Techspert Expert Portal Product Design Case Study
Connecting the world's greatest minds to the businesses that
need their insights.
In a world where knowledge is power, Techspert harnesses the might of AI to
revolutionise the way organisations connect with expert insights in healthcare and life
sciences.
My Role and the Team
The Expert Portal
As the inaugural product designer at Techspert, I played a pivotal role in shaping the
company's
product development journey. Collaborating closely with the CTO and VP of Engineering, I
spearheaded the integration of Design Thinking principles into our processes.
The emphasis on collaboration, guided by quarterly OKRs, provided a clear direction and autonomy,
allowing me to thrive in a dynamic startup environment.
Over the first three years, our team witnessed significant growth, evolving from a single
designer collaborating directly with engineers to a fully-formed product team and a larger
development team. This expansion led to the formation of agile teams tailored to address the
unique challenges of each project.
Beyond engineering, I also found fulfilment in collaborating with Customer Success and Marketing
teams to enhance the overall customer experience and strengthen the Techspert brand.
The Expert Portal
A Design Thinking Approach
While my work at Techspert spanned across multiple products—including the Customer Portal for client
interactions and the Connect Portal for project management administration— my research into the expert’s
experience led to the creation of an entirely new self-service Expert Portal, allowing experts to manage
their profiles, availability, and consulting opportunities in a frictionless and scalable way.
Previously, expert interactions were handled manually via emails in the internal Connect app, requiring
project managers (PMs) to facilitate every engagement. My user research uncovered major inefficiencies
in this process, leading to a strategic shift: rather than just optimizing PM workflows, we built an
entirely new self-service Expert Portal—reducing operational costs, increasing efficiency, and
streamlining expert-client matching.
Empathise
Expert Interviews
Experts' time is an invaluable commodity, not just for the company, but also for a
resource-strapped designer. In an industry where top professionals earn upwards of £400
per hour
for their expertise, securing their time for research without a budget was a formidable
challenge.
I focused on refining my organisational skills and maximising the efficiency of our interactions.
Implementing techniques such as active listening and the “five whys” method allowed me to
extract maximum value from each interview, ensuring that our research efforts were insightful,
efficient, and impactful.
Ethnography
To bridge the gap between what users say and what they do, I leveraged ethnographic methods such
as shadowing, screen-sharing sessions, and process walkthroughs. This approach helped me uncover
subtle friction points in expert interactions that could be addressed through the Expert Portal.
Shadowing
Observed PMs in their daily interactions with experts, gaining insights
into their process and communication styles.
Screen Sharing Sessions
Scheduled, recorded sessions to dive deeper into expert interactions.
Process Walk-throughs
Followed PMs as they navigated the expert engagement process.
Synthesising Research for Actionable Insights
Define
Synthesis
As the sole advocate of user-centred design at Techspert, responsible for managing the customer
experience across three applications, I quickly realised the challenge of balancing research
with execution.
During my onboarding, I was introduced to Notion, a tool primarily used for knowledge management
within the company. Initially, I leveraged it to communicate the role of my new department and
advocate for user-centred design across the organisation. However, I soon recognised its
potential beyond documentation.
Originally used as a repository for storing call transcripts from user interviews, Notion’s
search and tagging capabilities quickly proved invaluable in identifying themes and synthesising
insights from diverse data sources.
To further maximise the value of user research, I spearheaded the development of Slack channel
workflows. These enabled anyone in the company to contribute structured insights, which were
seamlessly integrated into our Notion-based user research database. By tagging insights with
metadata such as user type, we built a comprehensive and searchable knowledge base that served
as a key asset for both the product team and the wider business.
Additionally, Notion’s ability to integrate with other company databases—including the
organisation-wide OKR framework and the AI feature roadmap—allowed us to create filtered views
that directly quantified how user evidence supported specific product decisions and business
objectives.
Personas
Understanding the different types of experts using the platform was crucial
for
designing an
experience that catered to their varying needs. Through interviews, ethnographic
studies,
and
data analysis, I identified distinct personas that reflected common behaviours,
motivations,
and
pain points.
These personas guided decision-making across the Expert Portal’s
development,
ensuring that the self-service model addressed the real needs of the expert
community.
Inquisitive Expert
“I enjoy taking part in these consultations, not just
for the compensation but because it keeps me at the cutting edge of my field.”
Junior
Consultant
-
Job Title: Professor of Medicine
Motivations learning career
development
income
-
OKR Expert
conversion
Serial Consultant
“I get about twelve emails a day from expert networks that
50%
of them
are not at all
relevant to my expertise.”
Senior
Consultant
-
Job Title: Professor of Medicine
Motivations income
volume
of
consultations
industry
impact
professional
recognition
-
OKR Screeners
Seasoned Consultant
“When I do accept a consultation, I expect high-quality
questions
and
relevant
preparation materials so I can give the best insights.”
Senior
Consultant
-
Job Title: Professor of Medicine
Motivations intellectual
curiosity
genuine
patient concern
knowledge
sharing
-
OKR Expert
conversion
Commercial Expert
“This is primarily a business transaction
for me. If
the rate is competitive and the process is simple, I’ll engage.”
Senior
Consultant
-
Job Title: Professor of Medicine
Motivations professional
recognition maximise
income
networking-
OKR Expert
conversion
Rapid Experimentation & Iteration
Ideate
With a comprehensive understanding of our users and their pain points, I approached the ideation
phase with confidence, bringing together a diverse range of team members. These included
Customer Success representatives, engineers, and expert-facing Project Managers dragged directly
from the ‘coal face’. Our ideation workshops became dynamic spaces for exploring innovative
solutions, where every participant’s perspective was valued.
By fostering an environment that encouraged creativity and lateral thinking, we generated a broad
array of ideas that resonated with the development team. This collaborative approach empowered
developers to believe in the concepts and pushed the boundaries of what was possible.
Building a Scalable Design System
Prototype
During the design process, I developed a Material Design System in Sketch to establish a scalable
and consistent visual language. This system laid the groundwork for development, enabling a
seamless transition to Material-UI (MUI) in React, where I coded the components for efficient
implementation. This approach ensured the UI remained accessible, easily maintainable, and fully
integrated with the engineering workflow.
To ensure efficiency and consistency, the Sketch design system—built around Material-UI (MUI)
components—enabled seamless prototyping, rapid iteration, and an efficient developer handoff.
This structured approach allowed for quick design validation and implementation, ensuring smooth
integration with Techspert’s React-based frontend.
Test
Testing was an iterative process integrated into the design cycle rather than a linear phase as it
might appear in this document. However, leveraging a mix of high-fidelity prototypes in Sketch
embedded in Maze for guided user tests, and lean experiments deployed quickly thanks to our
ready-made MUI design system, I ensured real-world validation of design choices in production.
HotJar recordings provided direct observational insights into expert interactions with key
components, such as the date picker for expert availability submission, allowing for rapid
identification of issues, refinement of designs, and iterative improvements.
Accessibility Testing
The Design System was tested using online tools to ensure sufficient scale, contrast and colour met
AAA standards.
Lessons Learned
Results & Business Impact
The redesigned Expert Portal significantly improved expert engagement, efficiency, and
satisfaction. My initiative in bringing expert experience into focus at a company-wide
level—culminating in a key presentation at an ‘All Hands’ meeting—highlighted the gap in support
for experts within the network. This directly influenced the strategic decision to create the
Expert Portal and led to the recruitment of a dedicated Expert Success employee, ensuring
continued focus on expert experience improvements.
By grounding decisions in user research, business goals, and iterative testing, we successfully:
- Increased expert profile completion rates by 20%
- Reduced friction in onboarding by 35%
- Established a scalable design system for future growth
- Reduced PM workload by transitioning expert outreach to self-service
By shifting expert engagement from a manual PM-led process to an automated self-service model,
Techspert not only improved expert satisfaction but also reduced labor costs and increased
operational efficiency.
Conclusion
This case study showcases my ability to operate as a UX team of one, balancing research, design,
and execution in a high-growth startup environment. By leveraging strategic research
methodologies, rapid prototyping, and scalable design systems, I delivered an impactful product
while aligning with business objectives.
I’m eager to bring this same strategic UX mindset to future challenges—merging design excellence
with business success.
“Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that
