Customer & Franchise Portal Redesign (NDA)

Designing role-based internal and customer portals to support complex franchise workflows

ROLE

UX Designer

TIMELINE

Multi-phase engagement over several months(2025)

TOOLS

Figma, Miro, whiteboarding, low- and high-fidelity prototyping, functional documentation

Overview

I worked on the design of internal and customer-facing portals for a franchise-based client, supporting both internal teams and external franchisees and their customers.

The project involved redesigning and extending an existing portal experience to support multiple user roles, permissions, and configurations, while improving visibility into key account information such as maintenance schedules, invoices, and payment timelines.

I focused primarily on the customer-facing portal, ensuring it provided clarity, transparency, and self-service capabilities.

The Problem

The existing portal experience lacked flexibility and clarity for different user types:

Users had limited visibility into key account information
Permissions and roles were poorly defined or inconsistently applied
Customer self-service was restricted, requiring franchisees to manage many tasks manually
Information was scattered across screens, making it difficult to understand status at a glance

These limitations increased support burden and reduced usability for both internal teams and customers.

The Solution

We redesigned the portal experience to support:

Clear role-based access and permissions
Dashboards that surfaced the most important information at a glance
Self-service features for customers, including user management
Improved visibility into maintenance schedules, invoices, and payment timelines
Configurable experiences that could adapt to different franchise and customer needs

The redesigned system aimed to reduce friction while supporting complex workflows.

Results & Impact

Improved clarity and organization of customer-facing information

Reduced reliance on franchisees for basic account management tasks

Better alignment between internal workflows and customer expectations

More scalable permission and role management across the platform

Contraints & Consideration

Shifting priorities and phased delivery over several months
Multiple user types with different goals and permissions
Need to balance flexibility with security and control
Existing technical constraints within the platform
High volume of stakeholder input and feedback

These constraints required iterative design and close collaboration with development.

Research & Discovery

Discovery activities included:

Stakeholder meetings to understand business goals and operational needs
Interviews with subject matter experts to clarify workflows and edge cases
Whiteboarding sessions to map user roles, permissions, and data relationships
Review of existing portal usage and pain points

This research helped identify where clarity, control, and self-service were most needed.

Key Insights

Role clarity is critical in multi-user, franchise-based systems
Dashboards should prioritize what users need now, not everything available
Self-service features reduce operational overhead and frustration
Permission systems must be flexible without becoming confusing
Clear documentation supports both design and development alignment

Design & Exploration

Design exploration focused on:

Dashboard layouts that balanced overview and detail
Permission-aware UI patterns that adapted to user roles
Clear navigation and information hierarchy
Progressive disclosure to manage complex data sets
Wireframes and prototypes used to validate structure and flow

Designs were refined through stakeholder and team feedback.

Development Collaboration

I collaborated closely with developers and the PM to:

Define functional requirements and edge cases
Align design intent with technical constraints
Document permissions, configurations, and user flows
Support implementation through reviews and walkthroughs

This collaboration ensured the designs were feasible and scalable.

Validation & Exploration

Validation included:

Stakeholder and SME reviews of wireframes and prototypes
Iterative feedback incorporated across project phases
Ongoing refinement as priorities shifted

Future validation opportunities include usability testing with customers and franchisees once features are fully adopted.

Reflection

This project emphasized the importance of designing for complex, real-world systems. Creating intuitive experiences in permission-heavy environments requires careful balance between flexibility, clarity, and security.

Given more time, I would further test role-based flows with end users to validate assumptions and refine dashboard prioritization.

Thanks for reading!

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