Digital Identity Platform
Connecting Digital Security with Seamless User Experiences at Cybercerts
Project Type
Scalable Design System
Scope of Work UX Research, UX/UI Design, Design Systems, Usability Testing
Tools Figma, Atomic Design Principles, Data-Driven Insights
Domain
Digital Security & Authentication
Client
Digital Identity Platform
Date
August 2021 – September 2024
Project Overview
Background
At Cybercerts, a leader in digital security solutions, I identified an opportunity to bridge the gap between technical complexity and user accessibility. By reimagining the user experience, I aimed to enhance the intuitiveness of the platform while maintaining the integrity of Cybercerts robust security measures.
Problem
The digital security space often struggles with creating user-friendly experiences due to its inherently complex nature. At Cybercerts, inconsistencies in design and fragmented navigation paths were barriers to user engagement and satisfaction.
Goals
Build a scalable and cohesive design system to ensure consistency across Cybercerts digital products.
Streamline user flows and navigation to enhance the usability of complex security tools.
Incorporate data-driven insights for continuous iteration and improvement.
“How might we deliver a cohesive, accessible, and user-centred design that simplifies digital security solutions for users of varying technical expertise?”
User Interviews
Usability Testing
Data Analysis
Define
Personas
Feature Prioritisation
Ideate
user flows
site map
low-fidelity wireframes
Design
The Design System
High-Fidelity Designs
Prototyping
Test
Usability Testing
Feedback & Iterations
Research
Curious to better understand the challenges faced by users of Cybercerts platform, I spoke with both technical IT administrators and non-technical small business owners about their experiences. This allowed me to:
Build empathy with users by learning about their day-to-day struggles and goals.
Understand how different levels of technical expertise influenced their interactions with the platform.
Identify pain points that hindered task completion and overall satisfaction.
Recognize patterns in user behavior and feedback that pointed to areas needing improvement.
“You want your users to feel confident and secure, knowing that they can easily navigate the platform, find exactly what they need, and complete their tasks without frustration. Whether they’re tech-savvy IT administrators or small business owners just starting with digital security, the experience should feel seamless, clear, and reliable.”
— Digital security user feedback synthesis
To improve Cybercerts platform, I focused on understanding user needs through interviews, usability testing, and data analysis. I spoke with both tech-savvy IT admins and non-technical business owners to learn about their challenges, workflows, and expectations.
Testing the platform revealed where users struggled, such as navigating complex features or completing key tasks like certificate management. I also analysed feedback and usage data to spot common frustrations and areas where users dropped off.
Key Findings:
Non-technical users found the platform hard to navigate due to technical jargon and unclear workflows.
Inconsistent design reduced trust and made the platform feel disconnected.
Both groups valued clear, step-by-step guidance for completing tasks efficiently.
These insights helped create a more user-friendly, cohesive platform that worked for everyone, no matter their technical skill level.
Define
After gathering and organising insights from my research, I developed two distinct user personas to represent Cybercerts core audience: IT Administrators and Small Business Owners. These personas reflected the unique goals and challenges of each group, guiding my design decisions.
IT Administrators prioritised efficiency and precision, needing streamlined tools to manage certificates quickly and without error. In contrast, Small Business Owners valued simplicity, requiring clear, straightforward processes that didn’t demand technical expertise.
Defining these personas ensured their needs remained at the center of the design process, helping me stay focused on solving their specific challenges.
Once the personas were clearly defined, I developed a prioritised feature list that addressed their most pressing needs. This included:
Unified branding to build trust and ensure consistency across all touch-points.
Simplified workflows tailored to key tasks, such as dashboard structure and information.
Accessible navigation paths to reduce friction and improve usability for all users.
These personas and priorities shaped the foundation of a user-centred platform that aligned with the diverse needs of Cybercerts audience.
Ideate
Before finalizing the dashboard’s structure and layout, I identified the core needs of Michael, the IT Administrator persona, by analyzing his primary objectives:
Efficiently managing certificates, including bulk actions like renewal and revocation.
Monitoring security compliance and staying on top of critical updates.
Using these objectives as a foundation, I integrated targeted features into the dashboard wireframe to directly address Michael’s goals. These features were designed to improve efficiency, visibility, and usability while streamlining key workflows.
With this foundation, I moved on to designing the platform’s layout and information structure. I developed a comprehensive site map to organise the platform’s architecture, ensuring that users could easily locate tools and information.
Next, I sketched low-fidelity paper wireframes for both mobile and desktop, focusing on mapping key interactions and layouts. These initial designs drew inspiration from user-friendly platforms like Google Workspace and Adobe, adapting their best practices to Cybercerts needs.
To ensure these layouts aligned with user expectations and provided clear, actionable pathways, I created mid-fidelity wireframes and tested them with users. This feedback helped refine the structure, paving the way for a cohesive and intuitive design.
Design
With solid user flows and a clear structure and layout in place for the proposed screens, it was time to give the platform a professional, trustworthy, and user-friendly brand that would resonate with its audience of IT Administrators and Small Business Owners.
Trust
Efficiency
Professionalism
Clarity
Consistency
Inspired by the need for a unified experience, I built the design system using Atomic Design principles. This approach ensured that every component—from buttons to navigation bars—was reusable and consistent across the platform, creating a cohesive visual language.
Scalability
The design system was built to grow alongside Cybercerts products, supporting the addition of new features and services without disrupting the user experience.
Accessibility
Since trust and inclusivity are essential in digital security, I prioritized WCAG standards to make the platform accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.
Prototyping
To validate these designs, I developed interactive prototypes in Figma. These prototypes allowed stakeholders and users to experience key workflows, such as:
Navigating the dashboard.
Managing certificates efficiently.
Accessing support resources easily.
Prototypes were instrumental in gathering real-time feedback, identifying areas for improvement, and ensuring that the final product met user expectations.
Next, I designed all the necessary components and created high-fidelity wireframes for the platform’s key sections, including the dashboard, certificate management, and help centre. During this process, I identified the need for an additional set of key screens to test a critical user flow addressing a major pain point for IT Administrators.
In my user interviews, many IT Administrators like Michael highlighted the challenge of staying on top of expiring certificates and other compliance-critical updates. They expressed frustration with missing notifications or receiving incomplete alerts, which impacted their ability to maintain secure systems effectively. If the platform was truly going to meet their needs, it would require a robust notification system that prioritised actionable alerts and provided clear, real-time updates.
This discovery led me to design and test screens for a dedicated Notifications and Alerts Panel that would enable users to categorise, customise, and act on notifications directly from the dashboard. By addressing this pain point, I ensured the platform would not only enhance workflow efficiency but also improve overall security management.
Using the high-fidelity wireframes, I developed a prototype in Figma to test three essential user flows:
Managing certificates, including bulk renewals and revocations
Ensuring IT Administrators could efficiently perform bulk actions without unnecessary steps or errors.
Monitoring security compliance and resolving critical updates
Allowing users to easily identify and address compliance issues, such as expired certificates, from the dashboard.
Accessing help and guidance for certificate management tasks
Providing Small Business Owners with a streamlined way to find tutorials, troubleshooting steps, and support resources.
These prototypes were tested with representative users to ensure the platform’s workflows were intuitive, efficient, and addressed the specific pain points uncovered during the research phase.
Test
I conducted usability tests with 5 participants. Tests were conducted remotely on a desktop platform. All participants successfully completed three tasks with a 100% success rate:
Managing certificates, including bulk renewals and revocations
Monitoring security compliance and resolving critical updates
Accessing help and guidance for certificate management tasks
Success Metrics
Achievement rate:
Backwards navigations:
Average time on task
Scenario 1 (Bulk renewals and revocations):
Scenario 2 (Monitoring security compliance):
Scenario 3 (Accessing help and guidance):
100%
0
2:45
1:10
1:25
“The platform feels streamlined and makes managing certificates much easier.”
— Test participant
What Worked Well:
All participants were able to complete the tasks without error.
Participants were overwhelmingly positive; they especially liked:
The Bulk Actions feature: The ability to renew or revoke multiple certificates at once saved significant time.
The Notifications Panel: Clear, categorized alerts helped participants prioritize tasks quickly.
The Security Compliance Widget: Participants appreciated having a single location to monitor certificate health and compliance status.
Several participants noted that the platform felt “intuitive” and “professional.”
Areas for Improvement:
Access to Certificate Details:
While participants liked the clean design, many wanted easier access to detailed certificate information (e.g., domains, expiration dates) earlier in the workflow for bulk actions.Reassurance During Bulk Actions:
Some participants felt unsure whether their bulk actions (e.g., renewals) were properly selected until the confirmation page. They wanted clearer feedback throughout the process.Guidance in Compliance Details:
3/5 participants expressed a need for additional guidance within the Security Compliance Widget, such as a tooltip explaining the compliance score and the steps to resolve issues.
Design Updates Based on Feedback:
I added a Certificate Details Preview Panel accessible directly from the bulk actions screen to provide users with relevant information earlier in the process.
I improved feedback and progress indicators during bulk actions, including a step-by-step confirmation of selected certificates and their statuses.
I updated the Security Compliance Widget to include tooltips and inline guidance, helping users understand their compliance score and how to resolve flagged issues.
These updates focused on improving clarity, providing reassurance during critical workflows, and ensuring that users felt fully supported throughout their interactions with the platform.
Conclusion
A passion for improving digital security workflows and a curiosity about how to simplify certificate management for IT professionals and small business owners drove me to pursue this project.
The design process allowed me to create a prototype that users found intuitive and efficient, with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Participants appreciated the streamlined workflows, the actionable insights provided by the dashboard, and the clarity of the notification system.
If given the opportunity to bring this prototype to life, my next step would be to conduct deeper research into the customization and scalability of the bulk management and notification features, ensuring they cater to organizations of all sizes. Eventually, the platform could evolve to include advanced analytics and predictive insights, helping users anticipate compliance risks and further enhance their efficiency.
