Lotus Education & Arts Foundation: Improving Internal Workflows
Role: Design Strategist
Team: Foundation Leadership and Staff
Overview
The Lotus Foundation; a nonprofit organization based in Bloomington, Indiana, was experiencing operational challenges caused by disconnected systems and outdated digital workflows. Staff relied on manual processes, which slowed communication and created confusion.
My role was to evaluate the organization’s workflows and recommend improvements.
Research & Discovery
I conducted stakeholder interviews and mapped existing processes to identify inefficiencies.
Key findings included:
Manual steps slowed down routine tasks
Staff used multiple disconnected tools
Information was difficult to track across departments
User Segmentation & Stakeholder Mapping
Based on these findings, I categorized the staff into a strategic user ecosystem to identify whose workflows were most impacted by these silos:
Primary Users (Strategic Leadership): The Executive Director and Artistic Director, who required high-level oversight and a "centralized source of truth" for organizational decision-making.
Secondary Users (Operational Staff): A diverse group—including Project Managers, Educators, and Development Relations—whose workflows relied on seamless hand-offs and reducing manual data entry between departments like Bookkeeping and Community Engagement.
By defining these tiers, I was able to design a unified digital strategy that automates information sharing from the staff level up to the executive office.
Solution
I proposed a streamlined digital workflow and improved information structure to support better coordination across the organization.
The focus was on simplifying processes rather than introducing complex new systems.
Impact
Foundation leadership approved the recommendations and began moving toward updated systems to improve internal communication and efficiency.
Reflection
This project taught me how UX applies beyond traditional product interfaces. Much of the work involved understanding organizational behavior and communication patterns.
It also showed me the importance of designing within real-world constraints like budgets, staff capacity, and existing tools.
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