Process

Research & Discovery

To bridge that gap, we conducted a heuristic evaluation and user interviews. This allowed us to observe how users engaged with the platform and where their needs were being overlooked. We uncovered several features that lacked relevance or created friction, particularly in the dashboard and profile experience.

Heuristic Evaluation

The first was the Pending Task section. Intended to prompt user action, it instead came across as noise. Since Incrementum isn’t a daily-use app, most users felt this feature was unnecessary. We recommended removing it to declutter the Dashboard and reduce cognitive load.

We also noticed the Traits feature appeared in the Dashboard and the “Profile” menu. This duplication confused users. Rather than simply removing it, we saw an opportunity to replace it with a feature that showcases team members’ working styles and uses gamification to encourage engagement.

Another misaligned feature was the Calendar and Scheduler. While potentially helpful in other platforms, users didn’t see its value here. They weren’t logging in frequently enough to need scheduling capabilities, so we proposed their removal.

The Mentor feature also surfaced as redundant. Feedback and career conversations typically happened between employees and their direct managers, not mentors. We suggested integrating this touchpoint into the existing performance appraisal process with line managers to align with real user behaviour.

Finally, under the “Profile” tab, the Similar to Me section aims to make a connection by showing users with similar traits. However, users found it irrelevant unless they worked closely with the same team. We recommended removing this feature entirely to maintain focus.

These observations reminded us that thoughtful design is not about adding more—it’s about serving real needs with clarity and purpose. Our goal became clear: refine the experience to support career growth in a seamless, intuitive, and truly user-centric way.

User Interviews

To better understand how employees plan their careers and engage with digital career pathing tools, our team conducted in-depth interviews with nine professionals across various industries, followed by usability testing on the existing Incrementum prototype.

Our goals were to uncover users’ current career planning behaviours, identify gaps in digital tools they’ve used, and gather feedback on usability and feature relevance.

✦ Key Insights from Interviews:

1. Career Planning is Manager-Led and Self-Initiated
Most users align their goals with their managers during performance reviews, typically setting quarterly or annual goals. Tools like Lattice or Workday are used to document these discussions, but they are not frequently accessed outside of review cycles.

2. Lack of Daily Relevance
Career pathing tools are not used daily. Users typically log in only during review periods. As a result, features like “Pending Tasks,” “Calendar,” and daily schedules were seen as irrelevant and distracting.

3. Desired Features
Users want a clear career roadmap, goal tracking with status indicators, and role-based recommendations to bridge skill gaps. Features that help users visualise their path and suggest actionable next steps were highly valued.

4. Psychometric Tests Are Mixed
While some users appreciated the self-awareness psychometric tests offer, others questioned their accuracy or relevance. Users were more receptive when these tests could be tied directly to team collaboration or personal development insights.

5. Gamification: Polarising Opinions
Gamification had mixed responses. Some found it engaging and motivating, especially when tied to meaningful rewards or peer recognition, while others felt it could create unnecessary competition or politics in the workplace.

6. Traits, Sharing Needs, Personalisation
Many users were open to sharing their traits, but preferred to control who could see them. The value of traits was recognised more in team dynamics and collaboration than as a standalone feature.

Competitive Analysis

To better position Incrementum in the market, we conducted a comparative analysis of four other career and HR management platforms: Acendo, QuickHR, Lattice, and BambooHR. We evaluated each based on usability, features, strengths, and weaknesses relevant to employee career pathing and engagement.

Key Takeaways

🔍 Incrementum
Incrementum offers a clean design, allowing users to view the organisational structure and complete assessment tests. However, its current design lacks depth in key areas such as feedback loops, clear skill-building roadmaps, and detailed goal progression. While the platform includes a calendar and mentorship, these features are underutilised due to low platform engagement frequency.

🌱 Acendo
Acendo stands out for its personalised experience and detailed assessment tools. It includes a career journal feature that helps track employee milestones. However, it lacks organisational viewing, a roadmap, and a calendar, making it less robust for goal-setting and cross-team visibility.

🧾 QuickHR
This platform focuses on HR admin tasks like leave, payroll, and public holiday tracking. Its strengths lie in organisational visibility and calendar management. However, it lacks depth in performance tracking and doesn’t support career pathing or feedback.

💬 Lattice
Lattice is strong in employee engagement, offering tools for real-time feedback, pulse surveys, and performance evaluations. It allows for goal setting and tracking through visual indicators. Despite this, it lacks a roadmap and training modules, and the UI could be more engaging.

📊 BambooHR
BambooHR is known for its reporting capabilities and performance management tools. However, it lacks a career path roadmap and gamification elements, and the interface feels dull compared to others.

Define

Based on our discoveries, the primary design goals were clear:

1. Simplify and Focus the User Experience

2. Support Meaningful Career Progression

3. Enable Personalised, Manager-Aligned Growth

With these goals in mind, we began ideating potential solutions. To quickly generate and visualise a wide range of ideas, we used the Crazy 8s method to sketch eight concepts in eight minutes on post-it notes rapidly. This exercise helped us translate our research insights into tangible, user-centred design directions.

With our key features defined and ideas generated through Crazy 8s, we mapped out the user flow to visualise how users would navigate the platform. This helped us identify the most intuitive paths for completing key tasks, such as exploring career options, setting goals, and viewing progress, while keeping the experience focused and purposeful.

Once the flow was established, we translated it into low-fidelity wireframes using pencil and paper. These sketches allowed us to explore layout ideas, information hierarchy, and feature placement in a lightweight, iterative way before moving into digital prototyping.

Design

Based on the refined wireframes and feedback from earlier stages, I designed the high-fidelity prototype focusing on three key areas of the platform: Onboarding, Dashboard, and Career Development (specifically the “Add Career Goal” flow).

Dashboard Screen

The Dashboard was designed to present a streamlined overview, prioritising clarity, minimising clutter, and surfacing key elements like career progress and recommended actions in a clean, intuitive layout.

Onboarding Screens

The Onboarding flow was designed to introduce new users to the platform’s purpose and guide them through essential setup steps with clarity and ease.

Career Path Screens

The Career Path flow was designed to let users create their new desired role to keep track of their career progress and achievements.

Career Development (Adding Career Goal)

For the Career Development section, I focused on creating a seamless user experience to add and track their career goals. The design features intuitive input fields, clear progress indicators, and tailored suggestions based on the user’s role and interests to support meaningful growth. Users can also notify their managers directly, encouraging alignment and timely support.