Delivering critical business continuity under pressure
Case study: Visitor Identification Cards (VIC)
Role: Senior UX Designer, Cross-functional Facilitator
The Challenge
A key airport client faced imminent business disruption when their legacy VIC system (critical for secure area access) was scheduled for decommission within 3-6 months. With no replacement solution and regulatory compliance at stake, this presented significant revenue risk.
My Approach
Research: Conducted stakeholder interviews with airport terminal supervisor to identify pain points
Key findings: Search lacked filtering, visit history wasn't visible, manual processes created compliance risks
Collaboration: Facilitated service blueprint workshop with development team and client relations
Strategy: Positioned as scalable MVP rather than one-off replacement
Service blueprint for the VIC process.Key Design Decisions
Information architecture: Prioritised 'Issue VIC' process as core MVP feature
Search functionality: Designed advanced filtering to address primary operational pain point
Compliance support: Added prominent visit history display and warning alerts for 28-day limit
Technical constraint resolution: Restructured into separate "Issue VIC" and "Manage VIC" pages when initial design conflicted with backend architecture
User validation: Two rounds of testing with airport supervisor refined solution
Results
Zero business disruption: Delivered functional system before legacy shutdown
Improved efficiency: Search filtering reduced staff processing time
Enhanced compliance: Automated tracking prevented regulatory breaches
Client satisfaction: Airport supervisor enthusiasm enabled immediate production deployment
Scalable foundation: Service design methodology became template for future client migrations
Key Takeaway
Success comes from balancing immediate client needs with long-term capability building. Proper research and stakeholder alignment prevents costly rework while creating competitive advantage.