PROJECT BRIEF (B2B)
Overview
For the PlayStation®5 launch, I led the design of a unified, self-service PSN account management experience within PlayStation™Partners—Sony’s global platform supporting over 300,000 game developers and publishers. Game teams previously managed hundreds to thousands of test accounts across six disconnected tools, slowing integration, QA, and game testing and driving inefficient workarounds.
I defined the long-term UX vision and led end-to-end design for a new API-driven web tool that centralized PSN account creation, management, and testing in a single interface. The solution enabled developers and QA teams to quickly create accounts, manipulate account properties, and simulate player scenarios critical to PS5 Technical Requirements Checklist validation.
Team
1 Product Manager, 3 Engineers, 2 UX Designers
Time
16 months (0→2.0; 7 SDK releases)
Role
Senior UX Designer (IC Lead)
Audience
PlayStation Partners Game Developers
Responsibilities
Strategic Vision, Research, Product Design, Visual Design, Testing, Design Leadership, Project Management, Writing
Platforms
Web
Background
PlayStation™Partners is Sony’s ecosystem for external creators, offering the infrastructure and reach to build, publish, market, and sell games and related hardware to the PlayStation community. Game developers and QA teams create numerous PSN test accounts throughout game development, configuration, and testing in order to successfully launch a game on PlayStation platforms.
My Role / Responsibilities
Lead designer and oversaw one other designer. I defined the long-term UX vision, scoped and planned work, negotiated timelines, presented design proposals, and created information architecture, prototypes, workflows, visual designs, and technical specs for PS5 launch and post-launch improvements.
Problem
Game developers didn’t have access to the player data they needed to create the best game experience, especially for multiplayer games. Additionally, the PSN account management process was frustrating and time consuming: account creation, updates, and deletion occurred across six tools that users found confusing and difficult to locate.
Opportunity
Provide game developers a way to access and test player data such as scenarios and play style, improving partner satisfaction with development offerings while enhancing the player experience on PS5. The new self-service tool would create, manage, and test PSN accounts in one API-driven workspace.
Solution
In November 2020, we launched the Development Accounts tool with an account dashboard and three sections with key account properties and associated data, providing one central location to manage PSN test accounts. Eight additional features and improvements to the MVP followed across three subsequent phases.
Key Outcomes
Operational Efficiency
Centralized PSN account management into a single tool, eliminating fragmented workflows and manual workarounds while reducing reliance on support teams for account setup and changes.
Faster QA & Game Testing
Enabled rapid account setup and property manipulation, significantly speeding up QA cycles and game testing during development and certification. Improved developers’ ability to validate PS5 Technical Requirements Checklist requirements earlier and more reliably.
Scalable Platform Foundation
Launched in November 2020 with an MVP, followed by eight additional features shipped across three phases. Established a long-term foundation for unified account management across PlayStation platforms.
Project Enablers
Cross-Org Alignment on a Single Account Model
Aligned PSN platform teams, PlayStation Partners, and Support on a shared mental model for development accounts, enabling consolidation into a single API-driven system.
API-First, Scalable UX Strategy
Designed the experience in parallel with backend APIs, ensuring the UI could scale to new account types, properties, and testing scenarios over time without redesigning core flows.
Deep QA & Developer Workflow Understanding
Partnered closely with game developers and QA teams to map real testing scenarios—directly shaping account property overrides and dashboard prioritization.