Better Product Decisionsthrough Product Design
Most software gets expensive before anyone writes code.
I help founders and product teams make high-risk product decisions before engineering commits.
Selected experienceCERNMercedes-BenzPwC
The problem
Every product starts with uncertainty.
- Ideas are incomplete.
- Requirements evolve.
- Everyone imagines a slightly different product.
Uncertainty isn’t the problem. Deciding without evidence is.
40–50%
of software project effort goes into avoidable rework.
Source · Boehm & Basili, IEEE Computer, 2001
That’s why I prototype.Discussions create opinions.Experiences create evidence.
Where I help
From vague idea to buildable product.
I help you decide on evidence.
- 01Is the problem real?
Before anything gets developed, I build prototypes to test whether the problem is worth solving — so nobody commits too early.
- 02What matters most?
I help you get to a shared understanding, shared priorities, and clear criteria for the decisions ahead.
- 03Does the solution work?
I co-create with you, so ideas become prototypes people can use, challenge and compare. Reactions replace opinions — the cheapest disagreement you’ll ever have.
- 04What do we build?
The chosen direction becomes product logic, requirements and design decisions — ready to build from.
Selected work
Each project started with a question nobody could answer on paper.
Discovery
It was never about buttons. Under every interface sat the same short list of decisions, made independently, over and over.
Read the full caseDecision
A community of practice that sets the standard itself — running within a year, and today part of CERN’s tech stack.
Discovery
People treated the app as a continuation of the vehicle — on phones, three of four interactions followed MBUX logic, not platform conventions.
Read the full caseDecision
Preserve the logic, not the pixels — an app that adapts to the device without asking anyone to learn the product twice.
Discovery
Even predictions the model was almost certain about were re-checked by hand. The problem wasn’t accuracy — it was verification.
Read the full caseDecision
A review built around one question — why did the AI make this prediction? — with the evidence one interaction away.
The prototypes helped us decide.The decisions are still running.
About Jakob
Jakob Ehe — Munich
I’m Jakob, an independent product & interaction designer based in Munich.
I help founders and product teams make better product decisions by turning assumptions into experiences people can react to. My work combines product thinking, realistic prototyping, usability, and implementation awareness.
The goal isn’t another set of polished screens. It’s the moment everyone can finally see how the product should work.
Right fit
- Complex B2B or enterprise products
- AI workflows, copilots, and decision-heavy interfaces
- Founders defining a product before build
- Unclear product logic or workflow complexity
- Design systems that need behaviour, not just components
Less ideal
- Pure visual refreshes
- Generic marketing websites
- Execution-only UI production
- Projects without access to users, stakeholders, or product decisions
Three beliefs
Starting points
Wherever you are, there’s a decision waiting.
- 01There is an idea.
A new product, a new feature, or a new direction for something that already exists. I find out which assumption everything else depends on — and build the smallest thing that can test it.
- 02There is a concept.
A concept, or requirements everyone has signed off. I find out what’s actually needed, before engineering does.
- 03There is a product.
It works — it just doesn’t work well enough, or it needs to go somewhere new. I find out which change is worth making.
Contact
What’s the biggest product challenge you’re facing?
Let’s make it tangible while it’s still cheap to change.
Or find me on LinkedIn