About Me (Copy)

Work, Education, Awards and Patents

Crafting experiences people love.

My name in Niyanth Kudumula. I am a San Francisco Bay Area based lead designer with a background in Aerospace Engineering and Human Computer Interaction - a combination that adds a creative edge to my logical thinking. I have extensive and enriching 15 years of experience adding simplicity to diverse enterprise software products.

My experience spans mobile, web, conversational, and virtual reality interfaces, across multiple industries, platforms, and form factors. I led several design projects to success, delivering high-quality work in fast-paced product environments. I am passionate about problem-solving using innovative user-centered design methods to craft simple, elegant, and engaging experiences for end-users.

I originally hail from Sriharikota, the spaceport of India. Growing up I noticed how design is a driving factor for the success of space projects, and that has deeply instilled in me a sense of design curiosity.

View my resume

Jump to my: Awards & Achievement | Published Patents

Education

Masters in Human Computer Interaction

Iowa State University, Ames IA | 2009 - 2011

Bachelors in Aerospace Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology - Madras (IITM) INDIA | 2002 - 2006

Work Experience

VMware, Palo Alto CA.

Product Design Lead | Jan 2020 - present

As the design lead for VMware Tanzu Observability, I drive the design direction of the observability product and its integrations with partner products. I work closely with cross-functional teams to contribute to the product strategy and roadmap while making sure of timely feature releases. I helped build the team from just myself to currently a team of 9 talented full-time designers and mentored them. I helped set up design processes and team rituals, introduced data collection practices to understand product adoption, and worked towards getting VPAT certification for accessibility compliance. Currently, I am tasked to envision DevSecOps observability experiences and lead the redesign of core features such as dashboards, alerts, traces, integrations, and other initiatives under enterprise readiness and growth.

SAP Labs, Palo Alto CA.

Principal User Experience Designer | Mar 2016 - Jan 2020

As a principal lead designer, I am currently working on Conversational AI, designing SAP Bot Building Platform. I have led several design projects to successful completion across various products, LoBs, and industries. I work with product managers to -define product vision, -plan user research activities, -provide design direction, -craft designs, and -support development by providing design artifacts. I run Design Thinking workshops with customers, product managers, designers, and developers to ideate optimization. I have presented UX strategy, product innovation, and designs to C-level management, and at conferences, such as SAP DKOM and Hackathons.

Senior User Experience Designer | Feb 2013 - Feb 2016

I worked on multiple design projects across different focus areas such as Retail, Banking, Finance, HR, Marketing, and Procurement. I was the design lead for most projects, with teams of 1 to 4 designers that include User Researchers, Interaction, and Visual designers. I was part of the SAP Global Design team that envisioned and designed SAP Fiori, a responsive design framework that supports all SAP products on desktop and mobile devices. I ran training sessions for internal SAP teams on Fiori design principles.

A special mention to the award-winning mobile app, SAP Retail Execution. I was the lead designer for this project and designed both iPad and iPhone versions of the application. This project was a classic example of design-led development. I started by conducting extensive field research with Sales Reps and Merchandisers, shadowing them in the field to understand the process and challenges they face. Following this, an understanding of the user & business requirements helped me to define the use cases, task flows and design the end-to-end experience of the app. I managed and executed projects by effectively collaborating with user experience, development, and product management teams across the US, Germany, and India and successfully delivered the project within timelines. This product design continues to get accolades globally.

User Experience Designer | Sep 2010 - Feb 2013

A few interesting designs that I crafted during this period- Enterprise Asset Management, an iPad application for Field service technicians, and -mBanking, an iPhone app for retail banking for consumers. I worked with Product Managers to understand business requirements, conducted a competitive analysis to understand the market, and worked with researchers in developing a research plan, and script for user interviews.

I successfully delivered design documents, such as task analysis, wireframes, and interactive prototypes to help developers understand the interactions. Before Android published its design guidelines, I researched and defined Android Interaction Design guidelines for SAP apps.

Caterpillar, Peoria IL

Immersive Visualization (VR) Coordinator | Jun 2010 - Sep 2010

At Caterpillar, I worked in the field of Virtual Reality (VR). I used VR as a tool to conduct design reviews, serviceability tests, accessibility tests, and ergonomic studies of CAT machinery & vehicles. I worked with different project teams to prepare the machine models optimized for real-time immersive virtual design reviews and conducted reviews using a Cave/3D Power Wall. I documented the review objectives, outcomes, and cost benefits, thus promoting the use of VR. I worked for Caterpillar through ACCS.

Virtual Reality Applications Center, Ames IA

Graduate Research Assistant @ Iowa State University | Aug 2009 - Aug 2010

My research was on studying the decision-making processes in emergency responders using psycho-physiological responses in immersive Virtual Reality. As part of my research, I investigated effective interfaces for naturalistic decision-making in Virtual Reality. I built various 3D virtual environments with user interfaces and used these environments for benchmark studies and user testing.

Incture Technologies, Bangalore - India

User Experience Designer | Jul 2006 - Jun 2009

I joined Incture as the fourth employee, then a startup. I wore multiple hats, from being -a solutions consultant, -a product designer, and -a part-time developer. I primarily worked on designing mobile applications.

As a solutions consultant, I worked closely with several Indian retailers such as Subhiksha, TATA Trent, and Smart Retail in collaboration with business partners such as Motorola and IBM, to understand their requirements and provide technology-driven business solutions.

As a designer, I played a key role in defining a design language for the company and helped the team in building ‘Handee’, a UI framework for mobile devices with reusable design patterns and UI components. I analyzed requirements and designed concepts for the solutions. I enjoyed designing retail apps to bring paper-based workflows to mobile devices.

The experience at Incture has motivated me to study Masters in Human Computer Interaction and pursue design as my profession.

Awards and achievements

Winner of iF Design Award 2020

Wavefront (now Tanzu Observability) | Best Analytics Tool

Winner of Asia Mobile Awards 2017

SAP Retail Execution | Best mobile app for Retail, Commerce & Marketing

Winner of Tabby Awards for Business 2013

SAP Retail Execution | Best mobile app for Consumer Products & Services

Finalist: Red Dot Awards 2017

Marketing Experience Reimagined Concept | Category: Service, Interaction & Communication

Pre-Finalist: SAP founder Hasso Plattner Award 2018

SAP CoPilot and Skill Builder | Products & Innovation | Top 3 out of 52 submissions

Pre-Finalist: SAP Ideathon 2016

Pitching new business ideas in Internet of Things space | Top 4 out of 12 pitches

2016 - ‘SAP Catalyst’ - Career Acceleration Program

Selected to be an SAP Catalyst from the team. Recognized as an individual contributor who exemplifies a thought leader in their function, and shows desire & ability to continue to grow, make greater contributions, and assume greater responsibility.

2013 - ‘SAP Top Talent’ - an SAP High Potential Program

Recognized as a valuable employee who demonstrates a critical and unique skill set that helps to execute SAP strategy. The skillset is rare to be found in candidates in the market.