Online Bid Portal
‍- Thin Client

Lead Product Designer
Project Overview
Users exploit the system because they have no opportunity to explore bids
Vendors use the bidding site to find relevant opportunities and win contracts, but data showed a drop in engagement and misuse of free trials. To address this, I began researching user behavior. The platform also helps vendors plan by showing active bids and competitor interest.
Duration
3 Month
Deliverables
Website
My Role
User Research
Data Analysis
Prototype
Design System
Team
System Architecture
Business Analyst
Quality Assurance
Developer
Tool
Figma
Google Analytics(GA4)
Microsoft Clarity
Internal Admin Tool
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Search easier,
Track faster.

Navigate a product with ease but without any friction and reduce confusion and cognitive load to accomplish a task.
I focused on creating an intuitive and comprehensive interface. It enables the users to draw up a bid in the most seamless way possible. Also, to reduce ambiguities, I design with visual hierarchies while complying with WCAG2.2.

Challenge

With waves of bid opportunities pouring in daily, how can users search for and manage them more effectively?
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Summary
One key challenge was how vendors accessed and managed bid opportunities quickly and effectively. Previously, bid information was locked behind paid subscriptions. Vendors also struggled with unclear bid tracking, an outdated UI, and no mobile support. These issues led to higher bounce rates, subscriber drop-offs, and declining revenue. To address this, our team decided to rebuild the bidding platform for both desktop and mobile version, focusing on improving accessibility and efficiency for vendors while supporting business growth.
My Design Process
my process
Competitive Research

It seems like all the information is provided, but users can’t take any action without signing up

Original design
When I analyzed the UIs of other competitors, I found that they were much simpler and offered fewer features than us but had much higher customer satisfaction.
Too much information
Overloaded with information, about 34% of users bypassed the list view and accessed bids directly via email or search.
No Room to Explore
Users couldn’t view any information unless they signed up for the 30-day free trial, which some found burdensome.
Competitor 1
Competitor 1
  • Pros
  • Provide various advanced filters.
  • Easy-to-read card dashboard with numbers.
  • Private bids are also open for information.
  • Cons
  • Too many search criteria look cluttered.
  • Complicated bidding process.
  • UI is not optimized for mobile.
Competitor 2
Competitor 2
  • Pros
  • Eye-catching, informative bid list.
  • Lightweight but intuitive search bar
  • Cons
  • Requires to sign up to see information beyond the title
  • It's just a long list of information
Competitor 3
Competitor 3
  • Pros
  • Buyers' logo gives intuitiveness to recognize the company.
  • Simple interface and well-laid-out information.
  • Cons
  • A search function is relatively weak.
  • It's just a long list of Pricing is high compared to competitors.
User Survey

Users search bid opportunities daily with the custom filter they were set based on their business

Survey results
Most users search for bids based on their saved filters or business profile daily unless they're in the construction industry, where contracts are longer and more expensive. They are trying to gather more information to get government contracts.
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Users don’t want to miss any opportunities

User interview 1User interview 2User interview 3
Insights

As a result, users feel anxiety that they were missing out on many opportunities

Project goal
Instill confidence that users are not missing out on bid opportunities that fit their business profile
Project goal
Pain Points - Solutions
Pain points 1Pain points 2Pain points 3Pain points 4Solution 1Solution 2Solution 3Solution 4
Define User

Persona

Persona 1Persona 2

Journey Map

User journey map
UI Design
Start designing the UI based on the goals and personas I made earlier. First, identify the system flows and decide what solution I can provide in the flow. Then, create low to high-fidelity prototypes with our design system accordingly and deliver the handoffs to the development team. During this process, I conduct technical interviews with the development team, conduct user interviews for usability testing.
Work process
Wireframes & Flow
Wireframe
  • Getting feedback
  • I got feedback from developers and internal users through wireframes and simple prototypes.
  • Could you make the screen more simplified? It still seems like too much information.
  • I think putting the Advanced search filter below the search bar is a good idea. If it is hidden, users wouldn't be able to find it.
  • I like the idea of the quick-access menu. I think having a separate bid document(s) menu is way better. People tend to review documents first.
  • In the current system, the number dashboard is very time-consuming to develop because of the problems with solar. Can we move it to the next phase?


Final Design

Colour Scheme
Color palette
Font System
Button Variants
Font systemButton variants

Design System

Status
Primary
Colours
Color schemeSecondary color scheme
Typegraphy
TypogrpahyButton variation
Buttons

Responsive UI

I optimized all elements and layouts for small to medium screens by applying a grid system I created and CSS work-frame.

Prototype validation

Study Results
I conducted interviews with eight users, including five internal stakeholders and three external vendors, aged between their 30s and 50s. I tested the experience in a development environment that closely replicated the real platform, using an MVP to observe natural user behaviour. Additionally, I carried out focused usability testing on the search functionality with one internal and one external user to validate improvements in the user flow.
Prototype update
Prototype validation 1
Insight #1
By showing all of the filters at once, the user is misled into thinking that users must set a filter to see the results they want.

The Bid Listing already shows chronological results with the user's profile and closing date in the fastest order, there was no need to set all the filters, so I switched to dynamic filters for the ones that really needed.
Insight #2
The most popular feature of the Biddingo service is [Search with my profile]. It also means that it is the most utilized selling point.

Therefore, I made this feature visible to our users and made them more curious about it rather than writing about it on the pricing page. So I added a tab to browse the feature for the guests or browsers.
Prototype validation 2

Key Solutions UI

Pain Point 1

Users hesitate to subscribe without seeing the platform’s value first

1
2

Users are blocked from exploring. Search exists, but key details are hidden and there are no filters to help them browse effectively.

3

Removing the 30-day trial and offering only paid subscriptions makes the platform feel paywalled and unwelcoming. Users prefer competitor sites where they can access open bid information for free after a simple sign-up.

Solution 1

Enabling Exploration

I redesigned the experience to expose key portions of bid information without requiring signup, making the platform more approachable. When a buyer publishes a bid as “Open to Public,” we now fully reveal the bid details, encouraging users to freely browse and engage.

Access to the most critical information such as the bid documents is gated behind a payment, creating a natural user flow from curiosity to conversion.

Success matrix 1: Increase overall conversion rate by approx. 10%.

Pain Point 2

After achieving their goal, users hit a dead end.

1

After removing the 30-day trial plan, I introduced a free registered account with limited access to expand exploration opportunities. However, users returning to the bid detail page after submitting a bid often lost direction.

2

They went back to the listing and searched again, but the experience felt repetitive. The lack of continuity forced them to restart the search process by re-entering keywords and filters.

Solution 2

Optimized User Flow

To address this, I aimed to create a continuous user experience. Based on the user flow analysis, the second abandonment point(transitioning from bid detail to subscription) still showed a low engagement rate(68%).

I improved this by introducing a Related Bids section on the detail page to spark curiosity and guide users forward. Additionally, we added a “Search with My Profile” feature to the main tab, allowing users to see bids automatically filtered by their saved profile preferences.

Success matrix 2: Increase the number of active users or engagement rate by 10% or increase the number of page views per active user by 5%.

Results

Scaling Conversions 18.30% to 32.08% and Active Users by 25.81% of search page

Heatmap

Business Impact

Exceeding OKR Targets
Our primary objective was a 10% growth in conversion rate YoY. My work helped achieve a 53.44% increase in 2023 and an additional 14.03% in 2024, surpassing our OKR by over five times. This sharp growth aligned directly with the launch and optimization of user flows I designed.

2023

+53.44%

2024

+14.03%

KPI Improvements Across the Board
To boost engagement, I simplified the bid listing process, leading to a 12.51% rise in engaged sessions and a 25.45% increase in active users. The redesign reversed previous declines and restored user confidence.

Activer Users

+25.45%

Outcomes

Search Page Redesign: Key Driver of Engagement
I led the search experience redesign, resulting in a 25.81% increase in usage and a 19.16% boost in user engagement. The improvements reflect strategic, research-driven design that simplified complexity and rebuilt user trust.

Engagement Rate

+25.81%

eProcurement System
Expense Report
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Rebeccasong7@gmail.com
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