Unified Service Desk
Overview
Employees using the service desk found the system confusing, lacked guidance on where to submit requests, and doubted whether tickets would be resolved. I restructured the entry points, improved navigation and categorization, and added clear status tracking to build confidence and reduce friction.
Role
Lead UX designer
and researcher
Timeline
1.5 months
(3 sprint)
Team
UX, product manager,
engineers
Activities
Interviews, workshops, design
Focus
Guidance, confidence, usability
Problems
Users do not have a clear understanding of the Unified Service Desk, or a clear path of entry into the service.
Users are confused about where to go while within the Unified Service Desk, and how to submit their requests correctly.
Users do not fully trust that their requests are seen, or sent to the right place, or will be resolved in a timely manner.
How Might We…
How might we create a clear understanding of what Unified Service Desk is and an intuitive entry point to start a request?
How might we help users easily and efficiently navigate and interact with the categories and understand form fields.
How might we build user confidence so that their entries are correct and that their issues will be resolved promptly and in a timely manner?
Research
7 User interviews
I conducted user interviews with internal 2U employees with varying positions and responsibilities. Each interview was about 45 minutes long that included 3 scenarios.
User types
Engineering manager
Procurement Analyst
Product Manager
Director of Executive Administration
Director of Program Ops
Admissions Manager
Ideation Workshop
I facilitated an hour-long workshop with 6 attendees with the following format:
Agenda and background
Overview of problem and HMW statements
Quick reference for ideation
Crazy 8’s sketching
Refinement sketching
Sketch discussion
Dot voting
Retro
Ideation Results
Top new ideas
Fast-track option for user who knows which team and where tickets needs to go
Bifurcated approach - multiple ways for users to describe request
Area for “My Current Tickets” with clear status -
Assigned, In progressMake search results more relevant (typeahead, keywords, request types)
More prominent search bar
Top 3 portal tiles - USD, HR, and CaPSB
Portal tiles for most common request types
Make search the first thing to do
Confirmation of request sent successful with a time to answer which provides a more human touch
Updated “Welcome” message with clear explanation of USD philosophy
Add FAQ’s
Include resolve expectation time in confirmation message
Impact / effort matrix
Design Approach
Clear entry points – Help users know exactly where to start.
Optimized navigation – Make search and menus quick and intuitive.
Transparent status – Show request progress and expected resolution timelines.
Friendly UI – Use approachable language and visuals to reduce intimidation.
Iterative evolution – Improve the service desk with ongoing testing and user feedback.
Design Recommendations
Lo-fi examples
Examples shown here of possible future state wireframes of the main support page followed by one of the support page verticals.
Implemented quick-wins
Add icons and unify existing icons
Change content for welcome text
Change text for portal blocks
Update background image behind search to help show up
Place “Other” as a drop down option and place it at the top of the drop down list
Update email content
Add links to workday and 2universe
General FAQ’s
Next Steps
Assign engineering resources to develop new design for this JIRA-based experience
Reimagine user-flow based on new decision-tree workshop
Provide employee how-to videos for most common requests
Constant feedback
Develop feedback widgets for new features and experience