Alumni Portal · Feature Redesign
Event Creation Redesign
Redesigned the alumni event creation workflow to reduce cognitive load, simplify complex event configurations, and enable users to confidently create events without administrative support.
- Role
- Product Designer
- Project Type
- Feature Redesign
- Duration
- 1 month
- Platform
- Alumni Portal
- Focus
- UX Strategy · Product Design
Overview
A core engagement feature, redesigned for confidence
Event creation is one of the most frequently used features within the Alumni Portal. Alumni use it to organize reunions, networking events, mentorship sessions, guest lectures, and community gatherings.
As the platform evolved across multiple institutions, it became evident that event creation was one of the workflows users repeatedly struggled with. Despite the feature's importance, many alumni relied on administrators to create events on their behalf.
The problem
Where the workflow was breaking down
Business Challenges
- Event creation was one of the core engagement features of the platform.
- Users frequently relied on administrators instead of creating events independently.
- Complex workflows reduced adoption.
- Support requests increased operational effort.
User Challenges
- Pricing configuration was difficult to understand.
- Audience targeting lacked clarity.
- Creating multi-day events was confusing.
- Assigning speakers to sessions was cumbersome.
- No final review step existed before publishing.
- Users lacked confidence in the event they had configured.
Common concerns before publishing
Research & insights
Understanding why users hesitated
The redesign was informed through a combination of implementation learnings, competitor analysis, and usability testing. Users were given event descriptions and asked to create events independently while their behavior and pain points were observed.
Discovery Activities
- Competitor analysis
- Product walkthroughs
- Implementation learnings
- Stakeholder discussions
- Usability testing with internal users
- Observation-based testing using real event scenarios
Key Insights
- Users preferred guided experiences over highly flexible workflows.
- Event creation should feel lightweight, even when the event itself is complex.
- Multi-session events required better structure and visibility.
- Users needed a final review step before publishing.
- Reducing cognitive load was more important than reducing the number of fields.
My contribution
What I owned across the redesign
UX Strategy
- Identified workflow bottlenecks.
- Defined redesign goals.
- Simplified information architecture.
- Reduced cognitive load across the experience.
Product Design
- Redesigned the complete event creation workflow.
- Improved pricing and audience targeting experiences.
- Simplified session and speaker management.
- Introduced review and validation workflows.
Design System
- Updated and aligned the redesign with the latest design system.
- Maintained consistency across components and interaction patterns.
Validation
- Conducted usability testing.
- Iterated based on observations and stakeholder feedback.
- Worked closely with engineering teams during implementation.
Product decisions
Five decisions that shaped the redesign
Decision 1
Introduce a Guided Workflow
Problem
Users felt overwhelmed by the number of decisions required throughout event creation.
Decision
Grouped related tasks into logical sections and introduced a more guided experience.
Outcome
Reduced confusion and helped users focus on one decision at a time.
Decision 2
Simplify Session & Speaker Management
Problem
Users struggled to manage multi-session events and assign speakers correctly.
Decision
Created clearer relationships between sessions and speakers and improved visibility of event structure.
Outcome
Reduced setup effort and improved confidence when creating complex events.
Decision 3
Introduce a Summary Page
Problem
Users had no way to verify their configuration before publishing.
Decision
Added a dedicated review experience before publication.
Outcome
Allowed users to validate pricing, audience, sessions, feedback forms, and venue before going live.
Decision 4
Improve System Feedback
Problem
Users were often unsure whether actions were successful.
Decision
Added validation, confirmation states, and clearer feedback throughout the workflow.
Outcome
Reduced uncertainty and increased confidence.
Decision 5
Prioritize Functionality Over Visual Complexity
Problem
The workflow had become visually cluttered without adding meaningful value.
Decision
Focused on clarity, hierarchy, and usability rather than introducing additional interface elements.
Outcome
A cleaner experience with improved usability.
Artifacts
Designing the experience
Trade-offs & challenges
Decisions that required compromise
Desktop-First Experience
Challenge: Event creation involved data-heavy inputs, session management, speaker assignments, and pricing configurations.
Response: Prioritized desktop usability for the primary workflow while keeping mobile supported.
Trade-off: Mobile-first principles were partially sacrificed in favor of operational efficiency.
Flexibility vs Simplicity
Challenge: Power users wanted extensive configuration options while new users wanted simplicity.
Response: Balanced both through careful prioritization and progressive disclosure of advanced settings.
Trade-off: Defaults should serve new users; advanced controls should be reachable but never noisy.
Results
Impact across users, business, and product
User Impact
- Easier event creation experience.
- Improved confidence before publishing.
- Better visibility into event configuration.
- Reduced dependency on administrators.
Business Impact
- Improved usability of a core platform feature.
- Reduced support effort.
- Increased scalability of event management workflows.
Product Impact
- Better support for multi-session events.
- Improved pricing and audience management.
- More consistent event creation experience.
North Star
Increase in events created per month
↓ Support
Fewer event creation requests to admins
↑ Completion
Higher event creation completion rate
Faster
Time to create and publish an event
Learnings
What this project taught me
- Users do not abandon workflows because they are long. They abandon them when they feel uncertain.
- Reducing cognitive load is often more valuable than reducing the number of steps.
- Visibility and confidence are critical in configuration-heavy workflows.
- Complex functionality can still feel simple when information is structured correctly.
- If users need constant guidance to complete a workflow, the design should be reconsidered.
Looking back
If revisiting this project today, I would explore AI-assisted event creation by allowing users to describe an event in natural language and automatically generate a draft configuration, reducing manual effort even further.
In summary
What this project demonstrates
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