Creating a single source of truth: unifying the LRS Connect portal
The LRS Connect portal is a critical tool for property professionals in NSW. This project's challenge was to unify it with an older, legacy portal, integrating all features and functionality to create one seamless, modern platform. As the lead UX designer, I was responsible for guiding the user experience strategy, from initial discovery through to the final, validated design.
Team
I collaborated with a cross-functional team including another UX designer, a Solution Architect, a Business Analyst, and a Tech Lead.
Timeline
6 weeks (3 weeks discovery, 3 weeks design)
Tools
Figma, Miro, Optimal Workshop, Gemini
Taming complexity
For property professionals using NSW LRS' digital channels, the experience was fractured. They were forced to navigate between two separate portals, the newer 'Connect' and the legacy 'NSW LRS Online', each with its own distinct design and user interface. This inconsistency created a confusing journey, complicated training for new staff, and eroded the sense of trust in the platform.
This fragmentation was compounded by complex navigation and highly specific regulatory terminology. For users trying to complete time-sensitive tasks, the experience was often a frustrating exercise in trial and error, leading to inefficiency and a disjointed workflow.
The challenge was clear: how to unify the diverse functionalities of two platforms into a single, intuitive portal that could serve multiple professional user groups without compromise. The mission was not just to merge two websites, but to create a single, cohesive digital environment that felt seamless, trustworthy, and efficient for every user.
THE CHALLENGE
From fragmented to focused
To tackle the challenges of a fractured user experience, we needed to define a clear and actionable mission. Our goal was not just to combine two portals, but to create a single, superior experience guided by a clear set of principles.
The user problem
Professionals were forced to use a confusing, inconsistent, and inefficient system. The fragmented navigation and complex terminology led to daily frustration and wasted time.
The business problem
The inconsistent design across two portals eroded brand identity and user trust. Furthermore, the lack of a unified structure made the platform difficult to manage, scale, and train users on.
Our goals
We focused on two key areas to guide our design decisions:
Improve findability through a unified information architecture:
Design an intuitive navigation system that helps users find what they need without having to think.
Ensure the new structure enhances search effectiveness, allowing users to locate specific information quickly.
Deliver an optimised and cohesive user experience:
Create a consistent, professional design language across the entire unified portal.
Address key user pain points to create a more satisfying and efficient workflow.
Ensure the new platform adheres to modern accessibility standards.
MY ROLE & CONTRIBUTIONS
Guiding the vision
As the lead UX designer, my role was to own the end-to-end user experience. I was responsible for defining the research strategy, guiding the design, and ensuring the final product was both user-friendly and technically feasible.
My key contributions included:
Leading the user research: I planned and led the discovery phase, which included a card sorting study to define a new, unified information architecture. I then synthesised these findings into a comprehensive research report.
Guiding the design process: I led the design from low-fidelity wireframes to final high-fidelity mockups in Figma, and created detailed design documentation for a smooth handover to the development team.
Ensuring technical feasibility: A critical part of my role was the close collaboration with the Solution Architect and Tech Lead. I facilitated regular reviews to ensure the design decisions were technically feasible and aligned with the development team's capabilities.
Managing stakeholder expectations: I was the primary point of contact for UX, and was responsible for presenting our progress and final designs to key business stakeholders, ensuring their vision was ultimately realised.
Optimal Workshop card sorting study
THE PROCESS
The path to unification
Understanding the landscape
Our first step in the discovery phase was to build a shared understanding with the business. We conducted two foundational workshops with key stakeholders: one to analyse existing customer feedback and identify target improvement areas, and a second to map the current, fragmented information architecture of both portals. This gave us a clear picture of the known problem areas from a business perspective.
With this foundation, we undertook a comprehensive interface audit of both systems to document specific UI inconsistencies, accessibility issues, and usability violations. In parallel we began preparing for our card sorting study, which was the key to defining the unified information architecture. A common project challenge arose as recruitment for this study was slow, meaning we had to remain adaptable as the research timeline began to overlap with our design phase.
Defining the structure
To define the new information architecture, we initially launched an open card sorting study. However, we quickly saw that the exercise was too time-consuming for participants, resulting in a low response rate. As a result, I made the logical decision to pivot. We switched to a closed card sort, formulating the categories using a hybrid approach: combining the groupings from our initial open-sort responses with insights from business subject matter experts. This pivot proved effective, significantly increasing participant numbers.
The study produced a clear and powerful insight. We found that users naturally grouped all the portal's disparate services under a single ‘Services’ umbrella, rather than scattering them across multiple top-level categories as the old portal did. This discovery was the key to the new information architecture, giving us a user-validated model for a simplified and more intuitive navigation structure.
Building the solution
Due to the overlap in our project timeline, we began the design phase while the card sorting study was still collecting responses. This required a pragmatic approach. Our initial wireframing focused on integrating the functionality of the two portals, creating a unified layout that we could validate early with stakeholders. To work efficiently within our 3-week design sprint, we focused on designing key screens that would serve as a template for the rest of the platform.
Once the card sorting results were finalised, we moved into high-fidelity design. Our primary focus was a critical new screen that came directly from our research: the unified ‘Services’ page. This screen was the key to the new, simplified navigation, and bringing it to life became our main design priority, ensuring the most impactful outcome of our research was perfectly executed.
Evolution of the LRS Connect homepage
THE SOLUTION
From two to one: the unified LRS Connect experience
The new, unified LRS Connect portal was designed to be efficient, predictable, and scalable. We focused on creating a cohesive experience that directly addressed the fragmentation and navigation issues of the previous system. The following key features were central to this new experience.
A smart, customisable home screen
The new home screen was designed to be a personalised launchpad. We introduced a ‘Favourites’ section, allowing users to pin their most frequently used services for immediate access. This simple customisation drastically reduces repetitive navigation, streamlining the workflow for expert users. The screen also highlights popular services across the platform, providing a clear path to the main services page.
A single source of truth for services
The core of the new navigation was the unified ‘Services’ page. This simple screen provides a complete directory of every service in a clean card layout. Crucially, the in-page navigation categories on this screen were taken directly from our card sorting study. This ensures that users can find any tool they need from a single, predictable location, using a structure that is aligned with their own mental model.
A navigation system designed for complex tasks
We made a strategic decision to move the main navigation from a persistent left-hand sidebar to a top-level navigation with a flyout menu. This change maximises the available horizontal screen space—a critical decision to better accommodate the complex forms and multi-step processes within the services themselves, ensuring the interface never feels cramped and the user can focus on their core task.
THE IMPACT
A unified foundation for the future
As the unified portal is currently in a phased rollout over the next year, post-launch metrics are not yet available. However, initial feedback from business stakeholders and a small group of users has been highly positive. The fundamental act of unifying two disparate portals into a single, cohesive experience is seen as a significant improvement, with the anticipated time-saving and reduced complexity being key benefits for the users' daily workflows.
Success will be formally measured through LRS's yearly customer survey. This project directly addressed many of the key pain points and frustrations that were identified in the previous year's survey. The upcoming survey will therefore serve as the primary tool to measure the positive impact of the new, unified portal, effectively closing the feedback loop and validating our design decisions with a broad user base.
LEARNINGS & REFLECTIONS
Key lessons and future opportunities
The importance of early technical collaboration. My key learning was the value of engaging the technical team from day one. In future, I would involve developers in the earliest discovery workshops to provide them with foundational context for the design decisions to come and improve the overall collaboration and efficiency of the entire team.
Refining the research methodology. Reflecting on our research, I would reconsider our initial approach to the card sort. While our pivot from an open to a closed sort was effective, a hybrid card sort from the beginning may have offered a better balance, capturing user-generated categories while being less time-consuming for participants.
Future opportunity: establishing a design system. A key future opportunity for the portal is the creation of a foundational design system. While we didn't have time within the initial 6-week project, establishing a comprehensive system would be the crucial next step to ensure the platform can scale efficiently and consistently as it evolves.
