Graphisoft
BIM Cloud
Simplifying Complex Permission Systems
for CAD Managers
I redesigned Graphisoft’s permission system to make role management clearer for architecture teams. By simplifying the hierarchy, improving key flows, and creating an Axure prototype to demonstrate how access should work at scale, I helped reduce confusion and made navigating shared project environments more intuitive.
SaaS
UX Design
Prototyping
Role / Scope:
UX Designer collaborating under a UX Lead/Researcher.
Contributed to a multi-month redesign of Graphisoft’s BIM Cloud, the enterprise cloud extension of Archicad used by architectural teams worldwide. Leveraged research
insights, interviews, and heuristic evaluations to build user flows, wireframes, and an interactive Axure prototype visualizing a complex permission database.
Timeframe
2018–2019 ~3-4 months
Constraints
Limited timeframe, predefined UI kit, and strict privacy restrictions prevented direct access to live user environments.
Highly technical domain with layered cloud/on-prem permissions and regulatory sensitivity.
Needed to design for both small studios (high-trust workflows) and large enterprises (low-trust, multi-role hierarchies)
User comprehension was low and the interviewees repeatedly failed to understand inheritance, default roles, and access visibility.
Key decisions
1.
Mapped multi-level user hierarchies and simplified role logic
(Owner / Admin / Contributor / Viewer).
2.
Redesigned the permission matrix into a scalable “Access Center,” a centralized hub summarizing projects, users, and rule sets.
3.
Added overview and “view-as” features so managers could see exactly what each role could accessBIM cloud interviews and notes.
4.
Incremental integration with the legacy system to ensure backward compatibility across free and paid tiers.
5.
Built Axure prototypes simulating database logic, supporting three rounds of validation with CAD managers and IT professionals (13 usability tests, 12 stakeholder interviews).
6.
Collaborated closely with engineering and research to align feature scope with technical constraints and to prioritize fixes that improved transparency, scalability, and error prevention.
Results
Reduced confusion around roles, inheritance, and access logic
Improved user understanding of permission rules in testing
Impact
Turned a fragmented, opaque permission model into a centralized, comprehensible, and scalable system. The redesign balanced security, clarity, and operational flexibility, helping both small and large architectural firms manage projects confidently and safely in the cloud.
Graphisoft
BIM Cloud
Simplifying Complex Permission Systems for CAD Managers
I redesigned Graphisoft’s permission system to make role management clearer for architecture teams. By simplifying the hierarchy, improving key flows, and creating an Axure prototype to demonstrate how access should work at scale, I helped reduce confusion and made navigating shared project environments more intuitive.
SaaS
UX Design
Prototyping
Timeframe
2018–2019 ~3-4 months
Role / Scope:
UX Designer collaborating under a UX Lead/Researcher.
Contributed to a multi-month redesign of Graphisoft’s BIM Cloud, the enterprise cloud extension of Archicad used by architectural teams worldwide. Leveraged research insights, interviews, and heuristic evaluations to build user flows, wireframes, and an interactive Axure prototype visualizing a complex permission database.
Constraints
Limited timeframe, predefined UI kit, and strict privacy restrictions prevented direct access to live user environments.
User comprehension was low, interviewees repeatedly failed to understand inheritance, default roles, and access visibility.
Highly technical domain with layered cloud/on-prem permissions and regulatory sensitivity.
Needed to design for both small studios (high-trust workflows) and large enterprises (low-trust, multi-role hierarchies)BIM cloud case studyBIM cloud interviews and notes.
Results
Reduced confusion around roles, inheritance, and access logic
Improved user understanding of permission rules in testing
Impact
Turned a fragmented, opaque permission model into a centralized, comprehensible, and scalable system. The redesign balanced security, clarity, and operational flexibility, helping both small and large architectural firms manage projects confidently and safely in the cloud.
Key decisions
1.
Mapped multi-level user hierarchies and simplified role logic
(Owner / Admin / Contributor / Viewer).
2.
Redesigned the permission matrix into a scalable “Access Center,” a centralized hub summarizing projects, users, and rule sets.
3.
Added overview and “view-as” features so managers could see exactly what each role could accessBIM cloud interviews and notes.
4.
Incremental integration with the legacy system to ensure backward compatibility across free and paid tiers.
5.
Built Axure prototypes simulating database logic, supporting three rounds of validation with CAD managers and IT professionals (13 usability tests, 12 stakeholder interviews).
6.
Collaborated closely with engineering and research to align feature scope with technical constraints and to prioritize fixes that improved transparency, scalability, and error prevention.