ForgeRock

Overview

ForgeRock is a digital identity management solutions provider that helps people safely access the connected world. Considered a digital identity leader, the company is trusted by approximately 1,300 of the world’s most recognized brands and organizations. In 2023, the ForgeRock team, looking to improve the overall customer experience on its website, embarked upon a journey to streamline the components, elements, and templates utilized in the website’s design.

Approach

My role as UI designer in this effort was to review the current site, identify opportunities for streamlining components in the interest of usability/accessibility, and present recommendations for improvement to the current experience. This was realized in the final deliverable of a new design system. I began with a heuristic evaluation of the site based on the 10 usability heuristics for user interface design outlined by the Nielsen Norman Group. The recommendations from this evaluation would inform the new design system.

After the evaluation was completed, I listed out the components needed and established a timeline for completion. Working collaboratively with a content designer and researcher, certain complex, content-heavy components like menu navigation were highlighted as useful items to conduct user testing on, as content based recommendations were also being given to the client. For the components needing user testing I developed high fidelity prototypes that could be used in usability tests to gather feedback from identified target user groups.

One of the most important components identified for testing was the main navigation. I created high fidelity prototypes of the new main navigation based on suggestions in regard to content changes recommended by the content designer I was working with. In the moderated usability tests, our goal was to find out if users could easily find what they needed based on the suggested changes made to the names of categories within the menu, and find out if the repositioning/redesign of various elements in the menu helped users complete tasks more efficiently.

Outcome

The revised ForgeRock design system was completed at the end of 2023, and featured improvements to multiple components in the interest of usability and accessibility. Created in Figma, the system equipped the ForgeRock team with the information necessary to implement design changes to the ForgeRock website, and ensure that the visual presentation of the website is in alignment with their brand and customer experience goals.