Portals succeed when they mirror how people think and act, not your org chart. Start by mapping end-to-end journeys (e.g., new hire, laptop break/fix, role change, vendor onboarding). Identify moments that matter and friction points—authentication steps, duplicated forms, unclear choices. Use ServiceNow’s Service Catalog, Knowledge, and Virtual Agent to simplify language, suggest next best actions, and deflect where appropriate. Personalize content with contextual data (role, location, device) and keep navigation shallow. Apply content design principles: plain language, progressive disclosure, and error prevention. Integrate trust signals: confirmation numbers, expected time-to-fulfill, and transparent status. For accessibility, conform to WCAG standards; test with screen readers and keyboard-only navigation. Measure portal health by task success, time on task, and containment rate—not just page views. Treat the portal as a product with maintenance budgets for UX research, content refresh, and component upgrades. Lock in consistency via a design system and reusable components, reducing customization debt. When journeys are designed deliberately and transparently, adoption rises, call volumes fall, and trust grows—because the experience finally respects the user’s time.
