploying configurations. The design focused on increasing observability and reducing cognitive overhead so customers could confidently navigate the service and take action without relying on external documentation.
Implement iterative enhancements
I tested the prototype with customers to validate assumptions and refine implementation goals. Participants responded overwhelmingly positively, describing the side navigation and dashboard as significantly more intuitive and effective at getting them to take action. Testing also surfaced important refinements, including the need to better align Configuration Profile creation with Feature Flag workflows and to clearly separate saving configurations from creating new versions. By validating these insights early, we avoided rework and I moved forward confidently with engineering time. The first release of AppConfig console enhancements incorporated the new navigation, clarified configuration workflows and a modern UI upgrade all grounded in real customer needs.
Outcome
Over the course of a year, these improvements significantly reduced friction in the console experience and shifted customer behavior. The AppConfig console actually surpassed the previously CLI-dominated usage of the service, validating both the design strategy and the decision to ground implementation in continuous customer insight.
