Problem

The engagement page in an enterprise mentoring platform hadn't been meaningfully updated since 2010. It used a tab-based layout to separate posts, tasks, documents, kudos, and other activity types — content that users increasingly expected to find in a single, scrollable feed.

The client brief was direct: increase use of the engagement page and make it more interactive. The underlying issue was that the tab structure forced users to context-switch to find related content, and the navigation patterns no longer matched how people thought about social and collaborative interfaces.

How I knew

Existing usage metrics from the product team showed low engagement with the page. The data was handed off rather than gathered firsthand — I was working as part of a two-person sprint team (PM + engineer) with limited access to users directly.

Auditing the interface made the core problem clear: the tabs weren't just outdated aesthetically, they were architecturally wrong for the job. Content that belonged together — a task tied to a document, a kudos connected to a project milestone — lived in separate silos with no way to surface the relationship. The navigation created friction precisely where the product needed people to stay.

What we did

I used Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter as reference points — not as direct inspiration, but because they represented the mental models users already had. People know how to scan a timeline feed. The design question was how to adapt those patterns for enterprise content types that don't exist on social platforms: tasks, document reviews, polls, and structured kudos.

The solution was a standardized block system. Every piece of content — regardless of type — shared the same structural scaffold: a header with context, a content area, and a reply section. A type identifier in the top-right corner let users orient quickly without disrupting the unified flow. The wrapper at the top gave users a clear point of entry for creating new content.

The sprint produced high-fidelity designs across all seven block types with a phased rollout plan: an MVP set for immediate development and future versions for secondary block types. Phasing decisions were made by the PM and engineering lead — my role was design and presentation.

Outcome

The design direction was approved and handed off with a phased implementation plan across multiple development sprints. The project contract ended before the build was completed, so there are no shipped metrics to report.

This was an early-career project. I had limited research access and little say in process decisions. What I took from it: a clear mental model for modular block systems, and a sharper instinct for when existing design patterns from adjacent domains (social media) can be borrowed responsibly rather than reinvented.