Belfry

Building the future of security

Founding Product Designer

TL;DR

Belfry is a workforce management tool focused on optimizing labor solutions for security guard services.

As the founding product designer, I played a critical role in shaping the company's product vision and user experience strategy. I established foundational design patterns, led cross-functional collaboration, and created user-centric solutions that enhanced operational efficiency.

Belfry raised their Series A for $12M

The challenge

Security managers often struggled with shift management due to last-minute cancellations, inefficient scheduling, and lack of transparency.

Security guard officers, on the other hand, had limited flexibility in choosing work opportunities that aligned with their availability and preferences.

The solution

I designed Shift Marketplace, a dynamic platform that empowers security officers with real-time access to shift opportunities, while giving operations managers better tools for efficient scheduling and workforce management

By introducing transparency, automation, and intuitive user experiences, the solution minimizes administrative overhead, optimizes shift fulfillment, and fosters greater engagement between security personnel and managers.

Research & Discovery

To deeply understand the challenges faced by both security managers and officers, I conducted:

User interviews with operations managers and security firm owners to identify pain points in shift assignment and communications
Field observations to learn and understand how security officers interact with existing scheduling tools
Competitive analysis of similar workforce management solutions to identify gaps and opportunities

Design process

User persona & journey mapping

I created detailed personas for security officers and operations managers and journey maps to capture existing and new workflows

Example of Shift Marketplace User Journey Map

Design & prototyping

Using an iterative design approach, I developed wireframes and prototypes to visualize key workflows, including:

Manager dashboard: A centralized hub for operations managers to post shifts, track fulfillment, and communicate with officers
Shift browsing & bidding: Officers could browse available shifts based on location, pay rate, and timing
Real-time notifications: Automated alerts for new shifts, approvals, and urgent requests

Testing & iterations

I conducted multiple rounds of usability testing with security officers and managers, refining the design based on feedback.

Key iterations included:

Enhancing filtering options for officers to find relevant shifts faster
Improving shift confirmation flows to reduce drop-offs and miscommunication
Adding in-app messaging to enable direct communication between managers and officers

Handoff & QA

I created a detailed design spec via Figma to handoff to my engineering partner and stayed engaged to support them along the implementation process

Results & impact

Shift Marketplace was successfully launched with measurable impact:

32% increase in shift fulfillment rates within the first three months
78% reduction in scheduling errors
Positive user feedback, with security officers appreciating the flexibility and transparency of the platform