Intro
(Project overview)
Productboard helps product teams prioritize and align around what to build next. At the center of that workflow is filtering - the mechanism that lets teams cut through hundreds of features and initiatives to focus on what matters right now. Filtering was one of the most complained-about interactions on the platform. I led the discovery and end-to-end design of column filters: a new way to filter directly from the grid board.
(Goal)
Reduce friction for the majority of users who found Productboard's filtering system intimidating.
(My role)
I owned the full design process: identifying the problem through research, framing the opportunity, running user testing, designing the interaction, and tracking outcomes post-launch. I collaborated closely with engineering on scope and feasibility, and with Product on prioritization.
Problem statement
Productboard has two filter modes built for different audiences. Simple filters covered everyday use cases. Advanced filters supported complex, flexible filtering logic for power users. Both were accessed through the same place: the board header filter panel.
The panel presented users with an abstract, open-ended interface. To filter anything, you first had to select an attribute - choosing from a list of all possible properties in the data model. Then pick an operator. Then pick values. Even a simple question like "show me only Anna's items" required navigating a query-building flow.
For users who understood the data model, this was fine. For everyone else, it was a barrier. Feedback described it as "confusing," "intimidating," and - repeatedly - "awful."
If we give users a filtering experience that eliminates attribute selection entirely - where the context is already set by what they're looking at - they'll be able to filter without needing to understand the filter system at all.
Challenges
Two filter systems that can't be merged. Simple and advanced filters work differently at a technical level. Unifying them into a single coherent UI wasn't feasible within scope. Any solution had to work alongside the existing system, not replace it.
Power users had already built workarounds. In interviews, I found that technically confident users were configuring filters on behalf of their teams - setting up board views and explicitly telling colleagues "don't touch the filters." This behavioral workaround meant many users had never had to engage with filters directly. Any new design needed to work for people who had zero filter experience.
