Information architecture · secure delivery · adoption

Transforming a complex ERP archive into a role-based resource center.

A public-sector implementation left years of useful decisions, designs, and working files trapped inside overlapping collaboration pages. I rebuilt the experience around the question users actually ask: What decision was made and why?

Sanitized demonstrationOrganization names, filenames, people, links, and documents have been replaced. No client material is available on this page.

500+records normalized and indexed

45substantive integration documents recovered

3role-based entry points

1secured source of truth

The problem

The collaboration structure had become the obstacle.

Legacy users did not need another reconstruction of the original page hierarchy. They needed the right attachment from the right functional workgroup. Multiple pages referenced the same files, filenames were inconsistent, placeholders looked authoritative, and technical documents were separated from the people who needed them.

I reframed the archive as a retrieval product. The organizing principle became the user’s department, followed by topic, document type, format, and search—not the history of where a page happened to live.

My contribution

Recovered the record

Extracted attachments, reconciled standalone exports, identified empty artifacts, and preserved original source associations.

Designed the taxonomy

Classified content for Human Resources, Finance, and IT, then added topic, type, format, and quality signals.

Built for retrieval

Created an attachment-first interface with deduplication, search, filters, and clear departmental entry points.

Secured the archive

Separated the public interface from private objects, added passwordless access, and restricted retrieval to an explicit allowlist.

Interactive demonstration

Documents by department.

Choose a functional area and explore fictional records that demonstrate the final interaction model.

Before and after

From archive archaeology to direct retrieval.

Before

Page hierarchy as the interface

Weekly meetingDesign decisionsFunctional workgroupIntegration pageAttachments

Duplicate files across pages
Placeholders mixed with approved artifacts
Users needed project-history knowledge

After

Department and file as the interface

Choose department→Search or filter→Open the governed file

One deduplicated record per file
Source history retained as metadata
Quality signals hide archive debris

What I would do differently

I over-weighted approval and under-designed user validation.

I treated leadership representation as sufficient evidence of how work happened. It was not. My responsibility was to create a practical way for real users to expose exceptions without turning them into project staff.

My original emphasisApproval as the primary signal

ExecutivesApprove

↑

Department headsRepresent

↑

Real usersReceive

My blind spotexceptions · handoffs · workarounds

My improved approachEvidence before irreversible decisions

1Users provide operational evidence

→

2Project team translates it

→

3Leaders make the tradeoffs

Protected—not excluded.Representative users · paid time · manager and union coordination

01Observe real work45–60 min

→

02Review the design30 min

→

03Test exceptions60–90 min

→

04Confirm the fix15 min

Frontline staff contribute operational evidence; the project team translates it; leadership makes the tradeoffs.

Solution architecture

A public interface never exposes the private archive.

The portfolio demonstration below uses public synthetic PDFs. The production pattern separates identity, application logic, document metadata, and private object storage.

01Approved userPasswordless identity verification

→

02Access gatewayAllowlist and session validation

→

03Document indexSafe metadata and governed paths

→

04Private storageTime-limited authorized retrieval

Design decisions

Built for behavior, not documentation theory.

Department first

The first choice mirrors organizational identity and removes the need to understand the implementation hierarchy.

Attachments over pages

Files are the primary object. Source pages remain provenance, not navigation.

Quality signals

Empty files, samples, and placeholders are hidden by default so users are not asked to interpret archive debris.

Useful security

Authentication is lightweight for approved users while the underlying document store remains private.

Outcome

The archive became a usable operational product.

The result preserved implementation knowledge without forcing employees to become collaboration-platform archaeologists. It also created a maintainable legacy resource: one interface, one access model, and a structure aligned to the teams responsible for the work.

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