Design a Visual Debugger for Complex Applications on Dependency Graph

Year

2023

Role

Sole product designer

Duration

2 weeks

IP status

Patent pending

Context

As Slate applications scaled in complexity across Palantir, a better debugging experience is needed.

Slate is Palantir Foundry's low-code platform for building internal tools quickly by data queries and business logic through a visual interface.

Slate powers a wide range of mission-critical internal and customer-facing applications, and serves as a core layer in Palantir’s product ecosystem.

As Slate applications scaled in complexity, debugging became slow and risky. Developers relied on manual console logging and deep dependency graph tracing. New hires struggled to understand existing apps, and teams hesitated to modify legacy systems.

What we built

A novel, powerful Graph-based debugger experience

We introduced a first-class debugging capability integrated directly into Slate’s dependency graph, transforming debugging from an ad-hoc, manual process into a platform-level workflow.

The solution enables pausing execution at any node, inspecting live state, and stepping through application logic in context—without disrupting existing development patterns or performance characteristics.

This is a brief snapshot of the project—if you’re interested in the deeper story behind the research, exploration, iteration, and testing, I’d love to walk through it in conversation.