Building an intranet that served 50,000 employees for six years

Understanding the real problem, not the assumed one

We conducted extensive employee interviews across multiple countries and departments, analyzed 12 months of intranet usage data and search queries, audited all existing systems slated for consolidation, and mapped workflows for key employee tasks — finding policies, accessing tools, checking benefits.

We also surveyed hundreds of employees on current pain points and wishlist features. This research phase was non-negotiable: we needed to understand what employees actually needed, not what stakeholders assumed they needed.

Setting the north star and making strategic bets

With research in hand, we created employee personas representing each primary user group, defined a content strategy around role-based personalization vs. broadcast content, and established the IA for system consolidation. We also built an engagement metrics dashboard from the ground up — because you can't improve what you can't measure.

From wireframes to a tested, accessible design system

We moved from low-fidelity wireframes through interactive prototypes tested with employees representing different personas, to a high-fidelity visual design that modernized Jabil's brand for digital. Every design decision was grounded in a clear principle: personal, fast, clear, mobile-ready, and findable.

The homepage UX centered on a personalized Quick Links section (most-used tools per user), role-specific news, company-wide updates, and a prominent global search with autocomplete. An accessibility audit ensured WCAG 2.1 AA compliance throughout.

Staying engaged through build — not just handing off

I partnered with Jabil's internal development team and an external vendor throughout the build, running weekly design reviews and sprint planning. When technical constraints emerged — and they always do — we made smart compromises that preserved the user experience rather than sacrificing it for engineering convenience.

The platform migration from Optimizely CMS to SharePoint was the most complex technical challenge. We also navigated SSO/Okta OAuth integration, performance requirements for 50,000 concurrent global users, and role-based content personalization rules that had to work without extensive manual content tagging.

A phased rollout designed to build momentum, not risk

We launched in carefully sequenced phases — starting with C-Suite and marketing leadership, expanding to project stakeholders, then department-wide, then four global regions, before the full enterprise rollout in early 2018. Each phase generated feedback that refined the experience before the next group onboarded.