Test Fusion
Redesigning Google’s internal CI platform to make developer workflows faster, clearer, and more human
2021-2024
Test Fusion 2021- Current
Redesigning Google’s internal CI platform to make developer workflows faster, clearer, and more human
The Starting Point
At Google, over 60,000 engineers rely on internal tools to build, test, and ship code. Many of these tools are critical to Google’s developer productivity.
Test Fusion is a product suite. It served as a hub for build, test, monitoring, and troubleshooting. It was originally created by engineers without UX support and had accumulated layers of complexity over a decade. Despite its critical role in the development lifecycle, it was not easy to use, difficult to learn.
I led the end-to-end product design strategy to transform Test Fusion into a unified, intelligent experience that significantly improved developer workflows and reduced time to resolution.
The key problems we uncovered:
• Too many fragmented tools:
Engineers had to jump across platforms to find related data.
• Slow triage: Testing could take 30+ minutes, with unclear error signals.
• Poor onboarding: New developers were overwhelmed by the interfaces and lacked clear guidance.
• No collaborative workflows: no communication tool for resolving breakage.
We weren’t just fixing UX—we were fixing how Google engineers shipped code.
The key problems we uncovered:
• Too many fragmented tools: Engineers had to jump across platforms to find related data.
• Slow triage: Testing could take 30+ minutes, with unclear error signals.
• Poor onboarding: New developers were overwhelmed by the interfaces
and lacked clear guidance.
• No collaborative workflows: no communication tool for resolving breakage.
We weren’t just fixing UX—we were fixing how Google engineers shipped code.
User Research
I started by partnering with our UX researcher (our only one at that time) and we dug deep. We interviewed teams, conducted 3 days of user shadowing, and analyzed real workflows. We also brought in a third-party research agency to help run rapid user testing and collect in depth feedback.
The key problems we uncovered:
• Too many fragmented tools:
Engineers had to jump across platforms to find related data.
• Slow triage: Testing could take 30+ minutes, with unclear error signals.
• Poor onboarding: New developers were overwhelmed by the interfaces and lacked clear guidance.
• No collaborative workflows: no communication tool for resolving breakage.
We weren’t just fixing UX—we were fixing how Google engineers shipped code.
The key problems we uncovered:
• Too many fragmented tools: Engineers had to jump across platforms to find related data.
• Slow triage: Testing could take 30+ minutes, with unclear error signals.
• Poor onboarding: New developers were overwhelmed by the interfaces
and lacked clear guidance.
• No collaborative workflows: no communication tool for resolving breakage.
We weren’t just fixing UX—we were fixing how Google engineers shipped code.
What was broken
“I spend more time figuring out which tool to look at than actually fixing the issue.”
“I have 10+ tabs open, trying to cross-check logs and test results.”
“When something breaks, it’s chaos. I just want to know who broke it and why.”
The key problems we uncovered:
• Too many fragmented tools:
Engineers had to jump across platforms to find related data.
• Slow triage: Testing could take 30+ minutes, with unclear error signals.
• Poor onboarding: New developers were overwhelmed by the interfaces and lacked clear guidance.
• No collaborative workflows: no communication tool for resolving breakage.
We weren’t just fixing UX—we were fixing how Google engineers shipped code.
The key problems we uncovered:
• Too many fragmented tools: Engineers had to jump across platforms to find related data.
• Slow triage: Testing could take 30+ minutes, with unclear error signals.
• Poor onboarding: New developers were overwhelmed by the interfaces
and lacked clear guidance.
• No collaborative workflows: no communication tool for resolving breakage.
We weren’t just fixing UX—we were fixing how Google engineers shipped code.
The Key Problems We Uncovered
• Too many fragmented tools: Engineers had to jump across platforms to find related data.
• Slow triage: Testing could take 30+ minutes, with unclear error signals.
• Poor onboarding: New developers were overwhelmed by the interfaces and lacked clear guidance.
• No collaborative workflows: no communication tool for resolving breakage.
We weren’t just fixing UX—we were fixing how Google engineers shipped code.
The key problems we uncovered:
• Too many fragmented tools:
Engineers had to jump across platforms to find related data.
• Slow triage: Testing could take 30+ minutes, with unclear error signals.
• Poor onboarding: New developers were overwhelmed by the interfaces and lacked clear guidance.
• No collaborative workflows: no communication tool for resolving breakage.
We weren’t just fixing UX—we were fixing how Google engineers shipped code.
Wearing Many Hats
In my very first year of Core Dev team. There was no PM. No TPM. One UX researcher. And a product with endless surface area.
I had to be more than a designer—I became the glue. I created a vision for what this platform could be, and rallied people around it. I also designed the intake process, prioritized features, built cross-org alignment, and advocated for more UX resources.
Early on, I realized many engineers didn’t understand core UX concepts, like CUJs (Critical User Journeys) and were not used to receiving early concepts and design reviews. So I initiated the very first CUJ workshop with developers. It was new territory for them—and a cultural shift—but it gave us a shared language and a new way to measure experience health.
I introduced:
• CUJ health scoring to prioritize features by real user impact
• A quarterly CUJ tracking system to monitor progress and shift focus
• A design intake and estimation template to set expectations and secure resourcing
These approaches helped us stay grounded, even as scope shifted and new requests flooded in weekly.
The key problems we uncovered:
• Too many fragmented tools:
Engineers had to jump across platforms to find related data.
• Slow triage: Testing could take 30+ minutes, with unclear error signals.
• Poor onboarding: New developers were overwhelmed by the interfaces and lacked clear guidance.
• No collaborative workflows: no communication tool for resolving breakage.
We weren’t just fixing UX—we were fixing how Google engineers shipped code.
The Design Vision
We set a bold but simple goal: “Unifying test & monitoring experience for faster and more efficient workflow.”
Final Design
I designed key flows for pre-submit and post-submit debugging, built components that could scale across the CI ecosystem, and worked closely with engineers to design around real technical constraints.
This is just a snapshot of the fast-paced, high-impact projects I led on. If you’re curious about the thinking behind any of these designs, I’m happy to share more of the story.
Final Design
I designed key flows for pre-submit and post-submit debugging, built components that could scale across the CI ecosystem, and worked closely with engineers to design around real technical constraints.
This is just a snapshot of the fast-paced, high-impact projects I led on. If you’re curious about the thinking behind any of these designs, I’m happy to share more of the story.
Final Design
I designed key flows for pre-submit and post-submit debugging, built components that could scale across the CI ecosystem, and worked closely with engineers to design around real technical constraints.
This is just a snapshot of the fast-paced, high-impact projects I led on. If you’re curious about the thinking behind any of these designs, I’m happy to share more of the story.
Dashboard with CI Testing History
Dashboard with CI Testing History
Presubmit Testing
Presubmit Testing
Communication for Resolving Breakage
Communication for Resolving Breakage
Culprit Finding
Culprit Finding
Target Level - Horizontal Grid View
Target Level - Horizontal Grid View
SUT Integration
SUT Integration
Scalable Component Example
Scalable Component Example
Dark Theme Examples
Dark Theme Examples
Navigating the Storm
This project wasn’t smooth sailing. Some real challenges:
• Constant scope changes from engineering and product stakeholders
• Heavy pressure to ship fast, despite missing foundational research
• Limited visibility into how much UX work was happening behind the scenes
• Competing priorities across teams wanting their features in Test Fusion
To stay ahead, I:
• Ran weekly share-outs to align stakeholders and show progress
• Scoped work into T-shirt sizes and tied them back to CUJ impact
• Built credibility by co-designing solutions with engineers in real time
• Advocated for team growth—and secured an additional UXD, PM, and TPM
Navigating the Storm
This project wasn’t smooth sailing. Some real challenges:
• Constant scope changes from engineering and product stakeholders
• Heavy pressure to ship fast, despite missing foundational research
• Limited visibility into how much UX work was happening behind the scenes
• Competing priorities across teams wanting their features in Test Fusion
To stay ahead, I:
• Ran weekly share-outs to align stakeholders and show progress
• Scoped work into T-shirt sizes and tied them back to CUJ impact
• Built credibility by co-designing solutions with engineers in real time
• Advocated for team growth—and secured an additional UXD, PM, and TPM
The Impact
Our work paid off—measurably and meaningfully:
🚀 +32% improvement in engineering productivity
🔍 -33% reduction in debugging time
💬 +81 user satisfaction score
🏆 Recipient of the Google Impact Award (2021)
More than just a redesign, Test Fusion became a new standard for developer tooling inside Google. It set the foundation for more unified CI experiences across teams and helped elevate the role of UX in deeply technical spaces.
The Impact
Our work paid off—measurably and meaningfully:
🚀 +32% improvement in engineering productivity
🔍 -33% reduction in debugging time
💬 +81 user satisfaction score
🏆 Recipient of the Google Impact Award (2021)
More than just a redesign, Test Fusion became a new standard for developer tooling inside Google. It set the foundation for more unified CI experiences across teams and helped elevate the role of UX in deeply technical spaces.
