How I replaced a spreadsheet-run reinsurance workflow with one system and made data retrieval ~80% faster

No single source of truth

Data lived in multiple copies of multiple files. Different employees worked from different versions, and reconciling them was manual, slow, and error-prone. In insurance, where reserve figures inform serious financial decisions, version chaos is not a small problem.

Spreadsheets don't scale with data

As the volume of records grew, the sheets became slow, fragile, and hard to navigate. Finding a specific subset of data meant manual sorting, temporary filters, and scanning across dozens of columns, every single time.

No structure, no safeguards

Excel enforces nothing. A mistyped value, a broken formula, or an accidentally deleted row could silently corrupt data with no trail of what changed or who changed it.

Filtering was the biggest daily pain

Employees constantly needed specific slices of the data, by line of business, period, status, or combinations of many criteria at once. Excel's filtering was too limited and too manual for the complexity of their real questions.

Understand the data before designing the screens

In a data-heavy product, the data model is the design. We studied how employees actually used their spreadsheets, which columns mattered, which views they recreated repeatedly, what questions they were really asking, and let that shape the entire information architecture.

Design for density without overwhelm

Reserve Study had to display a lot of data, that was non-negotiable. Rather than hiding information, we designed dense, scannable tables with careful typography, alignment, and hierarchy, so large datasets stayed comfortable to read. Key details were always visible; deeper details one click away.

Advanced filtering as the core feature

The advanced filter system became the heart of the product. Employees stack multiple criteria across any attributes to answer complex questions in seconds. Filters were powerful but approachable: clear chips for active conditions, easy editing and removal, and instant feedback on results.

Replace Excel without losing what people loved

Excel users are used to freedom, so we kept the strengths, fast scanning, familiar table interactions, sorting, while adding what Excel never could: a single shared source of truth, structured data entry, and consistency across the team.

Built for trust

Because the data drives insurance decisions, the design emphasized clarity and confidence: explicit states, clear feedback on every action, and structured inputs that prevent the silent errors spreadsheets are notorious for.

A single source of truth

all reserve data now lives in one structured system instead of scattered Excel files, ending version confusion.

Advanced filtering that changed daily work

complex, multi-criteria queries that once took manual effort in Excel now take seconds.

Designed for heavy data

dense, readable tables let employees work with large datasets comfortably, without the fragility of massive spreadsheets.

Structured and safe

controlled data entry and clear feedback replaced the silent, untraceable errors of spreadsheet editing.

A smoother transition from Excel

by preserving familiar table behaviors, adoption felt like an upgrade, not a disruption.