Broadridge’s DMEdge administrative system was built on Adobe Flex, a technology rapidly approaching end-of-life.
Project Brief
The Challenge
With modern browsers set to block Flex entirely, the platform faced imminent functional failure. The organization had only a few months to rewrite a highly complex administrative tool into a modern HTML-based system without disrupting daily users.
The Objective
Rebuild the administrative system in modern HTML while reducing cognitive complexity, preserving functional depth, improving confidence, aligning with evolving brand standards, and creating modular architecture for future enhancements.
Services Delivered
- UX Strategy
- Information Architecture
- Front-End Redesign
- System Modernization Consulting
- Cross-Team Design Leadership
Task time reduction estimate
Missed migration deadlines
Forced platform rewrite
Modernized foundation
01
The Challenge
- Core system built on deprecated Adobe Flex technology
- Hard deadline before browser-level deprecation
- Highly complex administrative interface with interdependent settings
- Users reporting confusion around system logic and value relationships
- Risk of operational disruption during forced migration
- Concurrent corporate rebrand affecting visual standards
Failure to modernize would have resulted in full platform inoperability.
02
User Pain Point Assessment
Before redesigning, we audited user experience across existing workflows. Feedback revealed high perceived complexity, confusion around how settings influenced system behavior, excess time spent administering configurations, and frequent errors caused by unclear control relationships.
Rather than replicate the old system in a new language, we focused on structural clarity.
Impact: identified key friction areas affecting administrative efficiency and established clarity and usability as primary modernization goals.
03
Taxonomy and Information Architecture
We cataloged every setting, control, and operation required for system administration. From there, we eliminated redundant or low-value settings, grouped controls into logical super-categories, organized settings by functional relationships, and structured navigation around intuitive mental models.
This reduced cognitive load by aligning the system with how users actually thought about their work.
Impact: estimated 20-30% reduction in time spent locating and configuring settings, reduced configuration errors, and improved onboarding clarity for new administrators.
04
Brand Integration During Live Rebuild
The redesign coincided with a major corporate rebranding initiative. We collaborated directly with corporate design teams, integrated evolving brand requirements in real time, and provided system-level feedback on brand usability within enterprise interfaces.
Screens were updated iteratively, ensuring compliance before final brand standards were formally released.
Impact: reduced need for post-launch brand retrofitting, delivered a fully compliant admin system at launch, and strengthened cross-team alignment between UX and corporate design.
05
Future-Proof Modular Code Structure
The accelerated rebuild could have resulted in technical rigidity. Instead, we worked closely with development to ensure modular code architecture, structure components for future feature expansion, and anticipate quality-of-life improvements outside initial sprint scope.
The result was not just a rewrite, but a flexible foundation.
06
Business Impact
The project transformed a reactive technology crisis into a strategic modernization opportunity. The redesign prevented system-wide operational disruption, improved administrative confidence, reduced user error risk, and created a stronger foundation for future platform evolution.
This was not simply a visual refresh. It was a time-sensitive architectural overhaul.