Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP)
Overview
The Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) provides national HR certification and tools to strengthen Singapore’s HR standards.
Over a 26-week period (Apr–Sep 2024), We did the UX design from stakeholder workshops and requirement gathering, to designing wireframes, testing with users, and implementing feedback.
Problem
The IHRP website was content-rich but hard to use. Key issues included:
Cluttered structure : Content was scattered with no clear hierarchy.
Unclear user flows : Users struggled to find relevant tools or information.
Outdated UI : The design didn’t reflect IHRP’s credibility.
Low tool engagement : Key tools were hidden or poorly explained.
These issues made it difficult for users to understand and access IHRP’s offerings.
Impact
Improved Usability: Achieved a high SUS score of 81.48 (Grade A), indicating strong ease of use across user groups.
Clearer User Journeys: Redesigned navigation and content structure helped users quickly find key tools and services with fewer steps.
Higher Engagement Confidence: 95% of participants from user testing found content easier to consume, and 100% successfully located core sections
Design Process
Research : Internal Discover Workshops
We kicked off the project with an internal discovery workshop focused on aligning business goals with user needs. Over two weeks, we collaborated with IHRP’s internal teams to map out user types, prioritise key tools, and identify gaps in the current experience.
Using a combination of stakeholder interviews and asynchronous Padlet discussions, we gathered input from various internal teams. Padlet was chosen to encourage open, flexible contributions across departments and easier documentation.
Research : External Focus Groups
We conducted a 90–120 minute external focus group with 5–7 participants representing key audience types - HR professionals, consultants, and business leaders. Using structured discussion prompts, we explored their goals, pain points, and experience navigating IHRP’s current website. The session helped validate internal assumptions and uncovered critical insights around content clarity, tool discoverability, and the need for more role-specific pathways.
Discovery Insights
Through internal workshops and stakeholder interviews, we uncovered key challenges:
Users want IHRP to be a central HR hub for certification, updates, and growth.
82% struggled to understand certification pathways and value.
Content is hard to find; structure feels scattered.
CPD uploads are frustrating and unclear.
Users seek more networking and mentorship.
IHRP’s mission and offerings need better visibility.
Synthesis & Brainstorming
After the workshops, we grouped similar feedbacks and suggestions to find out the patterns from different audiences.
Exploration
Based on the insights we got, we started exploring the user flows and how we could structure the key pages and layouts. Low-fidelity wireframes were then created to explore layout structure and content hierarchy. This helped to validate the overall functionality in the early phase.
High-Fidelity Mockups & Prototyping
Next phase, we are using the Design Language System as a foundation, we created high-fidelity mockups and developed a clickable prototype in Figma to test the user flow and gather feedback from stakeholders.
Usability Testing (UT)
To validate the revamped website’s design, functionality, and usability by gathering feedback, we had usability testing with 19 participants across three user groups: HR Leaders/Professionals, Non-HR Professionals and HR Consultants.
Key Activities
Think-Aloud Tasks: Participants performed specific tasks (e.g., finding certification details, navigating to events) while sharing their thoughts.
User Feedback: Collected qualitative feedback on likes, dislikes, and improvement suggestions.
System Usability Scale (SUS): Participants rated the website’s usability using a standardized 10-question scale.
Post-Test Interviews: Gathered overall impressions and additional insights.
We had prepared the structured script that guided the moderators through each session to ensure all participants were asked same questions and performed the same tasks. The example questions includes,
“How easy was it to find this information?”
“Were there any points of confusion or frustration?”
Findings
Participants loved the clean, organized layout and easy navigation. The bite-sized content and intuitive design were big wins, especially for younger, tech-savvy users.
SUS Score: The website scored 81.48 (excellent usability), well above the industry benchmark of 68.
We have also found out the pain points from our design, which we categorized into High, Medium, and Low Priority based on the severity of the issue.
Some of the example of issues includes:
20% of participants missed the expandable menu (burger icon), thinking it was for scrolling
80% found the application process confusing, with many thinking it was tied to certifications
10% felt the banner could better showcase events and news
5% suggested adding company names and dates for credibility in testimonials
Design Revisions
We analysed the results, focus on the user feedbacks, recommendations and putting them all altogether in UT report. We walked through to the stakeholders, aligning on which changes to implement first. After the discussion, we started applying the changes on our final design.
Challenges
Working with different teams and stakeholders was challenging, as each had their own priorities and perspectives. In user testing, it was sometimes difficult to keep conversations focused and ensure participants provided detailed and relevant feedback. Balancing these aspects while keeping the project on track was a key learning experience.
What I learned
This project taught me the importance of research, testing and iteration in design processes. From discovery sessions to wireframing and prototyping, each phase required careful planning and collaboration. Working with different stakeholders improved my ability to communicate ideas clearly and align design decisions with business needs.
