01 — Product Overview
A unified platform for smarter workforce management
The Employee Portal with Time Tracking is a SaaS-based solution designed to streamline workforce management and elevate productivity. It allows organisations to effectively monitor employee work hours, track project contributions, and optimise operational efficiency through a user-friendly, intuitive interface.
The system also supports HR and payroll teams by automating time data, reducing errors, and ensuring accurate, timely compensation — connecting employees, managers, and HR administrators in a single coherent workflow.
02 — Responsibility
Information architecture, research, design, and end-to-end delivery
Research & Discovery
Research and create conceptual design. Define User Flow and prepare prototypes. Create conceptual design with wireframes (Lo-Fi). Create High-Fidelity prototypes.
Tools Used
Figma for all design and prototyping work. Adobe Illustrator for illustration assets. Photoshop for image editing and processing.
Design System & Testing
Maintain Consistency and develop the design system. Demonstrate and explain the functionality. Conduct A/B testing across key flows.
Collaboration
Worked directly with HR team leads, Finance stakeholders, and front-line employees to validate flows. Facilitated design reviews with product and engineering at each milestone.
Information Architecture
Developed the full Information Architecture for the portal — defining the navigation model, module hierarchy, and content structure across both mobile and desktop platforms. Ensured role-based IA that surfaces the right information to the right user without unnecessary depth or confusion.
03 — Problem Statement
Manual time tracking creating systemic inefficiency
Managing employee attendance, remote work, and payroll accuracy remains a challenge for many organisations. To address this, we designed a smart, automated time tracking system that integrates smoothly with existing HR platforms, enhancing transparency and efficiency.
-
01
Software companies struggling with tracking remote developers' work hours accurately This was leading to payroll discrepancies and employee dissatisfaction — with no reliable audit trail for disputed hours or missed project milestones.
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02
Manufacturing firms facing delays in approving overtime due to manual attendance logs Affecting productivity and morale — supervisors spent hours reconciling physical registers before any approval decision could be made.
Goals: The goal was to create a seamless and intuitive time tracking experience that simplifies employee and project management. By ensuring accurate data integration with HR and payroll systems, the design aimed to reduce manual errors, enhance transparency, and support efficient decision-making through a user-friendly interface.
04 — Design Process
User-centred from day one
To create an efficient and user-friendly time tracking portal, I followed a user-centred design approach. I began by empathising with HR managers and employees through interviews and surveys to uncover pain points around manual tracking and payroll errors. I defined the core problems, supported by quantitative data and competitive analysis.
Through ideation, I crafted solutions focused on automation, mobile access, and integration. I then prototyped intuitive interfaces and validated them through user testing. The final design ensured a seamless, role-based experience that streamlined operations and improved overall efficiency.
01
Understand
Empathise with HR managers and employees through interviews. Competitive analysis of existing tools.
02
Define
User Personas, Empathy Map, User Journey. Define the core problems with quantitative data support.
03
Ideate
User Flows, Information Architecture. Solutions focused on automation, mobile access, and HR integration.
04
Design
Wireframes, Hi-Fi Design, Prototypes. Intuitive interfaces for both desktop and mobile platforms.
05
Test
Feedbacks, Conclusion, Future Concept. Validated through user testing and iterated on pain points.
Design process timeline — 6-month phased approach from discovery to delivery
05 — Target Audience
Designed for three distinct user types
Reporting Managers, HR Teams, Finance, and Employees. Each group has distinct needs — from granular team oversight to simple, accurate self-service time entry. Every design decision was tested against all three lenses.
HR
HR Managers
Monitor attendance, manage leave approvals, run payroll reports, and oversee onboarding. Need real-time visibility and bulk action tools.
MGR
Reporting Managers
Review team timesheets, approve overtime and leave requests, monitor project progress and deadlines. Need team-level dashboards.
FIN
Finance Team
Access attendance data for payroll processing. Need accurate, exportable reports and integration with existing payroll systems.
EMP
Employees
Log hours, apply for leaves, view payslips, track project tasks and comp-off balances. Need a simple, mobile-first experience.
06 — User Research
Listening to understand how teams actually work
To understand how HR managers, administrators, and employees currently manage time tracking, the challenges they face, and what they expect from an ideal solution.
Unique Features Identified
Unified Dashboard: Combine time tracking, attendance, project updates, and payroll in one streamlined UI.
Personalised UX: Simplify complex workflows with user-specific views for employees, HR, and leadership.
Proactive Reminders: Smart notifications for missing time entries or upcoming approvals.
Transparent Feedback: Show employees how their logged hours contribute to payroll and performance metrics.
Research Methods
Semi-structured interviews with 12 HR managers across mid-size organisations (500–2000 employees). Diary studies with 8 employees tracking their daily time-logging behaviour over two weeks. Quantitative survey distributed to 120 professionals. Usability testing of existing tools to benchmark current task completion rates.
07 — Competitive Analysis
Where existing tools fall short
A review of leading time tracking and employee management tools — such as Harvest, Hubstaff, and Zoho People — revealed that while many platforms offer solid tracking features, they often fall short in areas like payroll integration, user experience, or remote work support. Most tools either focus heavily on freelancers or lack the depth needed for HR teams. This presented an opportunity to design a more unified, intuitive solution that bridges the gap between time tracking, project visibility, and seamless integration with existing HR systems.
| Company Name | Harvest | Hub Staff | Zoho People |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feature / Tool | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Time Tracking | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Project Tracking | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Remote Work Tools | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Integration | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile Support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
08 — Quantitative Research
Data that shaped every design decision
To support design decisions with data, we conducted a quantitative survey targeting HR professionals, Delivery managers, and employees across mid-sized organisations. The goal was to identify key patterns in time tracking behaviour, tool usage, and pain points.
"85% expressed frustration with the complexity of current systems, citing poor UX as a major hurdle."
— Survey finding, 120 HR professionals & employees
09 — Empathy Map
What HR managers and employees say, think, do and feel
To support design decisions with data, we conducted a quantitative survey targeting HR professionals, Delivery managers, and employees across mid-sized organisations. This goal was to identify key patterns in time tracking behaviour, tool usage, and pain points.
Says
- We need a simpler way to manage time and attendance
- The current process is too manual and error-prone
- Payroll issues are becoming a recurring problem
- It's hard to keep track of remote employee activity
Thinks
- There must be a more efficient, automated solution out there
- Errors in time tracking could affect employee trust and compliance
- If everything were integrated, we'd save hours each week
- The current tools slow down our operations more than they help
Does
- Trains employees on using time tracking tools despite them
- Cross-verifies attendance and work hours manually before payroll processing
- Coordinates with different departments to collect and clean up data
- Seeks out or tests new tools but might improve HR workflow
Feels
- Frustrated with time-consuming, error-prone manual processes
- Overwhelmed by the need to manage multiple systems
- Coordinating with different departments to collect and clean data is exhausting
- Hopeful for a solution that brings clarity and saves time
10 — Pain Points
Three critical failures validated by research
To support design decisions with data, we conducted a quantitative survey targeting HR professionals, Delivery managers, and employees across mid-sized organisations. The goal was to identify key patterns in time tracking behaviour, tool usage, and pain points.
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01
Manual Time Tracking Leads to Errors Relying on spreadsheets or disconnected tools often results in inaccurate time logs, leading to payroll discrepancies and employee dissatisfaction.
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02
Lack of Real-Time Visibility HR managers and team leads struggle to monitor attendance and project contributions in real-time, especially for remote or hybrid teams.
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03
Poor Integration with HR Systems Time tracking tools that don't sync seamlessly with existing HR or payroll systems create redundant work, delays, and frustration for administrative staff.
11 — User Journey · Persona: Srinivas M
For a use case: portal for managing employees, interfaces should be clean and clear
| Actions | Action 1 | Action 2 | Action 3 | Action 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task List | Design a Staffed Staffboard: 1. Simplify Time-Entry UI 2. Mobile Approach | 1. Integrate Payroll section 2. Auto Notifications & Reminders | 1. Offer Auto-Access to Custom Views | 1. Track & Visualise Performance Metrics |
| Feeling | 😐 | 🙂 | 😊 | 😄 |
| Thoughts | Create a centralised time for HR employees, and team leads that combines attendance, time tracking, and project updates for better team oversight | Implement a clean intuitive interface that avoid system defaults and quick actions (e.g., over-tap status — update fill for regular notifications) | Tailor dashboard permissions (e.g., HR employees manage) to improve information clarity | Provide clear reports and results that show logged hours, project contributions, and attendance trends for better decisions |
| Improvement Opportunities | 1. Show media deliver slider, spare 2. Preserve right words means rd |
1. Place media deliver slider, spare 2. Preserve right words means rd |
1. Show media deliver slider, spare 2. Preserve right words means rd |
1. Show media deliver slider, spare 2. Preserve right words means rd |
User journey map — Persona: Srinivas M · HR Manager touchpoints across key platform interactions
12 — Design & Wireframes
From lo-fi flows to high-fidelity screens
The final design covers both mobile and desktop experiences — with a dark-navy CES brand identity, clean card-based layouts, and role-aware dashboards. Mobile screens were designed mobile-first, with the desktop deriving additional density and module access.
Login
New (Overview)
Landing
Dashboard
Desktop — Manager Dashboard with team overview, task cards, and attendance panel
Desktop — Employee Dashboard with leave balancing, calendar, news letter and policies
13 — Key Takeaways
What this project taught me
Through user research and competitive analysis, I discovered that existing time tracking tools often lack integration, simplicity, and real-time visibility — especially for HR teams managing hybrid workforces. This insight guided me to design a unified, user-friendly solution that not only streamlines attendance and project tracking but also improves accuracy, transparency, and overall efficiency.
Unified dashboard reduces tool-switching by 60%+
Consolidating time tracking, attendance, project updates, and payroll into a single interface eliminated the need for employees to juggle multiple disconnected tools throughout their day.
Mobile-first design drives 90% employee adoption intent
Survey data confirmed that 90% of employees preferred a mobile-first solution with automatic reminders — validating the decision to build the mobile experience as the primary design surface.
Payroll discrepancies eliminated through automated HR integration
Direct integration between attendance data and payroll processing removed the manual reconciliation step that had previously caused monthly errors — a top pain point for both HR teams and employees.
Role-based views cut manager review time significantly
Tailored dashboards for managers, HR, finance, and employees ensured each user saw only what they needed — reducing cognitive load, speeding up decision-making, and eliminating unnecessary navigation.