Revamping Manulife's Core Internal Tool
MANULIFE
Modernizing a legacy interface at scale - backed by usability testing.
SKILLS
User Research
Usability Testing
Visual Design
Prototyping
Role
UX Designer
Timeline
June 2024 - Aug 2024
Over the summer, I worked closely with the dev team and 3rd party vendors to refresh the user interface and improve the usability of a company wide internal tool, being used by 38,000+ global employees. Pushing changes to a decade-old interface met strong resistance. To justify my design decisions, I planned and conducted 10+ usability tests and used the insights to drive meaningful updates.
Unfortunately this project is under NDA, please reach out if you’d like to learn more about my time at Manulife :)
THE PROBLEM
The internal tool’s user experience remained stagnant for a decade, becoming cluttered by years of quick fixes and making tasks tedious for employees.
HIGH-LEVEL OBJECTIVES
Clarify and enhance the user journey by making intentional, data-driven design decisions.
Create designer that allows the engineers to integrate new AI search features.
Conduct user testing before launch to gather valuable feedback and ensure a smooth transition for the major update.
Challenges & Outcomes
IMPORTANCE OF CONDUCTING USER INTERVIEWS
Redesigning a tool used for over 10 years meant every change needed to be backed by strong quantitative and qualitative data. I learned to ask the right questions, minimize bias, and synthesize insights to get the most value from user feedback - then present it in a way that captured attention and aligned the team.
CLEAR COPY, BETTER UX
In a tool with diverse features and flows, clear, intentional copy is essential as it sets the tone, guides users from the start, and reduces confusion. To create a personalized feel, we used conversational language that builds user confidence and minimizes errors.
WORKING WITH CONSTRAINTS
This project meant designing within many constraints, often requiring alternative, less ideal solutions that still delivered a strong user experience. I learned to clearly communicate my process and came to value collaboration and input when brainstorming new ideas.
Some memories from this summer :)
Thanks for Stopping By!
Got any ideas, questions or feedback? I’d love to chat :)