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Vortic.art
Reorganising Priorities to Strengthen a Global Art Platform
Summary
The Challenge
Vortic’s platform team had an extensive backlog of feature requests, bugs, and ideas gathered over time. But much of it was outdated, unclear, or disconnected from business needs.
With no clear hierarchy or shared priorities, the team struggled to align across product, sales, marketing, and leadership.
Meanwhile, the business was producing high-profile projects across its platform. With pressure mounting, it became essential to refocus internal operations to match the calibre and complexity of the work being delivered for gallery exhibitions, artist collaborations, and immersive 3D & Virtual Reality experiences.
The Solution
Over several weeks, I embedded with the Vortic team to make sense of the noise. We worked through the full backlog together, clarifying what was current, relevant, and commercially valuable.
Using simple tools, we mapped priorities against user needs and business goals — giving the team a clear, actionable roadmap and a structure they could maintain themselves.
Crucially, this freed up time and attention for the work that mattered: John Kørner x MOCAD, James Turrell’s Skyspace x Deer Shelter, Doug Aitken x Victoria Miro, and the Rubens exhibition at the Wallace Collection.
Example of immersive 3D experience produced on the Vortic platform
The Approach
Backlog Audit & Theme Mapping
The first step was a forensic review of the full platform backlog — a dense mix of historic tickets, internal requests, and ad hoc notes. Items were grouped into clear themes, with outdated or irrelevant entries removed.
Patterns began to emerge, showing where technical debt, UX friction, and commercial blind spots were holding the platform back. These themes were then mapped to customer impact and strategic relevance, forming the foundation for all subsequent decisions.
Rapid Team Workshops
To align the wider team, we ran short, focused working sessions with product, engineering, sales, marketing, and senior leadership. Each group brought its own perspective — what users needed, what deals were being blocked, where the narrative was breaking down.
We introduced a simple but effective prioritisation model to help weigh effort against impact, while also considering visibility, timelines, and internal ownership. This gave everyone a shared understanding of what mattered most — and why.
Roadmap Design & Ownership
With alignment in place, we translated priority areas into a clear and phased delivery roadmap. High-impact fixes and foundational improvements were surfaced first, followed by opportunities to enhance value and user experience.
Importantly, we embedded this system into existing team tools, enabling the Vortic team to manage, adjust, and expand the roadmap independently. The process didn’t just bring clarity — it equipped the team to maintain momentum without relying on external support.
The Results
100+
Backlog Items Reviewed
Delivery turned around through fast restructuring, phased scope control, and active client leadership.
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Priorities Aligned
Platform backlog reorganised into a current, actionable roadmap aligned with user needs and business goals.
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High-Profile Work Delivered
Focus restored so the team could deliver major exhibitions and collaborations.