TDX Portal Research & Redesign

Overview

Project Focus

The IT support system for Cornell's Human Ecology and Brooks Public Policy schools was running on an outdated, difficult-to-maintain platform. My goal was to analyze the existing support structure, identify key pain points, and design a new TDX portal that would streamline ticket management, enable users to find answers through a self-service knowledge base, and encourage users to submit tickets through our platform.

Duration 2 months • 2025

Role Researcher & Designer

Tools Figma, Notion, TDX, FigJam

Impact 144+ cases in first month

My Contributions I worked closely with IT leadership to define requirements and priorities. Wireframes and prototypes were presented to the support team for feedback before development. I also coordinated with central IT services to ensure compatibility with existing TDX infrastructure.

Results & Impact

The redesigned TDX Support Portal delivered immediate and measurable results, transforming how users engaged with our support system. Within days of launch, we received positive feedback, including comments like:

"Loving the new support site!"

The data below highlights the significant improvements in both case submission volume and user adoption following the launch.

Streamlined Support Requests

The redesigned portal successfully addressed inconsistent submission methods by providing a single, clear path for support requests. The 144 cases submitted in the first month represent a complete shift from the previous fragmented system (email, walk-ins, etc.) to a unified tracking system, making it easier for both users and support staff to manage requests.

May Case Volume: Historical Average vs. 2025

2020-2024 Avg

May 2025

144 (+69%)

Comparison of Average May Case Volume (2020-2024) vs. May 2025.

"The screenshots in the knowledge base articles make it easy to follow along."

Improved User Engagement

Comparing January-April 2025 to May reveals the immediate impact of the redesign. The 144 cases in May represent a 56.5% increase over the previous monthly average, indicating that users found the new system more intuitive and accessible than the previous outdated interface.

Monthly Case Submissions in 2025

89 Jan

98 Feb

92 Mar

91 Apr

                                    144
                                    May
                                

Pre-redesign

Post-redesign

Monthly Case Submission Dynamics in 2025.

Research

Outdated Portal Experience

Our existing help desk portal, built on an older platform, created several challenges. The dated interface felt disconnected from the campus tools that users were already familiar with. Users submitted requests through inconsistent channels including email, walk-ins, and various forms leading to fragmented support tracking. Without accessible self-service options, the support team handled requests that users could have resolved on their own, and the aging platform made it increasingly difficult to implement improvements or maintain existing functionality.

Old support form website screenshot showing outdated interface — Legacy support portal with dated interface and limited functionality.

Analyzing Existing Solutions

I conducted a competitive analysis of other Cornell department portals to identify best practices and common patterns. Reviewing portals from Arts & Sciences, CALS, the Lab of Ornithology, and University Library helped establish consistent patterns while identifying opportunities for improvement in our implementation.

Service Alerts

All portals used standardized service alert banners to communicate system status and outages. This pattern proved essential for proactive user communication.

Lab of Ornithology service alerts — Lab of Ornithology

Knowledge Base

Self-service documentation varied in organization, from simple lists to structured categories. Discoverability was a key differentiator.

Lab of Ornithology knowledge base — Lab of Ornithology

Ticket Management

Ticket submission interfaces ranged from form-heavy to streamlined. Clarity of request types correlated with better ticket categorization.

University Library ticket management — University Library

Key Research Insights

The competitive analysis and stakeholder conversations provided aligned perspectives. From the user side, people wanted quick access to common support requests and clear visibility into ongoing issues. They needed self-help resources for common problems and a unified system that handled all of their IT needs in one place.

Business goals aligned well with these user needs. The IT team wanted to reduce redundant support requests and streamline ticket management. Improving response times and centralizing IT resources would benefit both staff and users while making the support operation more sustainable.

Defining Requirements

Based on research, I established key requirements for the new portal spanning both user experience and core functionality. For user experience, the portal needed intuitive navigation that matched how users think about IT support along with recognizable responsive design for on-the-go access.

Core functionality requirements included a unified ticket submission system that would replace the fragmented request methods, a comprehensive knowledge base for self-service troubleshooting, and service status notifications to keep users informed about relevant information. We also needed resource request forms for common asks like software installations, along with an about page introducing our team and services.

Design & Implementation

Content & Flow Planning

After narrowing down the key items for the site, I wrote each one on a sticky note and grouped similar items together. This made it easy to spot patterns and organize the content.

Sticky note clusters for site content — Key items were clustered into different sections to better understand site flow.

From there, I nailed down the three main reasons people visit the portal: learning more about our team, submitting an assistance ticket, and reading a knowledge base article. I mapped out how users would accomplish each of these goals, which helped me shape the site's overall flow.

Sticky note tree for site content — User goals branched off into how they would achieve them.

Wireframing

Referring back to the site structure I'd mapped out, I sketched out low-fidelity flows for each core task. I shared these with the team and iterated based on their feedback, making sure the main user journeys were clear and intuitive before moving on to visual design.

4 frames of wireframe flow for site — Wireframes to visualize site.

Implementation

TDX made it easy to spin up a basic site since most of the setup is drag-and-drop. That said, I still built out most of our custom styles using Bootstrap CSS. This let me quickly tweak layouts and visuals as we iterated, so I could roll out better versions of the site without much friction.

3 frames of flow for site — Final implementation of portal site.

Constraints & Challenges

The project came with several constraints to work within. The portal had to integrate with existing TDX infrastructure and components while serving diverse user groups including faculty, staff, and students. Many styles and components were set centrally, limiting customization to colors and content. The knowledge base wasn't always public-facing which affected discoverability, and users often misclassified tickets or avoided submitting them altogether. This pointed to a need for clearer support categories and guidance.

Measuring Efficiency

To track the portal's effectiveness, I set several success metrics. We promoted engagement with the knowledge base by tracking article popularity and usage patterns. Analyzing ticket submission helped identify common issues and opportunities to clarify request types.

Reflection

What Worked

Centralizing support resources and making the knowledge base prominent helps users solve problems faster and reduces IT workload. Service alerts and popular links make navigation intuitive.

What's Next

I plan to continue expanding the knowledge base with more comprehensive guides and troubleshooting articles.

Biggest Challenge

Balancing the needs of different user groups while working within the constraints of the TDX system. Ensuring accessibility and clarity with limited customization options.

Takeaways

This project reinforced the value of clear information architecture and self-service tools in IT support. Even small improvements to navigation and content can have a big impact on user experience and support efficiency.