Enhancing scalability and performance by replatforming Intrepid’s CMS

Client: Intrepid Travel
Project Duration: 12 months
Role: Lead UX Designer/Project Manager (remote)
Team: 2 UX Designers, 1 UI Designer, an offshore development team, and a wider governance team comprising a Tech Lead, PO, PM, Digital Management, BA, Insights, and Brand team.

Intrepid Travel are a group adventure travel company offering more than 1,100 escorted tours worldwide. A certified B Corporation, the company's headquarters are in Melbourne where it was founded with more than 30 offices worldwide.

Step 1: Audit & Discovery Workshops

We conducted a comprehensive audit of the existing Drupal site to understand its current state. Many of the pages were legacy items, and numerous similar pages had inconsistent formats. By mapping out the entire site, we created a set of templated pages that informed content modelling. The Intrepid site is vast and global, making project mapping a significant task undertaken by a governance team comprising myself, a Business Analyst, Project Manager, Development team, Insights and Analytics, as well as CX and Management.

Following the mapping process, we facilitated a series of discovery workshops with stakeholders to gather insights into user issues with the current site, identify known pain points, and define project goals. To achieve this, I stepped outside the governance team and collaborated with customer support to gain access to grassroots issues.

Step 2: Defining our priorities

A significant part of this project involved working with the Product Owner (PO), Project Manager (PM), and Development team to balance priorities.

As this was a site-wide replatform, the opportunities for improving the user experience were nearly limitless. Realistically, as a design team, our role was to prioritise essential needs, identify desirable features, and create a backlog of nice-to-haves for future consideration.

Our top priorities as a team included:

  • Transactional ease: How might users research and book a trip as seamlessly as possible?

  • Accessibility: How might we ensure the site is accessible to all users?

  • User location: How might we ensure no user feels lost or left behind?

  • Navigational clarity: How might we eliminate any navigational confusion?

  • Visual refresh: How might we convey the excitement and experience of travel throughout our trip pages?

Step 3: Wireframing

We utilised Lean UX principles and rapid testing to create wireframes for the new site pages. This process allowed us to iterate quickly, validate concepts, and align with user needs.

Of particular importance were the Trip Pages—the core of the site, where users needed to feel both inspired and confident to make a transaction. These pages were designed to strike a balance between engaging visuals and clear, intuitive functionality.

Other high-value pages included:

  • Important Trip Information Pages: Content-heavy pages that played a critical role in reducing customer service demands by delivering essential details effectively and efficiently.

  • Wishlist Page: A dedicated space for users to save their favourite trips and find inspiration for future travel.

Key wireframing tasks included:

  • Creating low-fidelity wireframes to test layouts and functionality quickly.

  • Developing mid-fidelity wireframes to refine user flows and ensure alignment with user expectations.

  • Collaborating with stakeholders to validate designs against user needs and business objectives.

This approach ensured the designs were informed by user feedback and optimised for functionality, accessibility, and engagement.

Step 3: Design & Prototyping

With the wireframing phase complete, we transitioned into the design and prototyping stage, where concepts were brought to life in alignment with user needs and business goals.

This stage involved:

  • Visual Design:

    • Developing a modern and cohesive design system that reflected the Intrepid brand.

    • Incorporating visual elements that conveyed the excitement and adventure of travel.

    • Ensuring designs adhered to accessibility standards, such as colour contrast, readable typography, and clear interactive elements.

  • Interactive Prototyping:

    • Creating high-fidelity prototypes for key pages, including Trip Pages, Important Trip Information Pages, and the Wishlist Page.

    • Building interactive prototypes to demonstrate user flows, such as browsing, booking, and saving trips.

    • Testing prototypes with real users to validate design decisions and identify opportunities for refinement.

  • Collaboration with Stakeholders:

    • Presenting design concepts and prototypes to the governance team and stakeholders for feedback.

    • Iterating on designs based on insights gathered during stakeholder reviews and user testing.

  • Handoff to Development:

    • Preparing detailed design specifications and assets for the development team.

    • Ensuring a smooth handoff by collaborating closely with developers to address questions and maintain design integrity throughout implementation.

This phase was pivotal in bridging the gap between ideation and execution, resulting in a visually engaging and user-centric platform that met the needs of both users and the business.

Step 5: User Testing

Step 5: User Testing

User testing was a critical part of ensuring the success of the replatforming project. To validate our decisions and measure improvements, we conducted usability tests on both the old site and the new site with 10+ users from diverse backgrounds and demographics.

Key objectives of the testing phase included:

  • Benchmarking: Validating known pain points and usability issues on the old site to establish a baseline for improvement.

  • Validation: Testing the new site's design and functionality to ensure it addressed user needs and resolved identified pain points.

  • Insights: Gathering qualitative and quantitative feedback to further refine the user experience before launch.

The testing process included:

  • Task-Based Scenarios: Asking users to perform key tasks such as searching for trips, saving favourites to the Wishlist, and accessing Important Trip Information pages.

  • Comparative Analysis: Measuring user success rates, task completion times, and satisfaction levels on both the old and new sites.

  • Feedback Collection: Conducting post-task interviews to gain deeper insights into user perceptions and pain points.

Results from the testing phase highlighted significant improvements in transactional ease, navigational clarity, and user engagement on the new site. These insights not only validated our design and development efforts but also guided final tweaks to ensure the platform met user expectations.

Step 6: Incremental Delivery and Ongoing Refinement

The delivery of the replatformed site was an ongoing, incremental process, ensuring continuous improvement and adaptability throughout the project. By rolling out new site components progressively, we were able to gather user feedback, refine features, and address technical requirements in real time.

Key activities during this phase included:

  • Iterative Refinement:

    • Continuously improving site components based on user feedback and evolving technical needs.

    • Leveraging insights from analytics and usability testing to fine-tune functionality and design.

  • Atomic Design Principles:

    • Creating a comprehensive component library grounded in atomic design principles.

    • Ensuring a consistent and scalable design system that supported both immediate needs and future growth.

  • Collaboration with the Technical Scrum Team:

    • Working closely with the technical team to seamlessly integrate high-fidelity interface designs into the new headless CMS.

    • Aligning design and development workflows to streamline implementation and ensure quality.

  • Data-Driven Insights:

    • Using data to inform the development of standardised templates that enhanced the site's visual appeal and user experience.

    • Simplifying the development process through modular, reusable design elements.

This iterative and collaborative approach resulted in a user-centric platform that balanced aesthetics, functionality, and scalability. By incorporating atomic design principles and data-driven decision-making, we delivered a robust and future-ready digital experience for Intrepid Travel. This ensured that the new platform was not only effective at launch but also positioned for ongoing success in meeting the evolving needs of users and the business.

Final Deliverables:

  • The successful completion of the project resulted in the following key deliverables:

    1. Fully Replatformed Website

      • A modern, user-friendly site powered by a headless CMS, optimised for scalability and performance.

      • Redesigned Trip Pages, Important Trip Information pages, and Wishlist page, all tailored to improve user experience and drive engagement.

    2. Comprehensive Design System

      • A component library built on atomic design principles, ensuring consistency across all site elements.

      • Scalable and reusable components designed to accommodate future growth and evolving requirements.

    3. Standardised Templates

      • Data-driven templates that simplified content creation and development.

      • Templates optimised for visual appeal, accessibility, and usability across all user touchpoints.

    4. Improved User Experience

      • Enhanced transactional ease for trip research and booking.

      • Accessibility improvements to ensure inclusivity for all users.

      • Clear navigation and engaging visuals aligned with the excitement of travel.

    5. Incremental Delivery Process

      • A phased rollout strategy that mitigated risks and ensured continuous value delivery.

      • Iterative refinements based on user feedback and real-world performance.

    6. Extensive User Testing Insights

      • Comparative usability testing of the old and new platforms with 10+ users.

      • Actionable feedback incorporated into design and development, ensuring the platform met user needs.

    7. Collaborative Team Workflow

      • Seamless collaboration between design, development, and business teams to align goals and outcomes.

      • Integration of high-fidelity designs into the technical architecture with minimal friction.

    The final deliverables not only met the immediate project objectives but also positioned Intrepid Travel with a robust, scalable, and user-focused digital platform ready to support their global audience and long-term business goals.

Conclusion

The CMS replatform project was a major milestone for Intrepid Travel’s digital presence, creating a modern, user-focused platform designed to grow and adapt. It was a project I absolutely loved being part of, as it gave me the opportunity to lead a talented team and drive a large-scale initiative that truly made an impact.

By working collaboratively, we tackled user pain points, enhanced the booking experience, and ensured the site was accessible for everyone. Using atomic design principles, we built a flexible component library that kept the design consistent and scalable. Delivering the site incrementally allowed us to keep testing and improving, reducing risks and ensuring everything ran smoothly. The new headless CMS, combined with data-driven templates, not only improved the site’s look and feel but also simplified content management and development for the future.

This project was more than just a chance to solve today’s challenges; it was about laying the groundwork for Intrepid Travel’s long-term success. Leading such a dynamic and collaborative team was a privilege, and the experience strengthened my ability to guide projects of this scale and deliver meaningful outcomes.