Takeda Marketplace
Designing for Takeda's internal procurement platform.
Role
UX Design Intern
Duration
May – August 2024
Contributions
Shipped 7 features across 4 sprints
In Summer 2024, I moved from Los Angeles to Boston to join Takeda as a UX Design Intern on the Intelligent Workplace team. My work focused on optimizing user experience within Takeda Marketplace — the internal procurement platform for services, digital tools, and process approvals, used by over 70,000+ employees and contractors.
My summer was defined by working in multiple Agile sprints as the sole UX designer, partnering daily with engineers, product architects, and my manager (big shoutout to D'arce!), who worked cross-functionally across several teams.
Enterprise platforms grow complex — fast.
As Takeda expanded its service offerings, the Marketplace platform grew increasingly difficult to navigate. With a mix of physical products, digital services, and employee-suggested “concepts,” users struggled to find, understand, and interact with the tools they needed.
How might we improve usability, reduce cognitive load, and increase engagement across Marketplace's key features?
Getting Familiar: Heuristic Evaluation
To onboard quickly and deeply understand Marketplace, I conducted a heuristic evaluation of the entire platform using Nielsen's 10 heuristics.
Key Outcomes
Identified 10+ critical usability issues
Provided documentation and design recommendations
Created a foundation for feature improvements in future sprints
Planning & Onboarding
After onboarding, I was integrated into multiple cross-functional sprint teams. I joined daily stand-ups and collaborated closely with engineers and architects to iterate on designs and deliver production-ready mockups. My role involved creating UX solutions for various complex product types within Takeda Marketplace.
Designing for Marketplace's Core Item Types
Throughout each sprint, I worked on wireframes and high-fidelity designs for multiple Marketplace flows and product types.
Collections
Bundled services often used together (e.g. Onboarding Kit for new hires)Bundles
Customizable groupings of items that users can checkout simultaneouslyComparison Views
Interfaces to compare offerings side by side based on use case, ROI, and moreConcepts
A unique platform feature where employees can propose and vote on new services/tools. Each concept includes value assessment, risk, and effort levelsConcept Leaderboard
A visual summary of top-voted concepts company-wideLed UX for dropdown filters and leaderboard sorting mechanisms
05.
Design Decisions
Responsive Design for Scale
During my design ideation phase, I explored ways to adapt complex desktop search functionality to mobile for better responsiveness, ensuring consistent usability and information access across devices.
Enterprise Information Architecture
Given the wide variety of product types, I also worked on information architecture challenges in search and navigation — making sure content was discoverable, logically grouped, and usable by thousands of Takeda employees with varying goals.
What I Delivered
Design files and documentation for multiple Marketplace features
Delivered handoffs to engineering during each sprint cycle
Features were developed and launched to 70,000+ users
Adaptability is key. Switching between sprint teams and working solo as a designer taught me how to stay organized, flexible, and communicative.
Designing for impact. Knowing that my designs would reach tens of thousands of employees motivated me to prioritize clarity, usability, and scalability.
Cross-functional collaboration. Daily standups and direct collaboration with engineers and architects sharpened my communication and problem-solving skills.
⭐️ Bonus: Highlights of my sprint-packed summer
Working at Takeda gave me a front-row seat to how UX design operates at scale in a highly regulated enterprise environment. I’m proud and lucky to have contributed meaningful improvements to such a widely used global platform.
Of course, I also had a wonderful time in the internship program! From meeting incredible minds from around the world to honing in on skills and thinking that I love, the Takeda summer internship was an all-around fulfilling experience. :-)
GDTP Early Talent Summit
Daily matches by the office
My lovely co-interns <3
Thanks for visiting! Let's grab a coffee ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝
annaazhao@gmail.com ↗