— Discover
Discovery began with a comprehensive audit of the Vantage platform — cataloging design inconsistencies, legacy technology dependencies, and usability friction points across every functional area. Stakeholder interviews with product, engineering, and client success teams revealed that the platform’s step-by-step navigation model was creating significant cognitive load for users who needed to move fluidly between HR and payroll functions. The HF system audit was particularly revealing — an engineer-driven user flow that had never been redesigned through a user-centered lens, creating a series of avoidable friction points that affected daily usage across the entire client base.

— Define & Design
The redesign strategy prioritized system-level thinking over screen-by-screen iteration. I led the team in building a comprehensive design system first — establishing a unified component library, typography system, color architecture, and interaction patterns that every subsequent screen could inherit. This approach ensured consistency at scale without requiring individual design decisions for every element across the platform. The HF system was redesigned with a user-centered dashboard approach — replacing the engineer-driven sequential flow with a centralized hub that reduced cognitive load and enabled users to access all tasks from a single point of entry. The Vantage dashboard was redesigned on the same principle — centralizing task access and eliminating the outdated step-by-step navigation model entirely.

— Deliver & Measure
Parallel to the UX redesign, I led the platform’s transition from legacy technology — including IE6 support — to a fully responsive design system compatible with modern browsers and mobile devices. This wasn’t just a visual update; it was a fundamental architectural shift that future-proofed the platform for evolving user expectations and device landscapes. Rigorous stakeholder alignment throughout the process kept all thirty team members moving in the same direction — resulting in delivery ahead of schedule with design system documentation that continued to guide development beyond the initial project scope.