Visitor Management Reimagination
Transforming a 2-minute paper-and-kiosk ordeal into a 10-second self-serve check-in — by replacing human-dependent processes with a modular, configurable platform built around the traits of a great host.
Visitors were standing in
line to fill out a form.
Visitor check-in at ServiceNow offices relied on a receptionist handing over a tablet — visitors typed their name, host, and reason into an aging web-component form, waited for an email confirmation to be issued by a human, and received a printed badge. The whole process averaged 2 minutes, backed up during peak hours, and left visitors stranded if the front desk was unmanned.
The product had a kiosk, but it was largely unused. The underlying web-component architecture couldn't support self-service flows. There was no QR code check-in, no passcode pre-registration, no wayfinding, and no way for hosts to configure what their lobby experience looked like.
The existing kiosk — aging web components, human-dependent flow
- →Average 2-min check-in, human required at every step
- →No self-service — visitors stranded if front desk unmanned
- →No pre-registration, QR code, or passcode capability
- →Web-component architecture blocked meaningful iteration
- →~5 facilities tickets per day for manual corrections
Reimagine, don't patch.
The default path would have been to add a QR code feature to the existing product. I pushed back — the underlying architecture couldn't support self-service flows, and building on a broken foundation creates debt, not value. The redesign rested on three decisions.
Five distinct visitor types shaped every design decision — from first-time guests to recurring vendors. Timothy represented the core experience we optimised for.
- Quick, frictionless entry to the workspace
- Understand protocols before entering
- Navigate to meeting rooms and amenities independently
- Unsure of the check-in process on arrival
- Unaware of office layout or location
From vision to validated roadmap.
I didn't just manage the designer — I drove the initiative. Here's how I structured the work and kept the team moving with clarity.
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01Created the vision design for cross-functional buy-inBuilt a high-fidelity prototype of the reimagined experience to make the case tangible. Presented to leadership and PM stakeholders to secure the mandate for a full redesign — not a feature addition.
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02Timebox + focused researchSet a 3-week research window to prevent analysis paralysis. I personally led chair-side sessions in the Bangalore office — watching real visitors interact with the kiosk, observing lobby dynamics, and capturing the moments where the flow broke down.
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03Empathy workshop with the teamRan a cross-functional workshop where the team mapped the visitor journey end-to-end — from the moment someone receives an invite to when they reach their host's desk. This created shared ownership of the problem, not just the solution.
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04Textual workflows before wireframesBefore any screens, I required the designer to write out the flows in plain text — every step, decision point, and error state. This caught logic gaps early and gave engineering a clear spec to react to.
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05PAC (Product Advisory Council) validationUsed coffee chat polls with the PAC customer community to validate intent and priority before committing engineering cycles. This gave us external signal that reduced internal debate about what to build first.
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06Prototype usability testing — 9 participants, 2 scenariosBuilt an HTML prototype and ran structured usability tests with 9 internal participants across two check-in scenarios. The sessions revealed specific friction points and affirmed what was working — giving us a clear punch list before engineering started.
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07What we learned — issues found & fixed4 key issues surfaced and resolved before build: no explicit "Next" button (users confused by Return key), on-screen keyboard obscuring host search dropdown, redundant "reason for visit" field, and no badge pickup guidance on confirmation screen."That was amazingly quick, very efficient. Couldn't be easier, as long as you have the code." — Participant 3"I wish it was this easy everywhere!" — Participant 8
A modular system
built for every lobby.
The redesigned Visitor Management product is a configurable, component-based kiosk platform. Instead of a one-size-fits-all form, workplace admins can configure which modules appear, in what order, and with what content — making the system adaptable to any office environment or visitor type.
The architecture was designed so that each module could be developed, shipped, and iterated on independently — allowing the team to deliver value incrementally rather than waiting for a big-bang release.
2 min → 10 sec
facilities tickets
first 60 days post-launch
through the new system
What began as a focused initiative became the foundation for a dedicated scrum team: 7 engineers, 1 PM, and 1 designer, with a 1-year roadmap we helped define. I worked with the PM to sequence modules by customer impact and engineering feasibility, ensuring the team could ship and learn quickly rather than over-commit to a big-bang release.
- New component architecture
- QR code check-in
- Passcode pre-registration
- Host notifications
- Badge printing
- Visitor Invitations flow
- Wayfinding module
- NDAs & document sign
- Room availability widget
- Admin config panel
- Branding
- Host experience
- Receptionist experience
- Banned visitors
- AI native host experience