One Platform

One Platform

Company

Kodix Auto

Project

One Platform — Website constructor for automotive dealerships

Sector

B2B

Outcome

  • Reduced average task time (e.g., logging in as client) by ~40%

  • Fewer support requests related to navigation and site confusion

  • Higher satisfaction among content managers during follow-up interviews

Role

UX Researcher, UX/UI Designer

Team

2 UX/UI Designers · Project Manager · Development team

Duration

6 months

Tools

Figma, Google Forms, Zoom, Miro

Highlights

5 moderated interviews, 18 surveys

The Challenge

About the Project

The project aimed to redesign the admin panel of One Platform — a B2B website management system used by hundreds of automotive dealerships. The system allows content managers and developers to build, edit, and manage dealership websites and modules.

The original version suffered from critical UX issues:

  • Overloaded interface

  • Confusing authorization and navigation

  • No role-based access control

  • Key actions hidden in modal windows

  • Excessive cognitive load for day-to-day tasks

Goals

  • Make the admin panel role-aware and context-sensitive

  • Simplify the process of logging in as a client

  • Improve clarity of navigation and system feedback

  • Create persistent menu logic with recognizable elements

  • Reduce time spent on finding and executing frequent tasks

QUALITATIVE & Quantitive RESEARCH CORRELATION

Research & Persona

Persona

User interviews and usage feedback revealed major friction points. A typical user, Andy Hill, a content manager, described the panel as “confusing and full of unnecessary steps that slow me down every day.”

Frustrations included:

  • "Nothing is clear, everything is mixed up."

  • "I have to dig into modals to find client data."

  • "I don’t even know which site I’m editing right now."

  • "Left menu items jump around. That’s so frustrating."

UX Research

To uncover real user pain points and inform the redesign strategy, we conducted a multi-stage UX research process:

🎙 User Interviews

We conducted 5 in-depth interviews with content managers who regularly used the admin panel. These sessions revealed frequent frustrations around navigation, client authorization, role ambiguity, and feature discoverability.

📋 Survey Insights

A structured feedback form was distributed across internal teams, yielding 18 detailed responses. This provided a broader perspective on daily pain points and UI inconsistencies, confirming patterns observed in interviews.

🔁 Iterative Design & Validation

The redesign process included multiple design iterations, each tested and adjusted based on feedback.

  • Interactive prototypes were used to simulate real workflows

  • UX solutions were validated with the development team to ensure feasibility

  • Adjustments were made to terminology, hierarchy, and flows to reflect actual usage patterns

This grounded, iterative approach ensured the final UX was data-informed, technically sound, and aligned with real user needs.

Problems Identified

  • Flat access rights: All content managers could access all dealer data, regardless of their role.

  • Unintuitive navigation: Users had to search for key features hidden behind obscure icons (e.g., pencil icon).

  • Complex client authorization: Adding or switching clients required multiple clicks and modal interactions.

  • Unclear interface hierarchy: Users were often unsure which site they were editing.

  • Overwhelming information: Too much technical data was presented at once, with no filters or personalization.

IA Audit & Redesign

Information Architecture

Rethinking the Information Architecture

The initial sitemap of the admin panel revealed a flat, overly technical structure, where deeply nested functionality (like roles, permissions, modules, and routes) was difficult to access and mentally map. Using this as a starting point, we conducted a structural audit and transformed the raw hierarchy into a modular, role-based UX framework.

Instead of mirroring backend logic, we reorganized features around user goals and workflows, simplifying navigation and minimizing context switching. Technical functions were grouped into logical domains (e.g., user management, site content, system settings), while rarely used options were deprioritized or made accessible only to relevant roles.

This rethinking of structure became the foundation for a scalable admin system — clean, contextual, and tailored to the user’s mental model.

user journey map

User Journey Mapping

Based on collected insights, we created a User Journey Map to visualize the full experience of a typical user interacting with the admin panel. It helped us identify:

  • Entry points into the system

  • Moments of friction during client login and site switching

  • Breakdowns in navigation and contextual awareness

  • Emotional states such as confusion, frustration, or uncertainty

This map became a key alignment tool for both design and development teams, helping prioritize improvements and clarify goals.

As Is

To be

UX Solutions

  • Introduced role-based access: Only relevant functions and data are visible to a user based on their permissions.

  • Simplified client switching: Authorization now happens seamlessly upon selecting a client.

  • Refactored navigation:

    • Removed modals for core actions

    • Transferred controls from hidden icons (e.g., pencil) to visible menus

    • Added visual markers for active site, master vs. slave roles, and client ownership

  • Grouped connected modules/widgets into logical categories

  • Created a persistent sidebar with fixed order, improving predictability

  • Restructured queue statuses into a compact, informative widget

  • Added top-bar quick actions for site switching, login status, and platform settings

Result

Final UI Overview

The final design features a clean, structured interface with clear role-based access, intuitive navigation, and persistent controls. Key actions are brought forward, contextual clutter is reduced, and the platform now feels streamlined, scalable, and aligned with users’ real workflows.

Business Impact

Business Impact

  • ⏱ Reduced average task time (e.g., logging in as client) by ~40%

  • 📉 Fewer support requests related to navigation and site confusion

  • ✅ Higher satisfaction among content managers during follow-up interviews

  • 🔐 Improved security and clarity due to role-based content visibility

  • 📌 Admin panel became a scalable foundation for future UX updates

Reflections

Reflections

This case was a deep dive into enterprise UX challenges:

  • Balancing complexity with usability

  • Designing systems that serve multiple user roles

  • Making hidden logic visible and intuitive

  • Building trust through clarity and control

The redesign helped internal teams move faster and with more confidence — turning the admin panel from a bottleneck into a productivity tool.