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Knowledge management · UX design

Connecting people to knowledge, and knowledge to action.

At State Farm, I led UX work focused on how employees find, contribute, and transfer technical knowledge. I partnered with product and engineering to connect a central hub, a contribution dashboard, and a guided knowledge-transfer workflow into one clearer experience.

Role
Senior UX Designer
Methods
User interviews · Workflow analysis · Information architecture · Dashboard design · Knowledge-transfer design

Problem

People couldn’t always find the knowledge they needed.

Documents, code, and resources were spread across different places. Some knowledge wasn’t written down at all. It lived with experienced employees and could leave with them. State Farm needed a way to make both easier to find and share.

  • Speed: engineers needed quick access to accurate, up-to-date information.
  • Findability: technical data and resources lacked a centralized, easily navigable home.
  • Continuity: expert knowledge was being lost when employees left.

Different teams needed different resources, along with ways to ask questions and work together.

Approach

I started with how people worked, not where the content lived.

Through user interviews and workflow analysis, I examined how employees found documents, asked for help, and shared experience. Engineers needed quick answers, but the challenge extended beyond search: information had to be current, connected to the work, and understandable to someone new.

I used personas and journey maps to connect those needs to the experience. That helped me define a hub that supports both finding knowledge and contributing it back.

01 / UNDERSTAND

Find the friction

Identify where fragmented resources, communication gaps, and knowledge loss interrupted daily work.

02 / DEFINE

Keep people in focus

Use Simone and Bill to examine the different needs of a new engineer and an experienced product lead.

03 / MAP

Connect the journey

Trace discovery, delivery, and contribution across the Hub, Confluence, Tsearch, and Jira.

04 / DESIGN

Make the next step clear

Translate the opportunities into resource navigation, contribution templates, metadata, and guided knowledge transfer.

My design focus became the continuity of knowledge: helping someone find it, understand it, use it, and leave it in a better place for the next person.

Approach · User interviews

Three needs kept coming up.

01

Engineers wanted instant, relevant search results.

02

People struggled to find a single place for organized technical resources.

03

Teams were concerned about losing knowledge when experienced colleagues left.

Approach · User persona

A new engineer and a product lead needed different starting points.

I translated the research into two personas to keep the work grounded in employee needs. Simone helped me examine the experience of getting started. Bill helped me consider the flexibility and shared context needed to move a product forward.

THE NEW CONTRIBUTOR

Help me know where to start.

About

A recent computer science graduate joining State Farm’s development team. Simone wants to turn academic knowledge into practical experience and contribute to meaningful projects.

EnthusiasticFeedback-seekingOrganizedTeam-oriented

Behaviors

Seeks feedback, learns from experienced teammates, and looks for practical examples she can apply to real development work.

Goals

  • A clear starting point with trusted, current documentation.
  • Examples, guided paths, and access to experienced teammates.

Pain points

  • A steep learning curve across the technology stack and coding standards.
  • Unclear team communication and unfamiliar development workflows.

What this meant for my design

I focused on clear entry points, recognizable resource categories, and guidance that moves a new engineer from searching to contributing.

THE EXPERIENCED PRODUCT LEAD

Help me connect the bigger picture.

About

An experienced product lead shaping product vision and delivery. Bill balances user needs, business goals, priorities, and resources while bringing a cross-functional team together.

StrategicCollaborativeBalancedDelivery-focused

Behaviors

Explores existing work, seeks cross-functional input, and balances short-term delivery with long-term product direction.

Goals

  • Space to explore existing work before committing to a rigid workflow.
  • Connected research, shared context, and a clear handoff to execution.

Pain points

  • Competing priorities and the tension between expectations and constraints.
  • Communication gaps and limited visibility across teams and tools.

What this meant for my design

I kept discovery and contribution connected. Search, related knowledge, and resumable drafts support exploration without forcing a premature commitment.

Personas represent user types. Portraits are AI-generated illustrations, not photographs of research participants.

Approach · User journey

Switching tools often meant losing context.

I mapped the actions, tools, questions, and friction across each journey. This moved the conversation beyond a single dashboard: an answer needs to be discoverable, trustworthy, usable in delivery, and easy to share back with the next person.

SIMONE STEVENS · SOFTWARE ENGINEER

From onboarding to a first contribution.

Simone is assigned an internal product but needs to understand its architecture, find reliable documentation, and know how to begin.

Explore the map from left to right. Swipe or scroll horizontally on smaller screens.

01

Landing in Hub

02

Idea / Discovery & Research

03

Discover

04

Create task

05

Build

06

Document & Contribute

ACTIONS

Scan options, look for direction, and understand the context.

TOOLS & TOUCHPOINTS

Hub landing page

ACTIONS

Choose a guided engineering path to build an app.

TOOLS & TOUCHPOINTS

Hub guided experience · GitLab / GitHub

ACTIONS

Read architecture, review APIs, and look for examples.

TOOLS & TOUCHPOINTS

Confluence · Tsearch

ACTIONS

Create or select a ticket and understand the scope.

TOOLS & TOUCHPOINTS

Jira

ACTIONS

Code, test, and integrate APIs.

TOOLS & TOUCHPOINTS

IDE · APIs

ACTIONS

Write down learnings and add examples for others.

TOOLS & TOUCHPOINTS

Confluence · Hub

CONFIDENCE THROUGH THE JOURNEY · QUALITATIVEUncertainEncouragedQuestioning trustSeeking clarityChallengedReady to share
FRICTION

Too many choices and no clear starting point.

DESIGN OPPORTUNITY

Guided onboarding and role-based entry points.

FRICTION

Similar options and unclear labels can confuse.

DESIGN OPPORTUNITY

Clear calls to action and a structured, role-based flow.

FRICTION

Outdated documents, too much text, and no obvious start here.

DESIGN OPPORTUNITY

Golden paths, code snippets, and structured templates.

FRICTION

Poor ticket quality and missing acceptance criteria.

DESIGN OPPORTUNITY

Pre-filled templates and generated tickets.

FRICTION

Missing reusable components and poor documentation.

DESIGN OPPORTUNITY

Shared libraries and reusable patterns.

FRICTION

Time pressure and little incentive to document.

DESIGN OPPORTUNITY

Recognition and an easy publishing workflow.

WHAT I TOOK INTO THE DESIGN

Finding a document is not the same as being ready to build.

Simone’s journey showed that orientation and trust matter before development begins. I used that insight to prioritize starter resources, a clear knowledge taxonomy, and contribution templates that make useful examples easier to create.

04 / SYNTHESIZE · TURN INSIGHTS INTO DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Help people get started and share what they learn.

Both journeys return to the same cycle: discover knowledge, apply it, and share what was learned. I used that cycle to connect the central hub, the Compass contribution experience, and the tacit-knowledge handoff rather than treat them as unrelated destinations.

Solution

Bring the resources together and make sharing easier.

I brought community sites, technical documents, code repositories, and discussions into a shared starting point. Tags and filters help people narrow their search, while updates help them see what has changed.

01 / FIND

Central hub with inline search

A single access point brings together community sites, recent documents, and popular discussions. Results appear as users type so they can get to a useful resource sooner.

Natural-language processing supports relevant search, while notifications highlight new content, document updates, and project changes.

  • Immediate access to relevant resources
  • Smart categorization with metadata, tags, and filters
  • Current information surfaced through updates
02 / PRESERVE

Tacit knowledge capture

Mentorship programs, expert interviews, and storytelling help capture the context that formal documents often miss. Exit interviews preserve valuable experience for future use.

Recognition gives employees a reason to make time for sharing knowledge and mentoring others.

  • Expert knowledge captured through conversation
  • Mentorship and storytelling to transfer experience
  • Recognition that supports a sharing culture
03 / PERSONALIZE

A redesigned home dashboard

The dashboard brings recent activity, search, and frequently used resources into one place. Employees can see new documents, updates, and discussions without checking each source separately.

Employees can focus on the information that matters to their role.

  • Recent activity and key resources
  • Document updates and community discussions
  • Search and profile controls within reach

Solution in detail · Central hub & dashboard redesign

A place to find knowledge, and contribute it back.

I translated the journey insights into three connected experiences: a hub for discovery, a dashboard for creating and resuming work, and a guided article flow. Each addresses a different point where useful knowledge was getting lost or becoming difficult to use.

Explore the design using the tabs below. This walkthrough demonstrates the screens without connecting to State Farm systems.

State FarmProduct Delivery Hub
Build & DeliverTest & ValidateOperate & MonitorLearn & Explore
Home › Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management

Welcome to Knowledge Management, Simone! Find the resources you need to start learning and contributing.

Cookbooks
Expert Finder
Learning
Articles
Metadata
Communities
Media
Blog
Wiki
My Contributions

New here? Start with these.

Learning the Cloud

Understand the cloud platform and the resources available to your team.

View resource
Starting with State Farm

Get oriented with essential tools, people, and development guidance.

View resource
Beginner’s Guide to GitHub

Find the foundations for working with repositories and contributing code.

View resource
Design walkthrough · Sample content · Not connected to State Farm systems
01 / 07

A recognizable home for knowledge.

The Product Delivery Hub groups resources by familiar content types and surfaces starting points for new employees. Expert Finder and communities connect documented knowledge with people who can explain it.

ORIENTATION

Give Simone a starting point

Recognizable resource categories and beginner guidance reduce the effort of figuring out where to begin.

CONTINUITY

Help Bill pick up where he left off

Search, related content, and resumable drafts support exploration without forcing an early commitment.

CONTRIBUTION

Make useful knowledge reusable

Duplicate checks, content types, ownership, and review cadence bring structure to the sharing process.

Solution in detail · Tacit knowledge transfer

Help the next person understand how the work gets done.

I extended the same thinking to knowledge that lives in people’s experience. I organized the handoff around a real transition, then added prompts for responsibilities, relationships, risks, and a receiving owner. That makes the context actionable for a successor.

Use the tabs to follow the handoff. This is a design walkthrough; it doesn’t collect or submit information.

SharePointSearch this siteDesign walkthrough

Enterprise Knowledge Transfer

Enterprise development & resourcesLeadership developmentEmployee development

Choose your path

Select the option that best matches your situation to begin the right knowledge transfer flow.

Leaving / Transitioning

Transfer knowledge before a role, team, or department change.

Explore this path
Project-Based Work

Document project knowledge, execution steps, and reusable work.

Explore this path
Learning / Onboarding

Find knowledge, contacts, and resources to get up to speed.

Explore this path
State Farm resources
Human knowledge

Connect with colleagues, managers, and subject-matter experts.

State Farm Mentoring Program

Find experienced mentors for career and role guidance.

Viva Engage sites

Share updates and build community across the organization.

Retirement & benefits

Explore retirement planning resources and contacts.

Knowledge articles & items

Find articles, guidance, and lessons learned.

Process & procedure guides

Access standard processes for your department and team.

Team document libraries

Find documents, templates, reports, and working files.

Social learning centers

Explore workshops, webinars, and peer learning.

Knowledge transfer templates

Structure and document knowledge transfer activities.

01 / 09

A clear entry point

Three situation-based paths help employees find the right knowledge-transfer flow without knowing internal terminology.

CONTEXT

Start with the situation

Scenario-based entry points connect the employee’s real transition to the right guidance.

CAPTURE

Prompt for what documents miss

Relationships, escalation paths, recurring decisions, and risks make expertise actionable.

CONTINUITY

Assign the next owner

Readiness, support notes, and completion checks clarify the handoff beyond submission.

Results

Less time searching, more knowledge shared.

40%

Reduction in search time

Faster access to relevant knowledge helps employees spend less time looking for information.

30%

Increase in knowledge sharing

Connected communities, forums, and expert resources help teams exchange knowledge.

Search and updates help teams get to current information. Mentorship, storytelling, and exit interviews help keep the practical knowledge that documents alone can miss.

Key learnings

Access matters. So does the experience around it.

01

Real-time collaboration

People need a way to ask questions and work through answers together, not just a place to store documents.

02

Personalized experiences

A dashboard is more useful when it reflects the person’s role and the work they return to each day.

03

Easy access to critical resources

Organizing resources and improving search gives people more time to use information instead of looking for it.

Next steps

Where I’d take the work next.

Planned enhancements include AI-driven recommendations for personalized content, expanded role-based customization, and additional integrations with enterprise tools.

I’d use continued testing and employee feedback to decide which of these planned improvements would help most.

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Let’s Talk

Have a role or project in mind? I’d like to hear about it.

Email

rob@stoutmedias.com

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