About the company and my role
1
What is Proqio?
Proqio is a pioneering B2B SaaS company, subsidiary of Encardio Rite, focused on developing technological solutions for monitoring and predictive maintenance of critical infrastructure.
We specialize in creating real-time surveillance systems that integrate IoT sensors, artificial intelligence, and advanced modeling for sectors such as mining, tunnel construction, dam management, and bridges between others. Proqio bridges the gap between cutting-edge technology and traditional heavy industries by providing specialized digital tools tailored to each segment's unique requirements.
Our SaaS platform enables engineers and infrastructure managers to detect structural problems before they become emergencies, optimizing safety and significantly reducing operational costs.
2
Why did you decide to join this challenge?
Joining Proqio perfectly combined my professional background, technical interests, and creative passions. After a decade in product design, I wanted to use my building engineering education more directly while applying user-centered design principles.
When Roberto (CEO) contacted me about becoming Product Lead at Proqio, the timing was perfect as I was seeking a significant career advancement. The project aligned perfectly with my long-term goals.
I was excited by the opportunity to bridge disciplines, creating digital solutions for physical infrastructure problems. As a 3D art enthusiast, I was fascinated by developing digital twins to visualize structural data intuitively. Applying this passion to create interfaces that could save lives was compelling.
My building engineering education gave me deep appreciation for structural systems and their importance. This background, combined with my product design experience, uniquely positioned me for this role.
Proqio offered an exclusive chance to unite my technical knowledge of building structures, experience creating intuitive digital products, and passion for 3D visualization—all to make infrastructure safer. This clear next step in my professional evolution was the perfect opportunity to solve important problems.
3
What is your specific role at Proqio and how did it fit into the organization's structure?
As Product Lead at Proqio, I headed the product development strategy across multiple work lines such as the core, Digital Twins, TBM and Articial Intelligence integration. I reported directly to the CEO while managing a cross-functional team, including software engineers, product designers, marketing and industry specialists.
My role bridged the gap between technical development, business objectives, and customer needs. I was responsible for the product roadmap, feature prioritization, design collaboration and validation and ensuring our solutions addressed the specific challenges of each industry segment we served. I also collaborated closely with the sales and customer success teams to gather insights and validate product-market fit in these specialized industries.
I led the restructuring of our development cycle by implementing Design Thinking, Lean UX, and Jobs to Be Done methodologies. These approaches helped align technical capabilities with the real needs of engineers, project managers, and field teams:
Design Thinking: A user-centered framework that emphasizes empathizing with users, defining their pain points, ideating solutions, prototyping, and iterating based on feedback. This allowed us to deeply understand how infrastructure professionals interact with data and make decisions under pressure.
Lean UX: Focused on rapid experimentation and collaboration across teams. By minimizing documentation and prioritizing tangible outcomes like prototypes and MVPs, we were able to validate ideas quickly and adapt to user needs in real time.
Jobs to Be Done (JTBD): A methodology that shifts focus from features to understanding the specific tasks users are trying to accomplish. By identifying key "jobs" (e.g., monitoring structural stability or generating compliance reports), we tailored our product to address these goals directly.
Challenges and solutions
4
How did you approach the challenge of creating a product for such diverse segments?
When I joined Proqio in March 2023, the company was already working on its first major active project: monitoring tunnel infrastructure for NEOM's ambitious The Line project in Saudi Arabia.
Proqio had already established the conceptual framework of having a unified UI where different services or tools could be activated based on the specific project, which significantly facilitated maintenance.
The modular architecture that was conceptualized proved to be a significant competitive advantage, as it allowed us to maintain a cohesive user experience while deploying highly specialized monitoring capabilities across vastly different infrastructure types. I focused on enhancing this architecture to accommodate more sophisticated predictive analytics while preserving the intuitive user experience that made our platform accessible to engineers without specialized data science training.
Through comprehensive analysis of both this flagship project and other potential market segments, I identified crucial patterns across seemingly different infrastructure sectors:
90% of all clients, regardless of sector, required real-time structural monitoring systems.
Almost 100% were using basic Excel spreadsheets to manage critical safety alerts.
Nearly all clients needed scheduled reports and customizable dashboards to effectively communicate findings to various stakeholders.
Building upon the existing UI framework, I led the evolution of this approach into a fully consolidated SaaS core with sector-specific modules by creating a Design System for Proqio.
This strategy allowed us to leverage the excellent foundation that had been established while expanding our capabilities to serve diverse infrastructure types.
We developed specialized visualization tools that could represent complex underground structural data in intuitive formats, which later became the template for how we approached other infrastructure types.
Over time, powerful tools such as formula configuration, FTP connectivity and other methods, permits levels, creation of heatmaps, programmed reports, images to add instruments ... and many more!
5
What features did you develop that made a measurable difference?
Innovation has been at the core of my work at Proqio, where I’ve focused on developing features that address real-world challenges in infrastructure management. Each functionality I’ve worked on was designed not just to solve immediate problems but to empower users with tools that enhance efficiency, reduce risks, and provide actionable insights. Some of them have been:
1. Proqio's Design System
I spearheaded the development of Proqio's comprehensive design system, which standardized our UI components, interaction patterns, and visual language across the platform. My team move it forward where key aspects included:
Component Library: A set of reusable UI components, ensuring consistency and reducing development time.
Design Tokens: Standardized colors, typography, spacing, and other design elements that could be easily updated across the entire platform.
Interaction Patterns: Standardized user interactions for common tasks, improving usability and reducing learning curve.
Accessibility Guidelines: Ensuring all components met WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
Documentation: Extensive guidelines for both designers and developers on how to use and extend the system.
The impact of the design system was significant:
Development time for new features decreased by 80% due to readily available, pre-tested components.
User onboarding time reduced by 80% thanks to consistent interaction patterns across the platform.
Design-to-development handoff time decreased by 50%, improving overall team efficiency.
Brand consistency improved by 95% across all product touchpoints, as measured by our brand audit.
Dynamic Map with Real-Time Data
My team designed this module to visualize geospatial data overlaying sensor data, alerts, and construction progress. The innovation lay in the rendering engine that processes 15 types of data simultaneously (deformations, hydrostatic pressure, vibrations). This allowed teams like those on the Neom Project to identify structural anomalies five times faster than traditional methods.
Heatmaps for Deformation Analysis
We developed algorithms that transform raw sensor data into interactive colour ramps representations, highlighting risk areas.
4. Reports and dashboards
I replaced static reports with modular canvas of widgets where users can create customized templates (from slope stability analyses to progress reports for stakeholders).
AI Chat Agent
To revolutionize how users interact with project data, I led the development of an AI-powered chat agent integrated directly into the Proqio platform. This sophisticated tool enables users to query complex datasets, perform advanced calculations, and generate visualizations through natural language interactions.
Key functionalities include:
Data Exploration and Analysis: Users can ask questions like "What's the correlation between soil moisture levels and structural movement in Section B?" The AI agent then processes this request, queries the relevant datasets, performs the necessary statistical analysis, and provides a concise answer.
On-Demand Calculations: Engineers can request complex calculations without leaving the platform. For instance, "Calculate the expected settlement rate for the north foundation based on current sensor data and geological reports."
Dynamic Chart Creation: Users can generate custom visualizations by simply describing what they need. For example, "Create a time series chart comparing vibration levels across all tunnel boring machines over the last month, highlighting any anomalies."
Predictive Insights: The AI agent can provide forward-looking analysis, such as "Based on current progress and historical data, predict the completion date for Phase 2 of the project."
And many more!
Feedback and continuous improvement
6
How did you incorporate user voices into product development?
I implemented a comprehensive feedback cycle that not only gathered user insights but also centralized and prioritized them effectively:
Productboard: I implemented Productboard as our central hub for collecting and organizing user insights. This allowed us to:
Aggregate feedback from multiple channels (support tickets, sales calls, user interviews, emails, surveys…) in one place.
Tag and categorize insights to identify recurring themes and feature requests.
Link insights directly to feature ideas, ensuring user needs drove our roadmap.
Score and prioritize features based on user impact and strategic alignment with business goals.
Prioritization System: Using the RICE model (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) in conjunction with Productboard's scoring and other frameworks such as MoSCoW, Now, Next, Later or KANO, we focused on high-impact developments.
Continuous Feedback Loop: We established a system where product decisions and their rationales were communicated back to users, closing the feedback loop and maintaining engagement.
Quantitative Analysis: I implemented Posthog where we tracked usage metrics, feature adoptions, user behaviors, error tracking, etc.
Early Adopters Program: Some clients participated in Early Adopters programs such as AI Chat, providing invaluable real-world feedback. We could validate accuracy and effectiveness in resolving common customer queries.
Co-Creation Sessions: We held workshops with engineers like where we prototyped features in Figma during in-person sessions.
User testing: Due to the B2B business model, getting availability to be able to interview customers and use testings was normally complicated, but we did all in our hands to lead some.
Interdepartmental collaboration and leadership
7
How did you manage coordination between technical and non-technical teams?
I established a comprehensive framework that fostered collaboration and alignment across all departments:
Cross-functional squads: We organized our teams into Squads, each comprising a mix of developers, designers, product managers, and domain experts. This structure ensured that every project had the necessary skills and perspectives from inception to delivery.
Weekly Meetings: Each Squad held a weekly sync to discuss progress, address blockers, and align on priorities. This regular touchpoint kept everyone informed and allowed for quick problem-solving.
Demo Days: At the end of each sprint, we held a company-wide Demo Day where developers showcased the most valuable features they were working on. This not only celebrated progress but also provided visibility across the organization and gathered immediate feedback.
Innovation Workshops: Monthly, we held cross-squad innovation sessions where team members could pitch ideas, explore new technologies, or propose solutions to ongoing challenges. This fostered a culture of creativity and continuous improvement.
Knowledge Sharing Sessions: With no time criteria, we organized "Brunch and Learn" sessions where team members could present on their area of expertise, recent learnings, or interesting industry trends.
8
What concrete results can you attribute to your leadership?
Lof of points but overall I'd say that:
Operational Efficiency:
The personalized dashboards I designed, In conjunction with the AI, enabled clients to reduce daily analysis time from three hours to just 45 minutes according to their internal reports.Risk Reduction:
The early warning system detected a bunch critical incidents in its first year.Product Adoption:
Under my leadership, our platform achieved a 98% user satisfaction rating resulting in 78% of pilot clients converting to paying users within six months.
Lessons learned and future vision
9
As Head of Product at Proqio, what key insights have you gained, and how do you see the product evolving?
As Head of Product at Proqio has been a journey of continuous learning and strategic growth. Here are some key insights I've gained and how they shape my vision for the future:
Ecosystem Thinking:
I've learned that success in infrastructure management isn't just about individual features, but about creating a seamless ecosystem. Moving forward, I envision Proqio as a comprehensive platform that integrates monitoring, analysis, prediction, and prescription across project lifecycles.Data as a Strategic Asset:
Data's value in infrastructure has become increasingly clear. Our future roadmap focuses on enhancing data processing, implementing advanced machine learning, and providing granular insights. Predictive maintenance features are particularly exciting, as they could revolutionize long-term infrastructure health management.User-Centric Innovation at Scale:
Maintaining a user-centric approach has been crucial as we've grown. I've implemented processes to keep user feedback central to our development cycle. Looking ahead, I plan to establish more methods to stay aligned with evolving industry needs and co-create solutions with innovative clients.Cross-Industry Pollination:
Some of our most impactful innovations came from adapting ideas from adjacent industries. I'm fostering a culture of cross-industry learning, encouraging our team to draw inspiration from fields like smart cities to bring fresh perspectives to infrastructure management.Sustainability and ESG Integration:
There's a growing demand for sustainability metrics in infrastructure projects. I'm steering our roadmap to incorporate robust ESG tracking and reporting features, positioning Proqio as a leader in sustainable infrastructure management.Scalable Customization:
Balancing standardization with customization has been a challenge. I'm leading initiatives to develop a more modular architecture that allows for easier project-specific customizations without compromising scalability or performance.Emerging Tech Integration:
I'm evaluating emerging technologies like advanced AI, digital twins, and others to implement a cutting-edge environment at Proqio. We're currently running pilot programs to test these technologies in real-world scenarios.Global Expansion and Localization:
As we expand globally, I've learned the importance of deep localization. Beyond language, this means adapting our product to local regulations, construction practices, and cultural nuances in data visualization. Our future releases will have enhanced localization capabilities built-in.
Looking ahead, my vision for Proqio is to evolve from a data intelligence platform to an indispensable partner in smart, sustainable infrastructure development worldwide. We're shaping the future of how global infrastructure projects are conceived, executed, and maintained.
This journey has reinforced my belief in user-centered design, data-driven decision making, and fostering a culture of continuous innovation. These principles will continue to guide our product strategy, ensuring Proqio remains at the forefront of the infrastructure management revolution.