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DIGITAL MACGYVER
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Portfolio

Bezos Academy

Project Name: Bezos Academy SharePoint Intranet

Client: Bezos Academy

Timeline: 6 months

Role: Lead Designer & Systems Architect

Team: Cross-functional (Design, IT, Operations, Leadership)

Overview

Bezos Academy needed a real digital HQ, one place where staff could actually get work done, not just read corporate fluff. Multiple sites, outdated pages, and scattered resources were slowing down a fast-growing organization.

My Role & Contribution

  • Led end-to-end design, from messy whiteboard to production launch.

  • Architected the information hierarchy and metadata system.

  • Ran workshops with staff; unfiltered feedback, no sugarcoating.

  • Coached department leads to own their content (and stop clogging up IT’s inbox).

  • Acted as translator between tech, ops, and execs. If it broke, I was on the call.

Design Approach & Thinking

  • Systems-first: Designed for scale, not just style.

  • User interviews and shadowing, watched real people get frustrated, then solved for those moments.

  • Content grouped by purpose, not just org chart.

  • Set up search and tagging so “I can’t find it” became a thing of the past.

  • Made the experience dead simple two clicks, max, to any resource.

Process & Collaboration

  • Workshops with frontline staff, not just managers.

  • Weekly feedback loops, if something sucked, we fixed it fast.

  • Built a beta group: “Power users” who broke things early and often.

  • Collaborated with IT on permissioning, templates, and rollouts, no lone wolf nonsense.

Systems & Technical Fluency

  • Built modular page templates for all departments.

  • Configured metadata, custom views, and automated news publishing.

  • Optimized for mobile, ADA/WCAG compliance.

  • Rolled out training for editors, so anyone could update, not just the techies.

Outcome & Impact

  • 79% drop in “where’s that file?” tickets.

  • 62% boost in intranet usage (measured by unique logins and file views).

  • 90% of departments now manage their own pages, IT finally has breathing room.

  • Onboarding time for new hires slashed by 48%.

  • Employees report: “It finally feels like our intranet, not another tool forced on us.”

Reflection & Learnings

  • You can’t design for everyone, so design for the 80% that matter most, and iterate.

  • Change management is real: train, remind, repeat.

  • Clarity over cleverness every time.

  • If your intranet doesn’t save people time, you failed.

Leadership & Influence

Concept

  • Negotiated priorities between C-suite, IT, and every department with skin in the game.

  • Taught department leads to be digital stewards, ownership is key.

  • Modeled transparency, openly shared both wins and pain points, so trust went up.

Process & Collaboration

Artifacts & Conversation Starters

  • Site map diagrams (ask me about the “two-click rule”)

  • User journey flows showing before/after pain points

  • Screenshots of modular templates and metadata-driven navigation

  • Documentation for editors and admins

  • Want to know how we convinced leadership to actually use the intranet? Ask me about “Inbox Zero Fridays.”

Quick Summary

Took Bezos Academy’s messy patchwork of files and communication and turned it into a true digital headquarters.
Results: less chaos, faster onboarding, and a culture of ownership.
Real work, real impact, no buzzwords needed.

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