Defining the vision for complex automation software

The context

Automata is a laboratory automation company providing robotic solutions to the life sciences industry. Their hardware enables scientists to run tests faster and more accurately by automating repetitive, manual laboratory tasks.

Following significant growth - including partnering with the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver diagnostic testing at pace - Automata entered a new phase of evolution. Alongside their physical automation offering, they began shaping a new software product to support and extend the value of their hardware.

The problem

Automata needed a clear way to communicate the value of a complex new software product to the market.

1. A complex proposition to explain: The software introduced advanced concepts such as digital twins, workflow simulation, and no-code automation - difficult to articulate without a tangible experience.
   
2. Vision still forming: Internally, there were strong ideas about the product’s direction, but no shared, visual articulation of how it would work or why it mattered.
   
3. Sales and market readiness: The team needed a compelling asset to generate excitement, support conversations, and clearly demonstrate the product’s potential before full delivery.

The result

Automata gained a clear, compelling way to communicate their software vision and differentiate their offering in the market.

• A tangible product vision, clearly demonstrating how the software speeds up testing, reduces manual intervention, and improves laboratory efficiency.
• Stronger internal alignment, creating shared clarity around the product’s direction and future potential.
• A sales-focused visual asset, enabling the team to confidently explain the product’s value and generate market excitement.
• A solid foundation for delivery, with UI patterns and components ready to support the next phase of research and build.

The result was confidence in how Automata’s software would power the next generation of smart laboratories.

The approach

Our approach combined stakeholder insight, rapid definition, and modular UI design to bring Automata’s software vision to life as a compelling, market-ready asset.

• Stakeholder interviews to capture internal thinking, align on the product’s direction, and understand how the team envisioned the software supporting laboratory automation.
• Vision definition focused on the software’s core value: speeding up testing, reducing manual intervention, and enabling scientists to simulate and optimise workflows through digital twins.
• UX/UI design of key workflows, showing how scientists could configure instruments, build virtual workbenches, and visualise test processes in a no-code, intuitive environment.
• Design of a clean, modular drag-and-drop system, making complex automation workflows feel approachable and easy to assemble.
• Creation of an extensible design system, establishing reusable components and UI patterns to support future research and product delivery.