CASE STUDY

Member Groups Segmentation

Designing the Segmentation Backbone of an Enterprise Platform

Member Groups became the primary mechanism for configuring benefit eligibility across WebMD ONE’s enterprise clients. As adoption expanded across modules, the dev-built interface struggled to scale with increasing segmentation complexity.

I led the redesign of the system’s information architecture, interaction patterns, and usability foundations—transforming it into a structured, scalable configuration tool used across the platform that reduced cognitive load, improved configuration clarity, and established foundational patterns before a formal design system existed.

The Challenge:

Through client and internal users' feedback, we knew that member groups had some real usability problems:

Originally dev-designed with no UX oversight
No design system or pattern library
Unclear naming and hierarchy
Scaling beyond small configurations introduced confusion

Used across clients ranging from dozens to hundreds (and in some cases thousands) of segmentation rules
Incorrect configuration could result in benefits being shown to the wrong employee populations

My Role:

Lead UX/UI Designer

Re-architected information hierarchy
Refined naming conventions
Introduced helper text and contextual guidance
Reordered workflows to match mental models

Added filtering and clarity mechanisms
Established reusable UI patterns
Partnered closely with product manager and engineering for implementation

The Approach:

Our goal: make Member Groups clearer and easier for even non-expert users to implement

1 - Research

Conducted user interviews with member group users to understand goals and identify barriers
Met regularly with developers to understand the complex capabilities behind member Groups

2 - Define

Mapped all configuration workflows end-to-end and identified redundant or counterintuitive steps
Defined clear mental models for group creation, editing, archiving, and tool assignment
Established rules for edge cases — conflicting filter values, groups tied to active products, and bulk imports

3 - Prototype & Validate

Created wireframes for key workflows and walked through them with internal operations teams
Iterated on interaction patterns based on feedback, especially around tool assignment and archive safeguards

The Solution:

What we built: a structured, intuitive configuration experience that turned a confusing dev-built interface into a tool internal teams could confidently navigate.

Streamlined Group Creation

Simplified the create/edit flow with clear steps for naming, targeting a population, and setting filter criteria

Intuitive Tool Assignment

Replaced the confusing "unselect to enable" pattern with a standard opt-in selection model

Import & Bulk Management

Streamlined the ability to upload group definitions directly from spreadsheets, matching existing client workflows

Lifecycle Management

Introduced an archive flow with safeguards that prevent archiving groups enrolled in active products

Change History & Audit Trail

Added full group history: what changed, when, and by whom — critical for accountability across large client configurations

The Outcome:

What changed: internal teams spent less time troubleshooting configurations and more time supporting clients at scale.

IMPACT

Reduced configuration time per client

Fewer setup errors and massively reduced support escalations

Improved confidence for internal teams managing complex segmentation

Scalable to clients with hundreds of member groups

Key Takeaways

Internal Users Are Research

Partnering closely with operations teams surfaced usability issues no heuristic review would have caught.

Complexity Needs Guardrails

For inherently complex tools, smart defaults, confirmation dialogs, and clear error states prevent mistakes better than oversimplifying the interface.

Design-Led Workflows Pay Off

This project demonstrated what happens when designers lead configuration workflows instead of engineers building UI by necessity and helped build the case for investing in UX research.

Role & Contributions

My Role

UX LEAD

Research

Synthesis

Concept design

Prototyping

Partners

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Product Management

Engineering

Client teams