Sector sites
Building a one-stop shop to accelerate a consultant's expertise and expand their network on complex topics.
Get the answer fast, then put it to work.
01Context
A centralized home for everything a practitioner needs to get smart, fast.
I was the design lead for the project, responsible for crafting the UX and UI and working with other designers to come up with better solutions for the tools in the suite.
At the firm, projects would constantly come up to consultants, requiring fast familiarization with new and complex topics, preparation of compelling presentations, additional support gathering, and the recruitment of the right experts across multiple industries and sectors.
From reports, data and analytics, in-depth research materials, events and communities, to connecting with seasoned experts, the new sites were tailored to be a centralized repository of knowledge, equipping practitioners with the best and most current knowledge available, internal or external, on one platform to get up to speed fast and contribute to client work.
02Key principles
Five principles guided every decision.
One-stop knowledge hub
A single destination for everything related to the practice, providing easy access to all.
Rapid information access
Designed to let users find the materials they need within three minutes of site entry.
Community engagement
Encourages active collaboration that strengthens networking and collective learning.
Thought leadership
Puts expert insight forward and encourages new ideas and professional growth.
Seamless site management
Administration made easy, with data visualization and custom dashboards.
Practitioners should be able to locate the content they need within three minutes.
The product in motion
A serious platform, built around the practitioner.
03Inside the platform
Everything a consultant needs, in one place.
A powerful content library
The firm's reputation as a market leader rests largely on its extensive knowledge database, drawing on insights from thousands of prior engagements and top-tier materials.
On the sector sites, practitioners can easily access a diverse range of knowledge materials, such as documents, expert opinions, data, insights, or presentations, and quickly become proficient on any topic. Advanced search and filtering streamline the process, and useful insight from past projects can be reused by contacting the original authors for further collaboration.
A full management system
The management system empowers site administrators to independently oversee every aspect of the website, from content, documents, people, experts, events and articles, to adding new members, moderating community interactions, and managing critical communications like First Alerts.
Integrated dashboards give administrators in-depth usage statistics, such as uploads, downloads, and user activity by country, offering a clear read on how the site is used, so they can find areas to improve, track feedback, and refine the experience.
Knowledge finding made easy
The site guides users through every step of finding the right material, resource, or expert, whether they're looking for introductory materials or advanced, complex solutions. The Collections feature organizes materials by use case, category, or concept, simplifying the search.
Quick, relevant results are at practitioners' fingertips with the Materials Fast Finder, without extensive searches. The platform also simplifies finding, connecting with, and recruiting top industry experts, through First Alerts or direct contact, while the forum promotes engagement and access to experts active in relevant discussions.
Support at every step of the journey
Our philosophy is that practitioners should be able to locate the content they need within three minutes. If the initial tools (search, materials fast finder, or featured collections) don't get them there, a powerful support hub comes into play.
Users can connect with support through many channels: direct contact with a representative, a responsive chatbot, or a call. If what they want isn't available, they can submit a new research request, or ask the Practice team to craft a Letter of Proposal for a client.
04Outcomes
A one-stop shop that consultants genuinely rely on.
The project was an ongoing initiative that lasted a couple of years, constantly refining, building new features, and running user-centered workshops and research to drive our initiatives. It was a constant exercise of shaping features from requests and our own insights, creating mockups and prototypes, and testing with users and stakeholders, keeping the development team in the conversation so nothing was built in silos.
We held monthly townhalls where 100+ people participated, providing feedback, reporting bugs and voicing recommendations. The suite saw a constant increase in user engagement, with practitioners showing a marked improvement in preparation time for client meetings. Feedback from consultants and managers was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the ease of finding information and the value of a true one-stop shop for sector knowledge.