Microsoft’s Customer Experience & Success Business Intelligence (CE&S BI) team manages complex data products used by thousands of enterprise clients. However, two key platforms—the CE&S BI Docs site and the CE&S BI Hub—suffered from poor navigation, heavy cognitive load, and inconsistent visual systems.
Our team partnered with Microsoft to redesign both platforms, focusing on:
Clearer information architecture
Faster access to reports
Improved onboarding for first-time users
A scalable design system for long-term growth
My Role
I served as a UX Designer and Project Lead on a cross-functional student team partnering directly with Microsoft’s CE&S BI stakeholders.
In addition to owning core design work, I helped guide the team’s process and support younger students, ensuring the project stayed aligned, on track, and grounded in user needs. This role required balancing design execution, team coordination, and stakeholder communication, while helping less experienced designers build confidence and skills throughout the project.
Understanding the challenge
Across both platforms, users struggled to:
Find the right product, report, or documentation quickly
Understand acronyms and BI terminology
Navigate dense, text-heavy interfaces
Recognize system status or recover from errors
Build trust due to inconsistent visual and interaction patterns
These issues were especially painful for new or infrequent users, who often assumed content didn’t exist simply because it wasn’t visible.
Goals
We set out to:
Improve discoverability of products, reports, and resources
Reduce cognitive load in data-heavy workflows
Create a scalable design system aligned with Microsoft standards
Deliver development-ready designs for real implementation
Research & Insights
Key Research Methods
Heuristic evaluations (Docs + Hub)
Cognitive walkthroughs using sponsor-provided flows
Journey mapping for first-time vs returning users
Usability testing with role-play participants
SME interview on Microsoft brand & accessibility constraints
Core Insights
Users rely on recognition, not recall → dense lists failed them
Reports behave like files → folder-based mental models work better
Navigation inconsistency breaks trust → global patterns must stay stable
Visibility = confidence → if users can’t see reports immediately, they assume none exist
These insights directly shaped both redesigns.
CE&S BI Docs Redesign
A clearer front door to the BI ecosystem
The Docs site acts as the entry point for clients—but its original structure buried critical information under dense text and scattered links.
What We Changed
Rebuilt the information architecture around user goals
Introduced a strong landing page with clear entry points
Replaced long text blocks with cards and visual hierarchy
Centralized FAQs and documentation into a dedicated Resources hub
Designed reusable templates for consistency and scale
What once looked like this:
… now looks like this!
Why It Works
Users can now quickly understand:
What CE&S BI offers
Which products are relevant to them
How to get access or learn more
The experience feels modern, scannable, and aligned with Microsoft’s brand without overwhelming users.
CE&S BI Hub
Faster access to reports with fewer steps
The Hub houses Power BI reports but originally required too many clicks and too much memory.
The Key Shift
We redesigned the Hub around a file-based mental model, inspired by familiar tools like Microsoft Word and Google Drive.
What We Changed
Reports surfaced immediately on the homepage
Favorites, Recents, and Popular reports prioritized by context
Dense lists replaced with visual report cards
Filters and tabs supported both browsing and targeted search
Navigation made consistent and visible by default
Report actions moved into context instead of global navigation
What once looked like this:
…now looks like this!
Why It Works
Reports can now be accessed in as little as one click
Users scan visually instead of decoding metadata
First-time users feel oriented; returning users stay efficient
Design System & Scalability
To support long-term growth, we created a shared design foundation across Docs and Hub:
Token-based color, typography, and spacing
Reusable components and layout patterns
Accessibility-first decisions aligned with WCAG standards
This ensures the platform remains consistent—even as new features and teams are added.
Our work is now being implemented by developers at Microsoft, delivering real impact for users 🌟
What I learned & What's next
This project reinforced that strong enterprise UX prioritizes clarity over cleverness. Familiar patterns often do more to reduce friction than novel interactions, especially in data-heavy systems. It also emphasized that research only becomes valuable when it clearly informs design decisions, rather than existing as a separate artifact. Finally, designing with scalability and handoff in mind isn’t optional—it’s a core responsibility when working on systems meant to grow beyond a single team or semester.
Next steps include advancing the CE&S BI Hub designs into high-fidelity and testing them with real CE&S BI users to further validate our decisions. Continued refinement of language, especially around acronyms and BI terminology, would help reduce confusion and better match users’ mental models. From there, supporting development handoff and iteration will be key to ensuring the designs translate effectively into a live product.
