Industry
DevOps, SREs
Target group
Frontend engineers
Client
Elastic
Position
Senior product designer
An easy-to-use app for testing websites automatically
Imagine you own an online store. You want to make sure that when people visit your website, everything works, buttons can be clicked, and pages load properly. Now, imagine having to check it manually by clicking through every page. That would take forever! Developers write scripts (sets of instructions) that automatically go through a website and check everything. Writing these scripts requires coding, and it's time consuming.
Problem
Manual testing and script creation are slow, error-prone, requiring coding expertise, limiting adoption and introducing risk.
01
High cognitive load for teams with varying technical expertise
02
Inconsistent script quality and reliability
03
Difficulty integrating recorded scripts into existing workflows
The strategic challenge was to design a system that reduced complexity, improved trust, and delivered measurable efficiency gains while fitting within Elastic’s observability ecosystem.
What I did on the project
I led the design shaping the product strategy, design system, and user workflows to deliver a scalable, reliable new product and ensuring that the app aligned with broader platform goals.
Design Goals
We established four primary design goals:
01
Reduce barriers to entry while maintaining advanced user capabilities
02
Ensure transparency and control over recorded actions and generated scripts
03
Support testing, iteration, and validation within the tool
04
Enable scalability across teams with varying technical expertise
These goals guided prioritization and aligned stakeholders across product, engineering, and QA.
Implementation details
The electron app needs to capture user interactions and converts them into editable, exportable scripts.
Recording
Users start a session by entering a URL. Actions like clicks and typing are captured in real time. Making recorded steps visible built trust and allowed users to verify the output.
Assertions
Users can add validation steps (e.g., element visibility, text presence). Treating assertions as first-class steps reinforced script reliability
Steps can be renamed, reordered, or modified. Defaults support novices, while experts can refine selectors and logic.
Step divider
Steps can be re-organised based on the test.
A built-in test runner allows scripts to be validated before export, reducing trial-and-error frustration.
Exporting
Scripts can be exported as readable JavaScript and integrated into Elastic Synthetics, ensuring maintainability and collaboration.
Monitor creation
Scripts can be added to a monitor to define the test
Why this app is a game-changer for customers
✅ No coding required: Developers can record scripts visually instead of writing them from scratch.
✅ Saves time: Automates test creation, reducing manual work.
✅ User-friendly interface: Intuitive UI allows both beginners and experts to use it efficiently.
✅ Integrated testing: Users can verify scripts before exporting them.
Research & Iteration
Research & Iteration
We conducted usability testing and contextual interviews with developers, QA engineers, and SREs. Insights included:
01
Users expected the recorder to behave like a browser
02
Visibility into failures mattered more than automation speed
03
Novices feared breaking scripts; experts feared losing control
These findings informed interaction patterns, terminology, and workflow refinements.
Impact
Early adopters reported:
01
Reduced time to create synthetic journeys
02
Broader adoption across non-developer roles
03
Increased confidence in script reliability
The recorder became a key component of Elastic’s synthetic monitoring workflow.
Live version
See it in action
Reflection
My work spanned strategy, alignment, and execution, balancing usability and control.
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Thinking in systems
Leading Elastic Script Recorder reinforced the importance of strategic product vision, cross-functional leadership, and system-level thinking. It was extremely important to ensure alignment with platform and business objectives. The project demonstrates how important is to deliver not only usable features but scalable, trusted systems that impact teams and the broader product ecosystem.
Next project
An easy-to-use app for testing websites automatically
Imagine you own an online store. You want to make sure that when people visit your website, everything works, buttons can be clicked, and pages load properly. Now, imagine having to check it manually by clicking through every page. That would take forever! Developers write scripts (sets of instructions) that automatically go through a website and check everything. Writing these scripts requires coding, and it's time consuming.
My role
I led the design shaping the product strategy, design system, and user workflows to deliver a scalable, reliable new product and ensuring that the app aligned with broader platform goals.
what we shipped:
The electron app needs to capture user interactions and converts them into editable, exportable scripts.
Leading Elastic Script Recorder reinforced the importance of strategic product vision, cross-functional leadership, and system-level thinking. It was extremely important to ensure alignment with platform and business objectives. The project demonstrates how important is to deliver not only usable features but scalable, trusted systems that impact teams and the broader product ecosystem.