Key Contributions
Led UX strategy and journey mapping for over 27,000 users across complex IAM flows
Designed a unified user journey map consolidating multiple user types into a single system-wide artefact
Introduced progressive profiling to reduce friction at entry and improve profile completion rates
Proposed and advocated for a vertical side navigation pattern, now adopted into Rockwell’s global design system
Created modular, reusable components aligned with the Meteor Design System for use across web and mobile
Conducted system audits and usability evaluations of legacy flows to identify and resolve high-friction points
Delivered annotated handoff files and collaborated closely with engineering to ensure smooth implementation
Delivered an interim iteration of the Access Hub by introducing guided journeys, copy refinements, and minimal visual adjustments—enabling Rockwell to improve usability and roll out critical flows ahead of the full system redesign.
Setting the Stage
Rockwell Automation, a global leader in industrial automation, faced critical usability challenges with its legacy identity and access management system—used by over 27,000 users across 100+ countries.
The system was complex, with confusing registration flows, inconsistent MFA, and terminology misaligned with user expectations. Our goal was to redesign the IAM experience to be secure, scalable, and intuitive for users across roles and regions.
Understanding the Challenge
The existing system was cluttered, inconsistent, and optimised around backend logic, not user mental models.
Users struggled to:
Register without friction
Understand access status or linking steps
Navigate complex authorisation requests with confidence
In addition, many users began the registration journey but never completed their profiles — either due to optional sections creating decision fatigue or a lack of visible incentive to continue. This not only blocked them from unlocking critical functionality, but also left the system with fragmented user data.
We needed to:
Reduce registration friction and simplify progressive onboarding
Support multi-user pathways: no-contract, contract-linked, and admin roles
Introduce scalable security systems like MFA
Align backend complexity with a clear, human-first interface
Research & Systems Audit
We began with an audit of the legacy system and stakeholder interviews to uncover critical friction points.
Key insights included:
Terminology confusion often caused user drop-off
The Access Hub was structurally unclear and visually outdated
Many user types followed overlapping but fragmented journeys
The system needed to serve three distinct user personas with different needs:
Administrators: Managing company-wide access and permissions
Internal Employees: Requiring seamless access to internal tools
External Partners & Customers: Needing specific, limited access to Rockwell resources
For each user type, we created comprehensive flows covering registration, login, MFA verification, password management, and access requests.
We mapped the entire ecosystem of user flows — consolidating them into a single, unified journey map that accounted for all identities: no-contract users, linked users, and admins.
Defining the Strategy
Our strategic north stars:
Progressive profiling: lower friction at the start, encourage enrichment over time
System-user transparency: give users control, reduce guesswork
Pattern reusability: design components to work across platforms and access stages
Clarity first: reflect backend structure only when needed; lead with intuitive flow
To address drop-offs and encourage richer user data over time, we implemented a progressive profiling strategy. This approach front-loaded only the most essential fields during account creation, while prompting users contextually — based on access needs — to complete their profiles in later sessions.
We introduced a unified dependency framework, clearly mapping how contracts and user attributes triggered role-based access.
Designing the Solution
As part of the core design team, I translated backend identity logic into a streamlined front-end experience — one that simplified onboarding, clarified access status, and scaled across web and mobile.
Account Creation and Sign in Flows
Simplified layout with only essential upfront fields
Integrated federated/non-federated logins
Introduced secure, user-friendly MFA
Time to register reduced from 5 to 3.5 minutes
Progressive Profiling & Behavioural Nudges
Separated registration into essential vs contextual fields to reduce first-touch friction
Introduced task-based prompts encouraging users to complete specific fields as access needs evolved
Designed micro-feedback and UI signals to reflect completion status and benefits of enrichment
Aligned UX with Rockwell’s data needs to gradually build robust user profiles without overwhelming guests
Unified User Journey
One journey supporting multiple user types (contract, no-contract, admin)
Reusable component blocks mapped to conditional flows
Clear progressive onboarding steps
Access Hub Redesign
Proposed and successfully advocated for vertical side-panel navigation (adopted into Rockwell’s global design system)
Created scalable admin modules with contextual requests and status indicators
Reduced visual and interaction complexity
Visual System & Handoff
Designed using Rockwell's Meteor Design System
Proposed updates to base components
Delivered high-fidelity, annotated flows with documentation for engineering
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Effective collaboration was central to this project’s success. I worked closely with Rockwell’s design team to align with the Meteor design system, and partnered with engineers and security experts to ensure our solutions balanced usability, compliance, and technical feasibility.
To support implementation, I created detailed user flows, annotated screen specs, and interactive prototypes to clearly communicate system behaviour and design intent.
Reflection
This project reinforced the importance of translating technical complexity into human terms. Working at the intersection of security requirements and user experience taught me valuable lessons about finding creative solutions within technical constraints.
The most rewarding aspect was seeing how thoughtful design could transform a purely functional enterprise system into an experience that actually guided and supported users. By focusing on context and progressive disclosure, we created a system that not only secured access but actually helped users understand and navigate Rockwell's ecosystem more effectively.
Impact & Outcomes
The redesigned authentication system is now implemented and actively used across Rockwell's global organisation serving 27,000+ employees and customers.
Key results include:
30% reduction in account creation time, improving user satisfaction and reducing support queries
Single consolidated journey map created to align backend identity rules with front-end UX
Component updates accepted into Rockwell’s global design system, improving reuse across platforms
Navigation pattern shift (vertical panel) now part of company-wide design language
Progressive profiling strategy reduced onboarding friction and improved profile completion across identity types
Created high-quality handoff files that reduced design–dev friction and improved implementation speed
The redesign encouraged greater self-serve behaviour, reducing dependency on customer service teams for resolving access issues or manual provisioning.