Shipped ↗

0-1: Building an automated Ticket Tracking System

From spreadsheets to seamless automated software: designed a ticket management tool that boosted transfers 160% and achieved 98% user satisfaction

Role

Product Designer

Industry

Sports & Entertainment

Duration

6 months

My Responsibilities

Led complete product design lifecycle from discovery to launch, including stakeholder research, system architecture, wireframing, UI design, usability testing, and cross-functional collaboration for responsive web and mobile experiences.

The Challenge

MLSE provides employees with game tickets (Leafs, Raptors, TFC) as part of their benefits package. Premium tickets like courtside seats are offered at cost, and employees pay only taxes rather than the full market value. However, Ontario's $500 annual tax benefit limit means employees must track and report excess amounts.

The existing manual system created significant problems:

Compliance Risk: No automated tracking of taxable benefits over $500 threshold
Operational Inefficiency: Spreadsheet-based transfers led to unused premium inventory
User Frustration: Employees couldn't see spending history or tax implications
Revenue Loss: Poor visibility resulted in expired, unused tickets

High-Level Goals

Primary Business Objectives:

Ensure 100% tax compliance with Ontario's $500 benefit threshold to eliminate regulatory risk
Maximize ticket utilization by streamlining transfers and reducing expired inventory
Automate Finance operations to eliminate manual tax calculations and reporting errors

User Experience Goals:

Create transparency so employees understand their tax implications before accepting tickets
Reduce friction in ticket transfers to encourage sharing and prevent waste
Build trust through clear, real-time spending visibility and automated accuracy

Technical & Organizational Goals:

Replace legacy spreadsheet system with a scalable, maintainable digital platform
Integrate with existing HR/Finance workflows to minimize operational disruption
Design for growth to accommodate future events, venues, and benefit types

Strategic Approach

High-Level Goals

As the founding Product Designer on the Engineering team, I identified this as both a compliance necessity and an employee experience opportunity. My strategy focused on transforming a reactive compliance tool into a proactive benefits management platform.

Primary Business Objectives:

Ensure 100% tax compliance with Ontario's $500 benefit threshold to eliminate regulatory risk
Maximize ticket utilization by streamlining transfers and reducing expired inventory
Automate Finance operations to eliminate manual tax calculations and reporting errors

User Experience Goals:

Create transparency so employees understand their tax implications before accepting tickets
Reduce friction in ticket transfers to encourage sharing and prevent waste
Build trust through clear, real-time spending visibility and automated accuracy

Technical & Organizational Goals:

Replace legacy spreadsheet system with a scalable, maintainable digital platform
Integrate with existing HR/Finance workflows to minimize operational disruption
Design for growth to accommodate future events, venues, and benefit types

Strategic Approach

The Solution

Designed and launched a comprehensive Ticket Tracking System (TTS) that automated tax compliance while creating transparency and efficiency across the entire ticket lifecycle.

Key features delivered

Employee Dashboard

Real-time spending tracker with $500 tax threshold visibility
Historical transaction views and upcoming events calendar
One-click ticket transfers with automated notifications

Administrative Tools

Bulk ticket uploads and assignment workflows
Automated tax reporting for Finance and HR teams
Advanced analytics and utilization reporting

Compliance Engine

Automatic calculation of taxable benefits above $500 limit
Year-end tax reporting integration
Audit trail for all transactions

Business Impact

Reviews

"Layla played a crucial role in transforming the UX for MLSE's employee benefits calculation project. From prototyping to productionization, she gathered stakeholder requirements, iterated designs collaboratively, and ensured technical feasibility through meticulous wireframing and engineering alignment. Despite limited meeting time, Layla's proactive approach led to the project's successful company-wide launch, earning exceptional user feedback."