Enterprise Identity Management for Uber
A unified enterprise admin platform – simplifying user management, access control, and organizational onboarding across all business divisions.
Uber's enterprise customers struggled with fragmented admin experiences across different Uber services, lacking unified identity management and organizational hierarchy tools.
My Contribution: UX Designer in cross-functional team, responsible for user experience design, prototyping, and design system implementation.
My Contribution: UX Designer in cross-functional team, responsible for user experience design, prototyping, and design system implementation.
TL;DR
1 · Problem Statement
Design Challenge
Uber's enterprise customers faced significant friction managing their organizations across multiple Uber services. Each Line of Business (LoB) operated independent admin portals with inconsistent patterns, making it nearly impossible for enterprise administrators to efficiently manage their teams' access and permissions.
Core Problems Identified
Fragmented Experience: Different patterns across LoBs created inconsistent information architecture, forcing administrators to learn multiple systems for managing the same organizational needs;
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Lack of Hierarchy Management: No clear way to create or navigate enterprise hierarchies, from C-level executives down to local team members, preventing scalable organization management;
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Limited Role Flexibility: Rigid admin/employee binary system couldn't represent the complex permission structures that real enterprises require;
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Technical Debt Accumulation: Duplicative initiatives across LoBs led to redundant tech stacks and mounting technical debt, slowing down feature development.
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We analyzed six major enterprise identity management platforms to understand market standards and identify differentiation opportunities:
- Okta – Strong SSO capabilities but complex setup process;
- Google Admin Console – Excellent hierarchy management but limited customization;
- Office 365 Admin – Comprehensive but overwhelming interface for smaller organizations;
- Workplace by Meta – Intuitive social-style interface but lacking enterprise-grade permissions;
- Freshteam – Simple onboarding but insufficient for complex organizational structures;
- Lyft Enterprise – Good integration patterns but limited scalability.
2 · Research and Discovery
Competitor analysis
Analysis of competitor's onboardings
Key Insights from Competitive Research
Most solutions excelled in one area but failed to provide a holistic experience. Our opportunity was to combine the best aspects: Okta's robust SSO, Google's hierarchy visualization, and Office 365's comprehensive permissions – while maintaining simplicity for organizations of all sizes.
Single Sign-On Integration
Recognizing that enterprise security is paramount, we prioritized seamless SSO integration as a core differentiator, enabling organizations to maintain their existing identity providers while accessing Uber's services.
Connected domains
Single sign-on configuration
Integrations
System for Cross-domain Identity Management
Organization Tree View
Instead of rigid organizational charts, we designed a tree-based structure that supports complex reporting relationships, matrix organizations, and temporary project teams that reflect real-world enterprise structures.
Org management
Search results
Smart User Management
Unified user directory with advanced filtering, bulk invite capabilities, and automated role assignments based on organizational position.
Users list
Add/edit single user
Groups
Put in order teams by adding users to groups and assigning them policies.
Groups list
Members of the group and their policies
Bulk Editor
Based on user feedback about managing large teams, we developed a sophisticated bulk editing system that allows administrators to modify multiple users, permissions, and organizational assignments simultaneously – something competitors handled poorly.
Uploading CSV
List of bulk operations with their statuses
Contextual Permissions
We created a role-based permission system that goes beyond simple admin/employee binaries, allowing custom roles with specific scopes and inheritance patterns.
Roles
Permissions
Add role
Compare roles
Dashboard Intelligence
Home screen with notifications prioritized by importance and urgency.
Home screen, a bit unpretentious
Settings Hub
Consolidated configuration area covering SSO setup, invite policies, integrations, and security settings with guided setup flows.
General info about organization
Invite settings
Account deactivation
3 · Solution
Long-term Impact
The Unified Admin Portal became the foundation for Uber's enterprise identity strategy, enabling faster expansion into new enterprise verticals and setting the standard for future admin experiences across the platform. The design patterns and components we established continued to influence Uber's enterprise products well beyond the initial launch.
Quantifiable Outcomes
45% Increase in Portal Adoption
Within 12 months of launch, enterprise admin portal usage increased from baseline across all integrated LoBs.
~35% Reduction in Onboarding Time
Average time to fully set up an enterprise organization dropped from 4-6 hours to 1.5-2 hours.
89% LoB Integration Success
8 out of 9 Uber LoBs successfully integrated with the unified portal, exceeding our initial target of 70%.
