Case Study

Visualizing Enterprise Networks

The Challenge

Managing enterprise networks isn't difficult because of the number of devices, it's difficult because of the relationships between them.

Enterprise IT administrators manage hundreds of interconnected devices across multiple locations. As networks grow, understanding relationships, identifying changes and troubleshooting issues becomes increasingly complex.

The Product

Enterprise Network Management Platform

The Users

Network Administrators & IT Teams

The Challenge

Visualising and managing complex enterprise topologies

Project Background

Why was this project created?

Enterprise customers such as TELUS needed a more intuitive way to plan, visualise and manage large-scale network infrastructure.

The Need Was Clear

Fragmented workflows

Planning, deployment and monitoring spread across multiple disconnected tools and processes.

Limited visibility

Hard to maintain a clear and accurate understanding of network topology across the entire lifecycle.

Manual and error-prone

Infrastructure updates and audits required significant manual effort, slowing down operations.

Designing the Experience

The goal wasn't just to visualise a network—it was to give administrators a complete workspace for planning, deploying, monitoring and evolving enterprise infrastructure.

1. Planning the Network

I designed the venue overview as a starting point for every deployment. It consolidates inventory, topology snapshots, floor plans and project assets into a single workspace, allowing administrators to understand the current state before moving into detailed configuration.

Venue overview

2. Floor Plan Editor

Designed an interactive floor plan editor that enables administrators to place and organise network devices directly on architectural layouts.

Floor Plan Editor

3. Logical Topology

Visualised device relationships through an interactive topology, helping administrators quickly understand how infrastructure is connected.

Logical Topology

4. Snapshot Comparison

Introduced snapshot comparison to instantly highlight added, modified and removed devices, making infrastructure changes easy to identify.

Snapshot Comparison

5. Physical Layout

Connected the digital topology with real-world hardware using rack layouts, room photos and equipment annotations.

Physical Layout

6. Real-Time Topology

Extended the topology into a live monitoring experience by surfacing device health, alerts and network status directly on the map.

Real-Time Topology
UX Metrics

Measuring Success Through Experience Goals

Goal
Description
Business Impact
Reduce Cognitive Load
Simplified complex network relationships through an interactive topology and clear visual hierarchy.
↗Faster understanding of enterprise infrastructure and quicker decisions.
Improve Task Efficiency
Consolidated planning, deployment and monitoring into a unified workflow.
↗Reduced context switching and quicker task completion.
Increase Visibility
Introduced spatial, physical and real-time topology views for critical infrastructure information.
↗Better awareness of network health and infrastructure relationships.
Support Enterprise Scale
Reusable patterns and scalable components.
↗Consistent experience across small and large deployments.
Preserve User Context
Contextual interactions and adaptive panels.
↗Reduced unnecessary navigation and improved decision making.
Design System

Design Language

A scalable visual language designed to simplify enterprise network planning, deployment and monitoring experiences.

01 —

Device Taxonomy

Visual tokens representing dedicated hardware and endpoint classes across complex network maps.

Core Switch

Central backbone routing & high-speed switching node

Edge Switch

Branch network distribution & hardware access switch

Access Point

High-capacity wireless access point controller

Router

Inter-network gateway routing hardware & packet distribution

Firewall

Hardware-level boundary defense and packet inspector

Server

Application serving, storage, & microservices cluster

Camera

Network-connected smart visual recording node

Printer

Office utilities print and scanning services hardware

TV / Display

Direct connected visual output controller node

Desktop

Workstation terminal endpoint clients

IoT Device

Connected industrial telemetry sensors & inputs

02 —

Network States

Real-time statuses indicating physical health, configurations, and administrative flags.

Online
Device is fully active, communicating healthy packets over the network backbone.
#22C55E
Offline
Unreachable host. No heartbeat ping detected over multiple intervals.
#EF4444
Warning
High packet drop, loop alarms, or threshold alerts require immediate sysadmin audit.
#F59E0B
Planning
Node layout mock state drafted on plan sheet. Pending physical deployment.
#1C6BD6
Disabled
Host manually administrative disabled, ignoring interface connections.
#9CA3AF
Verified
Configuration verified against live system models and security compliances.
#14B8A6
Maintenance
Scheduled firmware update or physical replacement cycle in progress.
#8B5CF6
Provisioning
Initializing system boot scripts, receiving DHCP and zero-touch profiles.
#F97316