BOARDSPACE

Streamlining governance workflows for nonprofit boards

Project Type: Website

Role: UX/UI Designer

Date: February 11, 2025

INTRODUCTION

PROJECT BACKGROUND

BoardSpace is a web application designed to help nonprofit governance boards manage meetings, create agendas, and take minutes efficiently. However, the existing platform suffered from complex workflows, redundant steps, and an unintuitive interface, making it difficult for users to complete essential tasks. Our team was tasked with redesigning the user experience to create a more intuitive, time-efficient solution that would streamline meeting creation and minute-taking. This case study outlines our process—from research and competitive analysis to prototyping and final design—that resulted in a modernized, user-friendly platform for BoardSpace.

Goal

"Board management software so easy you don't know you're using it!"

Par Crosscombe (CEO, Boardspace)

Problem

Time-consuming, confusing, and difficult meeting creation, agenda building, and minute-taking flow.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The platform’s “Create Meeting” and “Minute-Taking” workflows were critical but inefficient, plagued by excessive steps, cluttered interfaces, and poor responsiveness on smaller screens. These issues led to frustration and inefficiency for nonprofit users. Our main objective was to revise and refine the current prototype by focusing on:

Optimizing the “Create Meeting” flow
- Reduce unnecessary steps and redundant elements.
- Improve agenda-building with clearer structure and document integration.
- Streamline the user experience for faster meeting setup.
Streamlining the “Minute-Taking” process
- Address overcrowded pages and improve formatting for smaller screens.
- Replace complex tables with collapsible panels for a cleaner UI.
- Ensure clarity in adding, editing, and approving minutes.
Enhancing the platform’s usability
- Improve information architecture for better organization.
- Refine the visual design to improve clarity and accessibility.

MY ROLE

As a UX Designer on this project, I played a key role in leading meetings, client communication, and research efforts, specifically focusing on competitive analysis, hi-fi wireframing, and prototype iterations. My primary responsibilities included:

Leading the research phase, conducting a competitive analysis to benchmark BoardSpace against similar platforms.
Designing the initial screens for the “Meetings” flow and ensuring UI clarity.
Reviewing the entire prototype to maintain consistency in design, tone, and style.
Contributing to key deliverables, including the introduction, competitive analysis, and conclusion sections of our final team presentation.
Collaborating directly with the company CEO (the client) to gather feedback and implement improvements.

TOOLS USED

Throughout the project, we utilized a variety of tools for research, design, and communication, including:

Design & Prototyping: Figma, Unsplash
Research & Documentation: Xtensio, Google Docs, Google Slides
Collaboration & Communication: Miro, Canva, Zoom, Google Meet, GoToMeeting, Keynote, Slack

TIME CONSTRAINTS & TEAM STRUCTURE

This project was completed over a five-week timeline, with weekly virtual check-ins to ensure progress. Our team of four designers worked collaboratively, sharing responsibilities across research, design, usability testing, and client communication. Direct communication with the BoardSpace CEO allowed us to iterate efficiently based on real-time feedback.

By applying user-centered design principles—minimalism, clear feedback, and flexibility—we transformed BoardSpace into a more intuitive and efficient tool for nonprofit governance boards.

DISCOVERY

UNDERSTANDING USER NEEDS & PAIN POINTS

The discovery phase began with an in-depth exploration of BoardSpace users’ experiences. Our primary source of insights was Pat Crosscombe, BoardSpace’s CEO, who provided access to critical user feedback, including interview data, testing scripts, protocols, and usability reports. Pat’s deep knowledge of the user base helped us identify key challenges in the platform’s usability.

Key User Frustrations

Through our research, we identified three primary pain points:

Too Many Steps: Users found the meeting setup and agenda management processes unnecessarily complex.
Inconsistent Workflows: The flow for creating, reviewing, and editing meetings lacked clarity.
Cluttered Interface: Users were overwhelmed by excess information, which hindered navigation and task completion.

key challenges in the platform’s usability.

SYNTHESIZING USER INSIGHTS

To structure our findings, we employed UX research methodologies, including Affinity Mapping, Empathy Mapping, and User Personas.

Affinity Mapping: Identifying Patterns

We organized user frustrations into key themes:

Meeting Creation Complexity: Users struggled with excessive screens and unclear navigation.
Agenda Builder Challenges: The interface was unintuitive and required too many steps.
Difficulties with Minutes Taking: Users found it hard to locate essential tools for adding motions, actions, and signatures.

Empathy Mapping: Understanding User Emotions

To capture how users felt while interacting with the platform, we created empathy maps. Key takeaways included:

Users felt overwhelmed by the number of steps in meeting creation.
They were frustrated by the unintuitive agenda builder layout.
Managing meeting minutes was stressful due to cluttered and hard-to-find tools.
They desired a streamlined, time-saving workflow.

User Personas: Defining the Primary Users

We developed two data-driven personas based on the above research. These personas provided a clear direction for design decisions, ensuring that improvements were aligned with user needs.

Sarah, the Condo Association Manager

Needs a simplified way to create meetings and agendas.
Struggles with time-consuming administrative tasks.

David, the Board Secretary

Wants efficient tools for taking and managing meeting minutes.
Finds the current interface cluttered and unintuitive.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

To better understand industry standards and opportunities for differentiation, we analyzed five competitor platforms: Boardable, OnBoard, BoardPro, My Board View, and Dropbox Paper.

Key Findings

BoardPro offered the best balance between usability and structure, making it an ideal model for BoardSpace.
OnBoard had a highly structured, feature-rich experience but was costly and complex.
Boardable was user-friendly but had occasional usability issues and a learning curve.
My Board View was free but outdated and lacked advanced features.
Dropbox Paper excelled in real-time collaboration but was unsuitable for structured board management.

Design Implications

BoardSpace needed a clear and structured UI like BoardPro.
Real-time collaboration from Dropbox Paper could enhance minute-taking workflows.
A balance between simplicity and functionality was crucial for adoption among the 50+ age group with varying levels of tech proficiency.
Affordability and accessibility would be a competitive advantage.

Focus for Competitor-Inspired Improvements

After reviewing UI designs, we decided to focus on BoardPro and Boardable for feature inspiration due to their strong usability balance.

HEURISTIC EVALUATION

To assess usability, we conducted a heuristic evaluation comparing BoardSpace’s existing sandbox platform with the first iteration of our prototype. Our goal was to merge the best elements while introducing a cleaner, more intuitive interface.

Key Usability Findings

Screen Shot 2025-02-14 at 10.52.39 AM.png

By synthesizing user insights, evaluating competitors, and conducting heuristic testing, we built a strong foundation for BoardSpace’s UX/UI redesign. Our next steps included wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing to ensure the final product was intuitive, efficient, and user-friendly while aligning with the needs of BoardSpace’s primary users.

DESIGN

APPROACH & CONSTRAINTS

We worked directly on high-fidelity wireframes and an interactive prototype, refining the interface while adhering to several key constraints:

Technical limitations: Large-scale design changes were not feasible due to backend constraints.
User familiarity: Since users were accustomed to the existing platform, changes had to be incremental to avoid disrupting their workflows.
User testing considerations: Due to time constraints and Pat’s (BoardSpace’s CEO) preference, no formal user testing was conducted. Instead, iterations were based directly on feedback from Pat’s intimate knowledge of the user base.

USER FLOWS

Additionally, basic user flows were provided by BoardSpace (Pat) as a foundation for improvement, ensuring the redesign remained aligned with existing platform expectations.

Creating a Meeting Flow

Minute-Taking Flow

STYLE GUIDE

The style guide was also provided by Pat, ensuring consistency in typography, colors, and UI components throughout the design process. Click here for a link to BoardSpace’s style guide.

ITERATION PROCESS

Our initial design process started with a more creative reimagining of the interface. The team developed two design solutions, aiming for a more streamlined and intuitive experience. However, after reviewing these with Pat), we learned that certain core design decisions could not be altered due to system constraints.

First Iteration

Addressed heuristic evaluation findings by simplifying the UI, improving feedback mechanisms, and increasing user control.
Incorporated Pat’s feedback while ensuring alignment with the existing style guide.

Meeting Creation

Agenda Creation

Minute Taking

Meetings_ Upcoming- Secretary view (1).png

Second Iteration

Adjusted the design based on Pat’s clarification of workflows and UI details.
Focused on maintaining familiarity for existing users while improving efficiency.
After reviewing this iteration, Pat confirmed we were on the right track but requested minor refinements.

Meeting Creation

Agenda Creation

Minute Taking

Final Iteration & Handoff

Implemented all final adjustments and refinements requested by Pat.
Ensured the prototype was fully functional and cohesive across all screens.
Made minor adjustments post-handoff to refine the user experience further.

Meeting Creation

Meetings_ Current- Secretary view (1).png

Meetings_ Finalized- Secretary view (1).png

Meetings_ Finalized- Director view (1).png

Agenda Creation

Minute Taking

Filled out agenda draft_ secretary view.png

FINAL PROTOTYPE WALKTHROUGH

Meeting Home Page

Meetings are now categorized into Current (in-progress) and Approved (finalized and locked for editing)
Each meeting row displays title, location, and date for quick reference.
Users can create a new meeting by clicking “Add New Meeting,” which opens a form for entering key details like title, location, and type.

Agenda Builder

Redesigned as a document-style interface for intuitive agenda creation.
Users can add items, sub-items, and notes with a floating header bar providing quick access to the “Add Item” button.
A right-hand sidebar allows for drag-and-drop file attachments.
Items are draggable, enabling users to rearrange the agenda easily.
The header displays the meeting title and includes a commenting feature.

Minutes Page

Displays all meeting minutes in a long, scrollable document for easier navigation.
Clicking an agenda item in the left-hand menu scrolls the page to the relevant section.
The attendance section is collapsible, allowing users to minimize it after attendance is recorded.

Secretary Mode (What Secretaries Can Do)

Redact content
Add motions, actions, and signatures at the adjournment section

Director Mode (What Directors Can Do)

Provides read-only access to finalized meeting minutes and agenda items.
Ensures that only authorized users can make edits, maintaining document security and version control.

By balancing user experience improvements with technical constraints, we refined BoardSpace’s core workflows while keeping changes intuitive for existing users. The iterative prototype development process ensured that BoardSpace’s platform remains efficient, structured, and easy to navigate, fulfilling both business and user needs.

Explore the final interactive prototype here:

CONCLUSION

Designing for nonprofit governance tools requires a deep understanding of user pain points, workflows, and constraints. Through user research, competitive analysis, and heuristic evaluations, we identified critical usability challenges and redesigned BoardSpace to be more intuitive, structured, and efficient.

By applying minimalist design principles, clear feedback mechanisms, and flexible workflows, we improved meeting creation, agenda management, and minute-taking while maintaining a familiar experience for existing users. Our iterative approach, guided by stakeholder feedback, allowed us to refine the prototype without disrupting established user habits.

LESSONS LEARNED

Balancing User Needs & Technical Constraints

Large-scale redesigns may not always be feasible, especially when working with existing platforms. Understanding system limitations early helps create impactful yet practical solutions.

The Power of Iteration

Refining designs based on stakeholder-driven feedback ensured our solution remained both usable and technically viable. This experience reaffirmed that UX is an evolving process, not a one-time fix.

Designing for a Less Tech-Savvy Audience

BoardSpace’s users, 50+ and not highly tech-proficient, needed a design that prioritized clarity, familiarity, and ease of use over drastic changes. This reinforced the importance of cognitive load reduction and accessibility in UX.

User Testing Trade-Offs

While we couldn’t conduct direct user testing, working closely with a stakeholder deeply familiar with the user base allowed for informed decision-making. However, real user feedback remains critical for long-term improvements.

FUTURE STEPS

User Testing & Validation: Conduct usability testing with actual users to validate assumptions and further optimize workflows.
Feature Enhancements: Introduce optional advanced features for power users while maintaining core simplicity.
Mobile & Accessibility Improvements: Ensure mobile responsiveness and incorporate accessibility features to expand usability.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This project reinforced the importance of user-centered design in nonprofit tools, where efficiency and clarity are paramount. By balancing usability enhancements with business constraints, we delivered a modern, intuitive solution that supports nonprofit governance boards while respecting their existing workflows.

Previous Project