In Q1 2023, I led a UI/UX project to build a member portal for GENEX, a global genetic and reproductive solutions provider for dairy and beef cattle producers. The project aimed to enhance communication between the company and its member-owners, fostering a community where product updates, promotions, and industry-related discussions can occur.
GENEX’s unique cooperative governance system, facilitated by the delegate and council system, offers the senior leadership at GENEX deep insight into their vision for the cooperative.
As the number of members grew, the cooperative foresaw the need to create a portal where members could interact with other members, be informed about new products and special promotions, sign up for events, all in one platform.
The business goals for this project were to:
Create a portal that serves as a central hub for efficient and targeted communication between GENEX and its member-owners.
Develop a platform where members can easily access updates, promotions, and actively participate in community discussions.
Integrate features that encourage collaboration, sharing of experiences, and networking among members.
Create the UI to reflect a contemporary look of GENEX branding and enhance the overall user experience.
The management decided to break this project down into 4 phases. This case study will focus on phase 1, which centered on establishing fundamental functions for seamless internal communication and enhanced member experience.
Farmers have been using traditional communication for a long time (mailing, paper newsletter). They have a website and blog post, however, it’s not convenient because they are too general, not well divided. Different member tiers have different access to information. There is a lack of controlling and organizing information, events. The platform needs to be user-friendly.
Sorting out which features need to be focused on for phase 1 was a crucial part of the process. The sitemap was built keeping in mind the user research insights and the business goals of the project.
Phase 1 of the GENEX Member Portal Design Project focused on establishing fundamental functions for seamless internal communication and enhanced member experience. Some of the key features included in this phase were:
These features were designed keeping in mind the business goals of streamlined communication, centralized information, community engagement, and a modern design. They served as the foundation for the subsequent phases of the project.
In developing the member portal design system for genex.coop, the focus is on enhancing user experience through intuitive design elements. These include a visually appealing calendar for event management, customizable dashboards for personalized updates, profile sections for managing user details, and a document library for easy access to resources. Strategic placement of call-to-action buttons ensures seamless engagement. By integrating these components into the existing framework, the portal maintains brand consistency while delivering an intuitive user experience.
Member accounts will be automatically created from our existing database, which will be seamlessly integrated into the portal's backend. Upon completion, members will receive a sign-in link to set up their account. Future members can easily sign up using their email and membership number, streamlining the onboarding process for all users.
The GENEX Member Portal Design Project represented a significant advancement in modernizing communication with member-owners, receiving praise from both management and members. Employing a user-centered approach, the portal established a robust foundation, streamlining communication, centralizing information access, and fostering community engagement. Despite challenges, such as the manual transfer of members and seamless integration with the cooperative website and e-commerce platform, the project achieved a commendable user satisfaction rate of over 85%.
Addressing these challenges was vital to the success of the project. The manual transfer of members required meticulous attention to detail to avoid any loss or misrepresentation of member information. Additionally, integrating the portal with the cooperative website and e-commerce platform posed challenges, necessitating careful planning, coordination, and adjustments. Looking ahead, our goal is to build on this success, leveraging Azure's capabilities to enhance scalability and performance. Continuous user feedback will guide our innovation in the digital member engagement experience at GENEX, aiming for a 20% increase in user engagement.