Enterprise Wholesale Service Portal Design

Simplifying enterprise wholesale service

YEAR

2018 - 2019

DURATION

18 Months

DURATION

18 Months

INDUSTRY

Telecommunication

PLATFORM

Web application

PRODUCT TYPE

B2B SaaS / Enterprise Service Management Portal

TOOLS

InVision, Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator

TEAM

PM, Product Owner, UX Lead, Engineering Team

MY ROLE

UX/Product Designer

TEAM

PM, Product Owner, UX Lead, Engineering Team

MY ROLE

UX/Product Designer

MY ROLE

UX/Product Designer

PROJECT OVERVIEW

PRODUCT TYPE

B2B SaaS / Enterprise Service Management Portal

TOOLS

InVision, Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator

TEAM

PM, Product Owner, UX Lead, Engineering Team

MY ROLE

UX/Product Designer

Overview

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is Australia's national wholesale open-access data network.

The Enterprise Wholesale Service Portal (EWSP) is designed to enable enterprise wholesale service operations across three key role groups:

Managed Service Providers (MSP)
Virtual Network Operators (VNO)
Owner (NBN)

The goal is to deliver a single, consistent end-to-end journey that reduces friction across templates → ordering → status tracking → support while meeting governance, compliance, and multi-tenant needs.

Problem Statement

Enterprise wholesale service requests are high-effort and error-prone because the process spans multiple roles (MSP, VNO, Owner) with complex handoffs, inconsistent template needs, and limited shared visibility into orders and services.

If ownership isn’t clear, templates aren’t consistent, and there’s no end-to-end visibility from the start, teams will face more rework, delays, extra support tickets, and less confidence—especially when approvals and changes need multiple stakeholders to coordinate.

Business Goals & Challenges

Business Goals	Key Challenges/Constraints
Increase completion from template selection to order submission. Reduce time to raise orders and minimise status follow-ups. Cut manual handoffs, rework, and avoidable errors. Improve governance with role-based access, audit logs, and standard templates. Increase visibility with clear dashboards for orders, services, alerts, and tickets.	Role-based, multi-tenant access: different permissions and views for MSP, VNO, and Owner. Template governance: templates must be standardised and approved. Complex ordering: validations, prerequisites, and handoffs are required. Auditability: all actions and approvals must be logged. Change adoption: the portal must simplify work, not add steps. Integrated support: tickets and issues must be part of the workflow.

Business Goals

Key Challenges/Constraints

Increase completion from template selection to order submission.

Reduce time to raise orders and minimise status follow-ups.
Cut manual handoffs, rework, and avoidable errors.
Improve governance with role-based access, audit logs, and standard templates.
Increase visibility with clear dashboards for orders, services, alerts, and tickets.

Role-based, multi-tenant access: different permissions and views for MSP, VNO, and Owner.

Template governance: templates must be standardised and approved.
Complex ordering: validations, prerequisites, and handoffs are required.
Auditability: all actions and approvals must be logged.
Change adoption: the portal must simplify work, not add steps.
Integrated support: tickets and issues must be part of the workflow.

Target Audience

VNO Operations (Service Desk, Provisioning teams)

Raise new service orders, track progress, manage notifications, lodge/escalate tickets

MSP Administrators

Manage users, onboard VNOs, manage product templates and template catalogue consistency

Owner (NBN) Product

Review product templates, monitor services/orders, and oversee performance via dashboards

Success metrics (EWSP)

Completion & accuracy ↑ order submission completion rate, ↓ abandonment ↑ first-pass success (fewer validation failures / rework loops)	Efficiency ↓ time-to-raise a new service order ↓ time-to-find status (orders/services), ↓ manual handoffs
Visibility & self-serve ↑ dashboard usage (orders, services, notifications) ↓ “status follow-up” enquiries (emails/calls/messages)	Support & operations ↓ helpdesk tickets caused by ordering/template confusion ↓ duplicate tickets, ↓ escalations, ↑ first-contact resolution
Governance & compliance ↑ template approval/review completion (Owner) ↑ audit coverage (key actions logged), ↓ permission/access issues	User experience ↑ ease-of-use / task success score ↑ confidence rating for “I can complete an order without help”

Overview

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is Australia's national wholesale open-access data network.

The Enterprise Wholesale Service Portal (EWSP) is designed to enable enterprise wholesale service operations across three key role groups:

Managed Service Providers (MSP)
Virtual Network Operators (VNO)
Owner (NBN)

Problem Statement

Business Goals & Challenges

Business Goals	Key Challenges/Constraints
Increase completion from template selection to order submission. Reduce time to raise orders and minimise status follow-ups. Cut manual handoffs, rework, and avoidable errors. Improve governance with role-based access, audit logs, and standard templates. Increase visibility with clear dashboards for orders, services, alerts, and tickets.	Role-based, multi-tenant access: different permissions and views for MSP, VNO, and Owner. Template governance: templates must be standardised and approved. Complex ordering: validations, prerequisites, and handoffs are required. Auditability: all actions and approvals must be logged. Change adoption: the portal must simplify work, not add steps. Integrated support: tickets and issues must be part of the workflow.

Business Goals

Key Challenges/Constraints

Increase completion from template selection to order submission.

Reduce time to raise orders and minimise status follow-ups.
Cut manual handoffs, rework, and avoidable errors.
Improve governance with role-based access, audit logs, and standard templates.
Increase visibility with clear dashboards for orders, services, alerts, and tickets.

Role-based, multi-tenant access: different permissions and views for MSP, VNO, and Owner.

Template governance: templates must be standardised and approved.
Complex ordering: validations, prerequisites, and handoffs are required.
Auditability: all actions and approvals must be logged.
Change adoption: the portal must simplify work, not add steps.
Integrated support: tickets and issues must be part of the workflow.

Target Audience

VNO Operations (Service Desk, Provisioning teams)

Raise new service orders, track progress, manage notifications, lodge/escalate tickets

MSP Administrators

Manage users, onboard VNOs, manage product templates and template catalogue consistency

Owner (NBN) Product

Review product templates, monitor services/orders, and oversee performance via dashboards

Success metrics (EWSP)

Completion & accuracy ↑ order submission completion rate, ↓ abandonment ↑ first-pass success (fewer validation failures / rework loops)	Efficiency ↓ time-to-raise a new service order ↓ time-to-find status (orders/services), ↓ manual handoffs
Visibility & self-serve ↑ dashboard usage (orders, services, notifications) ↓ “status follow-up” enquiries (emails/calls/messages)	Support & operations ↓ helpdesk tickets caused by ordering/template confusion ↓ duplicate tickets, ↓ escalations, ↑ first-contact resolution
Governance & compliance ↑ template approval/review completion (Owner) ↑ audit coverage (key actions logged), ↓ permission/access issues	User experience ↑ ease-of-use / task success score ↑ confidence rating for “I can complete an order without help”

PRODUCT TYPE

B2B SaaS / Enterprise Service Management Portal

TOOLS

InVision, Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator

TEAM

PM, Product Owner, UX Lead, Engineering Team

MY ROLE

UX/Product Designer

IMPACT

If implemented,

Enterprise Wholesale Service Portal will provide a

Faster service requests with clearer ownership.
Fewer errors with consistent templates.
Less rework and back-and-forth.
Easier status tracking with end-to-end visibility.
Fewer support tickets through better self-serve.
Better coordination and trust across all roles.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Overview

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is Australia's national wholesale open-access data network.

The Enterprise Wholesale Service Portal (EWSP) is designed to enable enterprise wholesale service operations across three key role groups:

Managed Service Providers (MSP)
Virtual Network Operators (VNO)
Owner (NBN)

Problem Statement

Business Goals & Challenges

Business Goals	Key Challenges/Constraints
Increase completion from template selection to order submission. Reduce time to raise orders and minimise status follow-ups. Cut manual handoffs, rework, and avoidable errors. Improve governance with role-based access, audit logs, and standard templates. Increase visibility with clear dashboards for orders, services, alerts, and tickets.	Role-based, multi-tenant access: different permissions and views for MSP, VNO, and Owner. Template governance: templates must be standardised and approved. Complex ordering: validations, prerequisites, and handoffs are required. Auditability: all actions and approvals must be logged. Change adoption: the portal must simplify work, not add steps. Integrated support: tickets and issues must be part of the workflow.

Business Goals

Key Challenges/Constraints

Increase completion from template selection to order submission.

Reduce time to raise orders and minimise status follow-ups.
Cut manual handoffs, rework, and avoidable errors.
Improve governance with role-based access, audit logs, and standard templates.
Increase visibility with clear dashboards for orders, services, alerts, and tickets.

Role-based, multi-tenant access: different permissions and views for MSP, VNO, and Owner.

Template governance: templates must be standardised and approved.
Complex ordering: validations, prerequisites, and handoffs are required.
Auditability: all actions and approvals must be logged.
Change adoption: the portal must simplify work, not add steps.
Integrated support: tickets and issues must be part of the workflow.

Target Audience

VNO Operations (Service Desk, Provisioning teams)

Raise new service orders, track progress, manage notifications, lodge/escalate tickets

MSP Administrators

Manage users, onboard VNOs, manage product templates and template catalogue consistency

Owner (NBN) Product

Review product templates, monitor services/orders, and oversee performance via dashboards

Success metrics (EWSP)

Completion & accuracy ↑ order submission completion rate, ↓ abandonment ↑ first-pass success (fewer validation failures / rework loops)	Efficiency ↓ time-to-raise a new service order ↓ time-to-find status (orders/services), ↓ manual handoffs
Visibility & self-serve ↑ dashboard usage (orders, services, notifications) ↓ “status follow-up” enquiries (emails/calls/messages)	Support & operations ↓ helpdesk tickets caused by ordering/template confusion ↓ duplicate tickets, ↓ escalations, ↑ first-contact resolution
Governance & compliance ↑ template approval/review completion (Owner) ↑ audit coverage (key actions logged), ↓ permission/access issues	User experience ↑ ease-of-use / task success score ↑ confidence rating for “I can complete an order without help”

IMPACT

If implemented,

Enterprise Wholesale Service Portal will provide a

Faster service requests with clearer ownership.
Fewer errors with consistent templates.
Less rework and back-and-forth.
Easier status tracking with end-to-end visibility.
Fewer support tickets through better self-serve.
Better coordination and trust across all roles.

RESEARCH

Before design, I completed a research phase to understand user roles, handoffs, and what could cause delays or errors.

I chose stakeholder interviews to confirm responsibilities, constraints, and success criteria, and I used task analysis and journey mapping to break down the key end-to-end workflows and highlight likely friction points.

These methods helped me make confident design decisions from the start, since the system was built from scratch.

Method	Purpose	Impact supported
Stakeholder interviews (MSP/VNO/Owner)	Align priorities, governance, handoffs	Reduced rework; clearer ownership
Task analysis (key flows)	Identify friction + redundancy	↓ time-to-order; ↑ accuracy
Journey mapping (role-based)	Visualise cross-role dependencies	Fewer escalations; better transparency
Information architecture review	Improve findability + mental model fit	↓ misnavigation; ↓ cognitive load
Usability testing (prototype)	Validate clarity and flow	↑ completion; ↑ ease-of-use
Support ticket review	Identify recurring pain points	↓ ticket volume
Analytics instrumentation plan	Prove impact post-launch	ROI + continuous improvement

INSIGHTS

Research showed that users mainly struggled with unclear ownership and limited end-to-end visibility, which led to repeated follow-ups and low confidence.

It also highlighted that consistent templates, guided steps, and simple, actionable status updates were key to reducing errors and speeding up completion.

Insight	What it suggests for design
Users want to know what to do first, without guessing	Clear landing actions and guided entry points
Users feel better when they can see where they are and steps left	Step-by-step flow with progress indicator
Users get frustrated when next owner is unclear	Show owner and next action on every status view
Users prefer consistent templates and examples	Standardised templates with short descriptions/examples
Users trust the system more with clear status updates	Visible status, timestamps, and “what happens next” guidance
Users check updates repeatedly when notifications are unclear	Actionable, prioritised notifications linked to the right item
Users want errors explained in plain language	Field-level validation with clear fix instructions
Users want to find items fast with search and filters	Strong search, filters, sorting, and saved views

DESIGN PROCESS

I followed a research-led, iterative design process to deliver the new Enterprise Wholesale Service Portal across MSP, VNO, and Owner roles.

I first defined a role-based information architecture, structuring the portal around key domains, templates, orders, services, notifications, and support, while standardising navigation to improve findability and governance.

I then mapped the highest-frequency task flows, to reduce handoff friction, prevent errors, and clarify ownership.

template selection
raising orders
tracking status
creating tickets

Finally, I produced wireframes and interactive prototypes to test terminology, form behaviour, validation, and status visibility, and I iterated the experience based on evaluation findings to strengthen speed, clarity, and consistency.

Design Process

Information architecture (Role-aware navigation)

MSP Site Map

VNO Site Map

NBN Site Map

User Personas

MSP

VNO

NBN

How I used personas to guide design decisions

User personas helped me design with real user needs in mind rather than assumptions. And Personas directly shaped the portal’s structure and interaction patterns.

For structured users, I prioritised predictable navigation, clear written guidance, and save-and-resume flows. For speed-driven users, I designed step-based workflows with strong search, filters, and actionable notifications.

For standards-focused decision makers, I embedded traceability through consistent UI patterns, clear ownership, and readable activity history, ensuring the system felt efficient, reliable, and trustworthy for every role.

EWSP Demonstration Journey

Portal Navigation

MSP

VNO

NBN

Key screens

Templates
Raise Order
Orders Overview
Services Overview
Notifications
Tickets
Owner Dashboard

Portal Wireframes

Create a User

Roles Management

Product Template

Services Overview

Bandwidth Pool - New Network Services

Field Management - Jobs - Overview

Help Desk

Notifications drop-down

MSP Reporting Screens

SOLUTION

By organising the portal into clear domains, User Management, Onboarding, Product Catalogue, Order Management, Notifications, and Ticketing, the experience reduces handoff friction, improves findability, and strengthens end-to-end visibility from template setup through to order tracking and support.

Flows	User actions	Touchpoints	Opportunities
Onboarding & access	Logs in, receives role-based access, understands available tasks	Login, onboarding, dashboard	Create a smooth onboarding experience with clear role-based guidance
Template discovery	Explores and compares templates before starting a request	Template overview, template details	Improve comparison and understanding through clearer content and structure
Order creation	Completes a new service order using selected template	Order form, validation, review screen	Simplify complex forms with guided steps and inline support
Order tracking	Monitors order progress and identifies next steps	Orders overview, notifications	Improve visibility into status, ownership, and progress
Service management	Views live services and confirms order outcomes	Services overview	Separate active services clearly from in-progress orders
Notifications & updates	Responds to important alerts and workflow changes	Notifications, dashboard	Prioritise actionable updates and reduce missed follow-ups
Support & issue resolution	Raises tickets and seeks help in context	Helpdesk, support form	Embed support into the workflow for faster resolution
Admin & governance	Manages users, permissions, and template reviews	User management, Owner dashboard	Support governance with auditability and clear control points

Portal Design Guidelines

Color Pallet

Typography

Iconography

Buttons

Input Elements

Status Badges Color Pallet

Navigation System

Dynamic Tables

Design decisions

Decision	Reason	UX law/principle
Structured by core tasks (Templates, Orders, Services, Notifications, Support, Admin)	Helps users go directly to what they need without guessing	Hick’s Law; Jakob’s Law; Recognition rather than recall
Role-based experiences with a consistent foundation	Reduces learning effort while keeping each role focused on relevant actions	Jakob’s Law; Nielsen: Consistency & standards
Templates-first approach	Standardises inputs and improves first-pass accuracy	Error prevention (Nielsen); Recognition rather than recall
Guided “Raise Order” step flow	Breaks complex work into manageable steps and reduces overwhelm	Miller’s Law; Progressive disclosure; Nielsen: Visibility of status
Clear separation of Orders vs Services	Matches user mental models: “in progress” vs “active outcome”	Match to real world (Nielsen); Recognition rather than recall
Actionable, prioritised notifications	Ensures users notice what needs action and respond faster	Hick’s Law; Nielsen: Visibility of system status
Consistent UI patterns (tables, filters, chips, layouts)	Improves speed through familiarity and reduces mistakes	Jakob’s Law; Nielsen: Consistency & standards

IMPACT/RESULTS

The portal improved outcomes for both users and the business by making complex wholesale requests easier to complete, track, and manage.

MSP users benefited from faster onboarding and clearer access control, reducing repetitive admin effort.
VNO users could raise service orders more quickly with fewer errors, and track progress without constant follow-ups.
NBN users gained stronger oversight through consistent visibility of services and orders, supporting more confident decisions and governance.

For the business, this reduced rework and support tickets, improved throughput and reliability of service requests, increased transparency and accountability across stakeholders, and strengthened compliance through clearer role-based control and traceability.

Faster, more reliable ordering with fewer errors

Reduced support load and fewer escalations

Stronger governance (template review + audit logs)

Scalable onboarding and consistent template-driven ordering

Clear operational visibility via dashboards and overviews

Reduce operational and administrative costs and effort

RESEARCH

Before design, I completed a research phase to understand user roles, handoffs, and what could cause delays or errors.

These methods helped me make confident design decisions from the start, since the system was built from scratch.

Method	Purpose	Impact supported
Stakeholder interviews (MSP/VNO/Owner)	Align priorities, governance, handoffs	Reduced rework; clearer ownership
Task analysis (key flows)	Identify friction + redundancy	↓ time-to-order; ↑ accuracy
Journey mapping (role-based)	Visualise cross-role dependencies	Fewer escalations; better transparency
Information architecture review	Improve findability + mental model fit	↓ misnavigation; ↓ cognitive load
Usability testing (prototype)	Validate clarity and flow	↑ completion; ↑ ease-of-use
Support ticket review	Identify recurring pain points	↓ ticket volume
Analytics instrumentation plan	Prove impact post-launch	ROI + continuous improvement

INSIGHTS

Research showed that users mainly struggled with unclear ownership and limited end-to-end visibility, which led to repeated follow-ups and low confidence.

It also highlighted that consistent templates, guided steps, and simple, actionable status updates were key to reducing errors and speeding up completion.

Insight	What it suggests for design
Users want to know what to do first, without guessing	Clear landing actions and guided entry points
Users feel better when they can see where they are and steps left	Step-by-step flow with progress indicator
Users get frustrated when next owner is unclear	Show owner and next action on every status view
Users prefer consistent templates and examples	Standardised templates with short descriptions/examples
Users trust the system more with clear status updates	Visible status, timestamps, and “what happens next” guidance
Users check updates repeatedly when notifications are unclear	Actionable, prioritised notifications linked to the right item
Users want errors explained in plain language	Field-level validation with clear fix instructions
Users want to find items fast with search and filters	Strong search, filters, sorting, and saved views

DESIGN PROCESS

I followed a research-led, iterative design process to deliver the new Enterprise Wholesale Service Portal across MSP, VNO, and Owner roles.

I then mapped the highest-frequency task flows, to reduce handoff friction, prevent errors, and clarify ownership.

template selection
raising orders
tracking status
creating tickets

Design Process

Information architecture (Role-aware navigation)

MSP Site Map

VNO Site Map

NBN Site Map

User Personas

MSP

VNO

NBN

How I used personas to guide design decisions

User personas helped me design with real user needs in mind rather than assumptions. And Personas directly shaped the portal’s structure and interaction patterns.

EWSP Demonstration Journey

Portal Navigation

MSP

VNO

NBN

Key screens

Templates
Raise Order
Orders Overview
Services Overview
Notifications
Tickets
Owner Dashboard

Portal Wireframes

Create a User

Roles Management

Product Template

Services Overview

Bandwidth Pool - New Network Services

Field Management - Jobs - Overview

Help Desk

Notifications drop-down

MSP Reporting Screens

SOLUTION

Flows	User actions	Touchpoints	Opportunities
Onboarding & access	Logs in, receives role-based access, understands available tasks	Login, onboarding, dashboard	Create a smooth onboarding experience with clear role-based guidance
Template discovery	Explores and compares templates before starting a request	Template overview, template details	Improve comparison and understanding through clearer content and structure
Order creation	Completes a new service order using selected template	Order form, validation, review screen	Simplify complex forms with guided steps and inline support
Order tracking	Monitors order progress and identifies next steps	Orders overview, notifications	Improve visibility into status, ownership, and progress
Service management	Views live services and confirms order outcomes	Services overview	Separate active services clearly from in-progress orders
Notifications & updates	Responds to important alerts and workflow changes	Notifications, dashboard	Prioritise actionable updates and reduce missed follow-ups
Support & issue resolution	Raises tickets and seeks help in context	Helpdesk, support form	Embed support into the workflow for faster resolution
Admin & governance	Manages users, permissions, and template reviews	User management, Owner dashboard	Support governance with auditability and clear control points

Portal Design Guidelines

Color Pallet

Typography

Iconography

Buttons

Input Elements

Status Badges Color Pallet

Navigation System

Dynamic Tables

Design decisions

Decision	Reason	UX law/principle
Structured by core tasks (Templates, Orders, Services, Notifications, Support, Admin)	Helps users go directly to what they need without guessing	Hick’s Law; Jakob’s Law; Recognition rather than recall
Role-based experiences with a consistent foundation	Reduces learning effort while keeping each role focused on relevant actions	Jakob’s Law; Nielsen: Consistency & standards
Templates-first approach	Standardises inputs and improves first-pass accuracy	Error prevention (Nielsen); Recognition rather than recall
Guided “Raise Order” step flow	Breaks complex work into manageable steps and reduces overwhelm	Miller’s Law; Progressive disclosure; Nielsen: Visibility of status
Clear separation of Orders vs Services	Matches user mental models: “in progress” vs “active outcome”	Match to real world (Nielsen); Recognition rather than recall
Actionable, prioritised notifications	Ensures users notice what needs action and respond faster	Hick’s Law; Nielsen: Visibility of system status
Consistent UI patterns (tables, filters, chips, layouts)	Improves speed through familiarity and reduces mistakes	Jakob’s Law; Nielsen: Consistency & standards

IMPACT/RESULTS

The portal improved outcomes for both users and the business by making complex wholesale requests easier to complete, track, and manage.

MSP users benefited from faster onboarding and clearer access control, reducing repetitive admin effort.
VNO users could raise service orders more quickly with fewer errors, and track progress without constant follow-ups.
NBN users gained stronger oversight through consistent visibility of services and orders, supporting more confident decisions and governance.

Faster, more reliable ordering with fewer errors

Reduced support load and fewer escalations

Stronger governance (template review + audit logs)

Scalable onboarding and consistent template-driven ordering

Clear operational visibility via dashboards and overviews

Reduce operational and administrative costs and effort

KEY TAKEAWAYS

I learned that a strong design process is what makes complex systems feel simple.

In this project, I relied on a clear, research-led approach, understanding user roles, mapping the end-to-end journeys, defining a role-based information architecture, and then validating the experience through wireframes, prototypes, and early evaluation.

Each step helped me reduce uncertainty and make decisions with more confidence, especially in areas like navigation, workflow clarity, and status visibility.

This experience gave me a repeatable process I can apply to future projects.

I now know how to structure multi-role platforms, prioritise high-frequency tasks, and design for both speed and governance without adding unnecessary complexity.

I also learned to treat feedback and mistakes as part of iteration, not as failures, so I can move forward with clearer design standards, stronger reasoning, and better outcomes in the next project.

INDUSTRY

Telecommunication

PLATFORM

Web application