🔒 This case study has been shared with due care taken to protect confidential information. 

🎯 Goals

• Provide seamless access to current and historical payslip data

• Enable financial trend analysis and career growth comparisons

• Implement robust privacy controls and data security measures

• Ensure WCAG 2.1 accessibility compliance for inclusive design

• Create a scalable solution that eliminates dependency on third-party applications

• Design for diverse user needs with both summarized and detailed data views

📋 Responsibilities

• Led end-to-end design process from competitive analysis to final implementation

• Conducted user research, journey mapping, and user flow analysis

• Developed prioritization matrices and information architecture

• Created wireframes, high-fidelity prototypes, and interactive data visualizations

• Facilitated stakeholder alignment workshops across Finance, Legal, and Development teams

• Conducted rapid hypothesis validation and iterative testing

• Ensured accessibility compliance throughout design and development

• Collaborated with cross-functional teams across different geographies to meet tight timelines

Employees needed a dedicated platform to access their payroll information, but reliance on third-party applications created security concerns and limited functionality. Users wanted more than just viewing payslips—they needed tools to analyze their financial growth, compare historical data, and maintain privacy when accessing sensitive information in public spaces.

The challenge extended beyond user needs to navigating complex stakeholder requirements across multiple departments, each with different priorities and compliance standards.

So, our goal was to...

Design a secure, intuitive payroll platform that gives employees control over their financial data while meeting enterprise compliance requirements and supporting meaningful financial analysis.

One-touch data hiding
Implemented a prominent privacy control allowing users to instantly hide sensitive financial data when working in public spaces—accessible via checkbox or keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+0).

Role-based access controls
Designed granular permission systems ensuring employees only see their own data while enabling admin capabilities for superusers managing large employee datasets.

Enterprise-grade security
Ensured compliance with strict security, governance, legal, and compliance requirements through careful data architecture and access control design.

WCAG 2.1 compliance from the start
Built accessibility into every design decision, not as an afterthought:

• Ensured AA color contrast standards across all elements

• Designed complete keyboard navigability with logical tab order

• Implemented scalable zoom functionality

• Provided high contrast mode option

• Used semantic HTML structure for screen reader compatibility

Inclusive component library
Selected and designed components with accessibility in mind, ensuring the interface works for users of all abilities.

Superuser capabilities
Designed admin console enabling HR and Finance teams to manage large volumes of employee payroll data efficiently.

Geographic flexibility
Created scalable architecture that can be adapted for multiple geographies and regulatory requirements.

Bulk operations support
Enabled administrators to perform mass updates and data management tasks while maintaining security and audit trails.

Primary Research
Conducted user interviews and journey mapping to understand pain points with existing third-party solutions and identify priority features.

Competitive Analysis
Studied similar platforms including ADP and You Need A Budget to understand best practices in financial data presentation and privacy controls.

Key Insights

• Current month payslip access is the #1 user priority

• Privacy controls are essential for public workspace usage

• Users want both quick summaries and detailed analysis

• Download efficiency significantly impacts user satisfaction

Stakeholder Alignment

The Challenge
Coordinating across Finance, Legal, and Development teams across different geographies with competing priorities and limited availability for reviews (3-week timeline constraint).

The Approach
Facilitated collaborative working sessions with open discussions, rapid iteration during calls, and quick wireframe iterations to resolve issues in real-time rather than through lengthy review cycles.

The Result
Successfully aligned diverse stakeholder requirements while maintaining design quality and meeting aggressive timelines through proactive communication and agile iteration.

Business Impact

• Eliminated dependency on third-party applications, reducing security risks and licensing costs

• Provided employees with comprehensive financial analysis tools previously unavailable

• Created scalable platform ready for multi-geography expansion

• Met all legal, security, and compliance requirements across departments

Design Learning

Stakeholder Management
Working across Finance, Legal, and Development teams taught me to balance competing requirements while keeping user needs central. The rapid iteration approach during collaborative calls proved essential for maintaining momentum despite geographic and scheduling constraints.

Accessibility as Foundation
Integrating accessibility from the start rather than retrofitting it later resulted in a more cohesive, usable experience. Designing with WCAG standards in mind shaped better decisions around color, layout, and interaction patterns.

Privacy by Design
Understanding that privacy concerns would impact actual platform usage led to prioritizing the data hiding feature—a small addition that dramatically improved user confidence and adoption.

Unique Value Proposition

• Financial Insight: Comprehensive trend analysis and comparison tools help employees understand their career progression

• Privacy First: One-touch data hiding enables confident use in any environment

• Complete History: 3-year instant access with request capability for older records

• Enterprise Scale: Superuser portal manages thousands of employees efficiently

• Global Ready: Scalable, flexible architecture supports multiple geographies

• Accessibility Built-In: WCAG 2.1 compliant from design through development

• Simple Elegance: Clean interface that makes complex financial data approachable

The Payslip portal successfully transitioned the organization from third-party dependency to a secure, employee-centric platform that not only meets compliance requirements but exceeds user expectations for financial data access and analysis. The combination of robust privacy controls, comprehensive analytics, and inclusive design created a solution that employees trust and actively use for financial planning and career tracking.