Producer
Own project goals, timelines, and delivery.
Designing ThinkingData's LiveOps Platform
Overview
ThinkingData is a global gaming analytics company offering data platforms for actionable player insights.
In Spring 2022, I joined as the Lead Product Designer to build the LiveOps Platform from the ground up (0-to-1). Within one year of launch, the LiveOps Platform was adopted by 50+ game studios, driving a 10% increase in overall company revenue and becoming ThinkingData's second major revenue stream.
Problem & Opportunity
Before LiveOps, ThinkingData acted like a doctor who could perfectly diagnose an illness but couldn't prescribe medication. Gaming studios used our dashboards to identify player churn or funnel drop-offs, but they had no integrated way to act on these insights. They had to execute their strategies outside our platform, breaking the operational loop. To close this gap, we first needed to understand how operations teams actually work.
User Research
To understand how operations teams worked, I conducted a series of video and in-person interviews with our users. These interviews allowed me to identify key roles and map out the complete operational workflow, as well as collaboration patterns across teams.
Lead Planner
Design core gameplay and system frameworks.
Event Planner
Create in-game events to drive engagement.
Operations Lead
Execute and coordinate daily operations.
LiveOps Specialist
Monitor live performance and respond quickly.
Data Analyst
Analyze data to support decisions.
We identified five core stages in their workflow, spanning from strategic planning to post-execution review and optimization.
Competitor Research
To better understand how similar products structure key user flows and interaction patterns, I analyzed comparable products to uncover common patterns, gaps, and opportunities that informed the design of the LiveOps Platform.
Design Goals
Based on these insights, I designed an end-to-end workflow enabling users to go from insight to execution to evaluation seamlessly.
Solution
To establish a structured and scalable operational workflow, I reorganized the platform into four clearly defined modules: Campaign Management, Campaign Creation, Performance Review, and Operation Settings.
01 Campaign Management
Users can now create and manage operations directly in the platform.
02 Campaign Creation
Segmentation integrates ThinkingData's behavioral analytics capabilities.
03 Performance Review
Provide clear, real-time visibility into campaign performance, from delivery to conversion.
04 Operation Settings
Centralize configuration for channels, delivery rules, approvals, and localization to ensure consistent, controlled campaign execution.
Design System
During this period, we initiated the development of a new design system to improve consistency and scalability across products. I actively contributed to the system by designing and documenting multiple core components, helping establish reusable patterns and standards for the team.
Reflection
Designing a 0-to-1 product inside a mature ecosystem is a balancing act. As a new joiner, I had to fast-track my understanding of the domain. This ability to learn quickly helped me decode the existing product architecture and user habits, ensuring the new platform felt like a natural evolution, not a disruption.
On the other hand, this project proved that deep domain knowledge is a designer's strongest asset. Understanding the WHY behind the business logic allowed me to drive smoother cross-team alignment and reduce the risk of rework, leading to a successful, on-time delivery.