Case Study: DAM Software Research and Procurement
Overview
The organization faced inefficiencies in managing thousands of digital assets—delays in retrieval, inconsistent branding, and lack of visibility into asset usage. To address this, I led a four-month research initiative to identify and recommend a Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution. My role focused on applying a design-thinking approach: uncovering user pain points, evaluating solutions against those needs, and delivering a strategy that aligned both user experience and business objectives.
Design Goals
Reduce asset retrieval times by at least 30%.
Ensure brand consistency across marketing and product teams.
Prototype comparative frameworks (feature matrix, vendor scorecards) to align stakeholders.
Introduce version control to reduce miscommunication and errors.
Provide leadership with a data-driven business case for DAM procurement.
Design Process
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Design Process *
Discovery & Needs Assessment
Conducted 10 stakeholder interviews across design, marketing, and product teams.
Identified key pain points: duplicate assets, unclear versioning, and manual metadata tagging.
Defined selection criteria grounded in user needs, such as advanced search, metadata automation, and analytics dashboards.
Exploration and Vendor Research
Researched 6 leading DAM vendors and shortlisted 3 (Bynder, Canto, Brandfolder).
Designed a vendor questionnaire (25+ questions) based on stakeholder insights.
Conducted 5 vendor demos and documented pros/cons with qualitative insights.
Prototyping & Comparison
Created a feature comparison matrix that translated complex vendor data into a scannable visual tool.
Prioritized features with stakeholders, achieving cross-departmental alignment on top 5 must-have capabilities.
Business Case Development
Modeled cost-benefit analysis showing projected 20% time savings for asset retrieval and 30% reduction in rework due to versioning issues.
Created a budget proposal with implementation costs, projected ROI, and training needs.
Presented to leadership, gaining approval for procurement funding.
Outcomes 📌
Secured Budget Approval
to procure and implement a DAM system, with leadership buy-in based on my business case.
Streamlined workflows
Projected 35% reduction in asset retrieval time (from ~7 minutes to under 5 minutes per search), unlocking hundreds of employee hours annually.
Improved Brand Consistency
by centralizing 10,000+ assets, eliminating duplicate/outdated files and ensuring teams accessed the latest approved content.
