Client Overview
A global pharmaceutical company needed to modernize an internal IT framework website used to explain how work gets done across the IT organization.
Industry
Pharmaceutical
Engagement Summary
UX design and website relaunch support for a global IT framework
The company’s IT steering committee had developed an updated visual framework to demonstrate how IT supports business outcomes. At the same time, multiple business units were developing training, process documentation, and templates to support Agile adoption across IT.
BCforward supported the relaunch of the internal framework website through a user-centered UX approach that included persona development, user interviews, low- and high-fidelity prototyping, usability testing, content integration, organizational change messaging, soft launch support, analytics, and product backlog planning.
Geographic Scope
Global
Engagement Duration
August 2017 – November 2017
Business Challenge
The IT organization needed a more effective digital experience to explain its framework and help users understand how work gets done.
The existing experience needed to be relaunched with consistent terminology, a modern identity, and improved usability for multiple personas.
The site also needed to educate new employees and suppliers by connecting them to related resources, methodologies, services, training, process documentation, and templates.
Because the effort was tied to broader Agile adoption and IT business operations enablement, the site needed to be interactive, engaging, useful across user groups, and aligned with change management messaging.
Strategic Requirements
The engagement needed to support several priorities:
- Relaunch the internal IT framework website with a modernized identity
- Clearly communicate how work is accomplished within IT
- Show how IT supports business outcomes
- Use consistent terminology across the organization
- Educate new employees and suppliers
- Support Agile adoption through resources, training, documentation, and templates
- Design an interactive and engaging user experience
- Improve usability for multiple personas
- Validate design direction through user research and testing
- Align UX design with change management messaging
- Integrate multi-level content into the site experience
- Support soft launch, global go-live, analytics, and backlog planning
BCforward’s Approach
BCforward used a structured UX approach to ensure the site was designed around real user needs.
The team began by identifying a user group representing multiple roles and business units within IT. A project kickoff aligned the full project team and user group around the mission, vision, and goals.
BCforward developed persona hypotheses and conducted interviews across the user group. Findings were synthesized into persona sets, which informed the UX design direction and change management approach.
To validate the experience early, BCforward created low-fidelity prototypes and used feedback to iterate the design. The team also defined key messages for each persona set to support launch communications.
BCforward then developed a high-fidelity clickable prototype and tested it through usability labs and in-person workshops. Feedback was used to refine design, functionality, content, and messaging before launch.
Implementation Timeline
BCforward supported the relaunch through a structured UX, content, testing, and launch timeline.
The implementation included:
- User group identification
- Project kickoff and mission alignment
- Persona hypothesis development
- User interviews
- Persona synthesis
- UX and change management approach alignment
- Low-fidelity prototype development
- Design preference validation
- UX design iteration
- Key message development by persona set
- High-fidelity clickable prototype development
- Usability lab testing
- In-person workshop testing
- Design and functionality iteration
- Multi-level content integration
- Additional usability testing
- Change messaging testing with an early adopter group
- Steering committee feedback review
- Soft launch with early adopters
- Soft launch survey feedback collection
- Break/fix support and browser optimization
- Global go-live
- Site usage analytics reporting
- Communications content rollout
- Project retrospective
- Product backlog updates and prioritization
Solution Delivered
BCforward delivered a modernized internal IT framework site supported by UX research, persona insights, prototype testing, content strategy, change messaging, and launch support.
The solution included:
- User research and persona development
- UX strategy for multiple IT personas
- Low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototyping
- Clickable prototype development
- Usability lab and workshop testing
- Change management messaging
- Multi-level content integration
- Soft launch support
- Survey-based feedback collection
- Break/fix and browser optimization support
- Global go-live support
- Usage analytics reporting
- Product backlog planning
- Internal communications content support
Technology Stack
The site was supported by a modern technology stack, including:
- Development, staging, and production environments
- Content management system integration
- Single sign-on APIs
- Relational database support
- Usage analytics
Milestone and Quality Performance
BCforward met projected milestone dates throughout the project. Global go-live timing was affected by holiday schedules following the soft launch, but the launch was formally communicated through internal IT communications.
No change orders were required to deliver the initial sprint scope within the product backlog.
Release 1 Accomplishments
Release 1 delivered the core site experience and supporting content structure.
Key accomplishments included:
- Dynamic framework graphic
- Multi-level content structure
- Usage analytics implementation
- New internal framework site
- Persistent menu design
- Homepage and stage design pages
- FAQs
- Component lists
- Contacts by IT area
Product Backlog Expansion
New epics were added to the product backlog to support future enhancements, including:
- User profiles
- Contributions
- Search
- Collaboration
- Gamification
- Localization
- News feed
Business Outcomes
BCforward helped the global IT organization relaunch its internal framework website with a modernized, user-centered experience designed to support education, alignment, Agile adoption, and employee engagement.
Key outcomes included:
- Modernized internal framework website launched globally
- Improved usability for multiple IT personas
- Clearer communication of how work gets done within IT
- Stronger alignment between framework content, Agile adoption, and business outcomes
- Initial release delivered without change orders
- Project milestones met throughout the engagement
- Multi-level content integrated into the site experience
- Usage analytics implemented
- Product backlog expanded for future enhancements
- Internal communications supported across multiple channels
