Web based event platform

My role

Lead UX designer

UI designer

Stakeholder Manager

Responsibilities

Understanding user needs

Collaboration with BAs

Designing user flows

Prototyping & UX reviews

Framing the UX strategy

Project duration

9 month

🧠 Problem & Context

The existing event management solution used by the client was outdated, fragmented, and not user-friendly — both for internal staff organizing events and for external participants registering for them.

Administrative pain points included:
- Hefty workflows to create and publish events,
- Manual steps that introduced errors and delays.
Participant issues involved:
- Confusing registration flows,
- Inconsistent communication and confirmation.

The current platform had reached the end of its lifecycle, and there was a strategic decision to replace it with a new, unified solution that would modernize the process using scalable and secure technologies. This created the need for a carefully scoped, user-centered design approach that would:

Align business and technical requirements,
Deliver intuitive workflows,
Respect regulatory constraints.

🎯Project Goal

To design a secure, user-friendly desktop platform that enables staff to efficiently create, manage, and publish events, while allowing external participants and their representatives to self-register with clarity and confidence.

The new solution aimed to:

Streamline internal workflows for event administrators,
Modernize the participant registration experience,
Deliver a maintainable and scalable system that replaces the legacy tool.

🔍 Research & Understanding

Given the limited direct access to end users, I adapted the research strategy to rely on indirect insights and close collaboration with SMEs and internal stakeholders:

Stakeholder Interviews

I conducted sessions with:

Business analysts (BAs),
Subject matter expert from client (SME),
Support and service staff who interact with real users,
Project manager and product owner.

These conversations uncovered the core pain points of the legacy system and clarified internal expectations for the redesign.

Process & Workflow Analysis

I mapped the existing workflows used to create, publish, and manage events, in Figma.
Identified steps that were redundant or confusing.
Prioritized improvements based on frequency of use and risk of failure (e.g., registration confirmation and event publishing).

Requirement Translation

I collaborated with BA to translate business rules into UX requirements, identifying:

Role-based access needs,
Conditional flows based on event types,
Data that must be surfaced at key steps (e.g., participant lists, quotas, or confirmations).

🧭 Design Strategy & Decisions

The design approach was set in clarity, efficiency, and scalability, balancing user needs with technical feasibility.

Strategic Focus Areas

Based on research insights, I prioritized three experience pillars:

Clarity for creators – Simplify event creation workflows with clear steps that ensures learnability and self-explanatory of product.
Confidence for participants – Provide clear, feedback-driven registration flows with appealing visual hierarchy.

Component-Based UI System

To ensure scalability and maintainability:

Introduced a consistent visual language: neutral tones with clear accents, accessible typography, and intuitive iconography.

Designing for Privacy & Role Separation

Created role-specific interfaces: Admins, Event managers, and External Users see only what’s relevant to them.
Ensured no user data was ever exposed in public views.

Iterative Reviews in Place of Testing

Due to lack of direct access to end users, traditional usability testing wasn’t possible. Instead:

I conducted weekly design reviews with BAs and developers to simulate edge cases and stress-test flows.
Worked closely with developers to ensure feasibility and fidelity through UX check-ins at key milestones.

🛠️ Key Features

The platform was designed as a desktop-first application with a focus on administrative efficiency and user clarity. Key features were defined and prioritized based on business goals, real-world usage frequency, and technical constraints.

Event Creation Wizard

Simplifies a previous process and ensures consistency across events.

Participant Self-Registration

Enhances user trust and reduces back-office workload.

Role-Based Dashboards

Enforces data privacy and ensures users only see what’s relevant to their role.

Overview & Tracking Panels

Enables fast decision-making and proactive support before the event.

Export & Reporting

Addresses operational needs and flexibility for on-site logistics.

✏️ Prototyping Process

Due to the project's confidentiality and tight timeline, I adopted a lean, modular prototyping approach—building just enough to align with business goals, validate flows, and guide development.

High-Fidelity UI Prototypes

Once flows were confirmed, I translated them into component-based high-fidelity designs in Figma.
Designed for desktop-first usage, with attention to accessibility and readability.
Used Figma’s interactive features to simulate dropdowns, error states, and multi-step forms.

Collaboration & Iteration

Shared designs regularly in UX/dev/BA/SME syncs to identify edge cases early.
Incorporated technical feedback to reduce implementation effort.
Maintained a version history to track iterations and decisions.

Design Handoff

Structured designs in Figma with clear naming and auto-layout.
Created UX review sessions during implementation to support front-end devs.

🙌 Reflection

Designing the platform challenged me to balance quality UX work with limited access to end users. What I’m proud of:

I established a strong design process under constraint, using weekly collaboration with different stakeholders for real-world testing.
I introduced role-based UI logic that made a complex system feel simple to each user group.
I designed for scalability, creating a modular and maintainable design foundation despite tight scope.

What I would improve

Lastly, I’d invest in better documentation for long-term scaling, especially for future teams unfamiliar with the rationale behind design decisions.

Final thoughts

This project reminded me that UX maturity is not about ideal conditions, but about delivering quality outcomes in real-world constraints. It sharpened my skills in stakeholder alignment, design diplomacy, and pragmatic decision-making—key capabilities for a senior designer.

📈 Outcome & Impact

The project delivered a functional and intuitive platform that modernized the way institutions organize and manage events.

Tangible Results

100% replacement of the outdated legacy system with a streamlined, role-based event platform.
Significant reduction in manual effort: Event creation and participant management processes are now fully digital.
Improved internal adoption, with early feedback highlighting the platform’s clarity and logical structure.
Error-prone steps eliminated through guided flows and better system feedback.

Stakeholder Feedback

Product Owner and BA praised the consistency and reusability of components, which helped reduce development time.
Developers appreciated the design based on design system, leading to smoother implementation cycles.
Internal testers noted that the registration and dashboard flows felt “straightforward” and “game-changer”.

Strategic Value

The new platform is scalable for future other departments or institutional uses.

Pegah Mirzadeh