CGI Design System

Problem Statement

How can complex public-sector healthcare solutions be designed, documented, and proposed in a way that aligns business goals, technical architecture, and strict accessibility requirements—while still being genuinely user-centred?

SUMMARY

At CGI, I worked at the intersection of UX Design, Business Architecture, and Technical Solution Design, primarily within public sector and healthcare initiatives.

My role focused on developing user-centred, accessible, and compliant solution designs as part of large-scale bid management and proposal processes. These solutions needed to meet increasing UX, accessibility, and regulatory requirements (EU and national directives), while remaining feasible within complex enterprise and manufacturing environments.

In parallel, I contributed to the development of CGI’s Design System, ensuring consistency, usability, and accessibility across proposals, prototypes, and delivered solutions.

⚠️ Challenges & Constraints
🛑 Strict public-sector procurement requirements
🛑 High accessibility expectations (legal compliance, not optional)
🛑 Complex stakeholder landscapes (business, legal, technical, end users)
🛑 Tight bid timelines with limited room for iteration
🛑 Regulated environments with architectural and security constraints

🎯 Goals
✅ Embed User-Centred Design into bid and proposal workflows
✅ Ensure accessibility compliance by design, not as an afterthought
✅ Align business strategy, UX, and technical architecture
✅ Communicate complex solutions clearly to non-technical decision-makers
✅ Reduce risk in bids by identifying UX, usability, and adoption issues early

👩‍🚀 Role: UX Designer & Business Architect (Bid & Solution Design Focus)

• Bid Managers

• Solution Architects

• Business Analysts

• Developers

• Public-sector stakeholders

I was responsible for:

• Solution design ownership

• UX strategy within bids

• Accessibility and usability compliance

• Prototyping and specification writing

• Stakeholder workshops and alignment

Key Activities & Deliverables

Standards & Compliance

• Implemented and validated against:

  • WCAG 2.1

  • ISO 9241

  • EN 301 549

• Ensured accessibility requirements were explicitly addressed in solution descriptions, diagrams, and specifications

Bid & Proposal Design

• Defined multi-disciplinary proposal processes

• Led Solution Design creation for healthcare and public-sector bids

• Wrote and reviewed UX and interaction-related proposal sections

• Identified UX-related risks and mitigations early in the bid phase

UX & Research

• Planned and facilitated:

  • Stakeholder interviews

  • Usability tests

  • User research activities (where allowed in bid context)

• Acted as the user advocate across business and technical discussions

Prototyping & Specification

• Developed low- and mid-fidelity prototypes to:

  • Validate workflows

  • Clarify requirements

  • Support stakeholder decision-making

• Produced UX specifications bridging design intent and technical implementation

DESIGN PROCESS OVERVIEW

The work followed a hybrid Double Diamond + Bid Lifecycle approach, adapted to procurement constraints.

1. Discover — Research & Context Building

Activities

• Stakeholder interviews (business, technical, domain experts)

• Analysis of tender requirements and compliance criteria

• Review of existing enterprise systems and constraints

• Identification of accessibility and usability risks

Key Insights

• Accessibility requirements were often under-specified but legally critical

• UX decisions had direct architectural and cost implications

• Clear visualisation of workflows significantly improved stakeholder alignment

2. Define — Framing the Solution

Problem Definition

• How might we design solutions that are compliant, usable, and technically feasible, while remaining understandable in a bid context?

Outputs

• User-centred solution principles

• Defined user roles and workflows

• UX-driven risk assessment

• Clear scope boundaries between UX, business, and technical layers

Design Principles

• Accessibility-first

• Transparency and clarity

• Scalability across product suites

• Risk reduction through early validation

3. Develop — Solution Design & Prototyping

What I Designed

• End-to-end solution workflows

• Interaction concepts supporting complex healthcare processes

• Prototypes used as:

  • Bid clarifications

  • Internal alignment tools

  • Risk mitigation artifacts

Collaboration

• Iterated closely with solution architects to ensure:

  • Technical feasibility

  • Security and compliance alignment

  • Architectural consistency

4. Deliver — Validation & Alignment

Validation Methods

• Internal design reviews

• Heuristic evaluations

• Accessibility checks

• Stakeholder walkthroughs

Outcome

• Well-aligned solution designs that balanced:

  • User needs

  • Business goals

  • Technical constraints

  • Regulatory requirements

Results & Impact

UX & Quality

✅ Accessibility embedded directly into solution designs
✅ Improved clarity and confidence in bid presentations
✅ Reduced UX-related delivery risks post-contract

Business Impact

✅ Stronger differentiation in competitive public-sector bids
✅ Clearer communication of complex solutions to decision-makers
✅ UX recognised as a strategic asset in bid management

Key Learnings & Reflections

This work strengthened my ability to:

• Operate strategically, not just tactically, as a UX professional

• Translate user needs into business and architectural decisions

• Advocate for accessibility in environments where it is legally and ethically critical

• Design under constraints without compromising user-centred principles