Tyler Honeycutt
BL Harbert International
An Intuitive and User-Friendly Custom Intranet
BL Harbert International, a multinational firm, was stifled by an outdated and cumbersome intranet, impeding effective information exchange among its global teams. The challenge was to replace this convoluted system with an intuitive and user-friendly custom intranet platform.
Role
Product Designer
Platforms
Mobile Application, Web Application
Team
Product Manager
Product Designer
Developers (3)
Deliverables
Stakeholder Survey
Discovery Workshop
Wireframes
User Flows
High-Fidelity Designs
MVP Application
Product Roadmap
Final Design and Outcome
In a few short months, we launched a well-received MVP custom intranet for BL Harbert International. The intranet replaced the old system with features including offline support, a simplified employee directory, a personalized homepage, and a dynamic news & blogs section. This new product created smoother internal communication and a more connected employee experience.
The splash screen, search screen, and home screen.
Ineffective Existing Intranet
BL Harbert International grappled with an existing system that was unnecessarily complex and expensive. Its counter-intuitive interface and dysfunctional employee directory created significant hurdles in information access and sharing.
The creation of a simple design system ensured both myself and the developers had the needed tools to create a consistent product.
Overhaul Needed of Existing Employee Experience
The cumbersome system was ill-equipped to facilitate smooth operations for a multinational company like BL Harbert. Its lack of usability and an ineffective employee directory fueled the need for an overhaul.
Highlighting specific development notes enabled better collaboration as we brought the product to life.
Our Discovery Workshop Explored and Validated Needed Features
As the product designer, we commenced our product journey with a discovery workshop, ideation sessions, and iterative design process that identified and validated the needed features for an MVP product. Using tools like Figma, Jira, Miro, and Whimsical, I created wireframes, high-fidelity designs, and a style guide. I then closely following the development process, providing designs and guidance as needed.
Throughout the designs, I outlined expected user flows which allowed us to test and see if they were viable, and effective.
Special Challenges Lead to a Native Application
One of the key insights we discovered in our workshops was the need for users have access to information on the new intranet offline. Because of this need, we realized that a less involved responsive version of the new intranet would not completely fill the need. With this knowledge, we recommended a fully custom native app enabling an offline mode.
Outlining specific interactions and animations enabled the development team to efficiently bring my ideas to life.
Activities and Outputs
- Discovery Workshop with Stakeholders
- User Stories, Wireframes, and User Flows
- High-Fidelity App Designs
- Development Notes for Better Results
- MVP Product in App Stores
- Light Design System
Where We Landed
The BL Harbert International project stands as a testament to my commitment to creating user-centric designs that adapt to feedback and evolve with user needs. It echoes my continuous quest for excellence in crafting custom intranets tailored to clients' needs..
The designs I created addressed error states and other screens users would see less often.
