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R.S.

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Pay Calendar Setup

Role

Product designer

Collaboration

Product Management, Engineering, Legal & Compliance, UX Research

Constraints

Payroll and labor law compliance, Legacy system migration (PeopleSoft decommissioning)

Overview

This project focused on redesigning Pay Calendars as part of TriNet’s transition away from PeopleSoft. Previously, payroll schedules were configured through legacy systems and manual processes, making them difficult to understand, update, and validate.

The goal was to translate complex payroll rules, such as pay frequencies, pay dates, and compliance constraints, into a self-serve admin experience that felt clear, predictable, and safe, while reducing the risk of payroll and legal errors.

Pay Calendar Setup at a Glance

Admins can view existing pay calendars, track upcoming pay periods, and create new calendars from a single entry point.

Designing the Pay Calendar form

Admins create pay calendars through this form to define how and when employees are paid.

Why the form was hard to design:

The form was dynamic, meaning one choice could change many other fields, so every input had to be carefully ordered and connected.
What looks like one flow actually contains multiple branching flows, including dependencies on Workweek setup and employee assignment.
Invalid or non-compliant schedules had real payroll and legal consequences, so the form was designed to prevent errors instead of fixing them later.
The design went through multiple legal and compliance reviews, which shaped how rules, defaults, and constraints were built into the experience.

Prototyping with Figma Make

To support usability testing, we built a high-fidelity prototype using Figma Make that allowed users to interact with realistic payroll logic rather than static screens. The prototype went through 200+ iterations, enabling us to simulate calculated dates,

Insights from Usability Testing

Usability testing revealed where complexity caused hesitation and what helped users feel confident completing setup.

Clear pay outcomes build confidence

Users felt more confident when pay periods and pay dates were calculated automatically and updated in real time, reducing setup guesswork.

Immediate feedback reduces setup anxiety

Seeing pay period results update instantly as inputs changed helped users understand the impact of their selections without needing to submit or backtrack.

Terminology clarity matters more than flexibility

Users struggled when payroll terminology was unclear, even when the system was flexible, making inline explanations and defaults more valuable.

Reducing visible choices improves completion

Breaking the setup into focused steps and reducing visible options at each stage made the form feel more manageable and increased completion confidence.

Outcome and Takeaways

Where this landed:

Delivered a scalable pay calendar setup that supports multiple pay frequencies and compliance rules.
Reduced guesswork during setup by auto-deriving pay periods and pay dates from user inputs.
Established a foundation that unblocked downstream payroll workflows.

Where this landed:

Delivered a scalable pay calendar setup that supports multiple pay frequencies and compliance rules.
Reduced guesswork during setup by auto-deriving pay periods and pay dates from user inputs.
Established a foundation that unblocked downstream payroll workflows.

Where this landed:

Delivered a scalable pay calendar setup that supports multiple pay frequencies and compliance rules.
Reduced guesswork during setup by auto-deriving pay periods and pay dates from user inputs.
Established a foundation that unblocked downstream payroll workflows.

What this taught me:

How to design dynamic forms where one decision drives many downstream outcomes.
How to model complex systems as a single entry point with multiple branching flows.
How to balance flexibility with legal and compliance constraints without overwhelming users.

What this taught me:

How to design dynamic forms where one decision drives many downstream outcomes.
How to model complex systems as a single entry point with multiple branching flows.
How to balance flexibility with legal and compliance constraints without overwhelming users.

What this taught me:

How to design dynamic forms where one decision drives many downstream outcomes.
How to model complex systems as a single entry point with multiple branching flows.
How to balance flexibility with legal and compliance constraints without overwhelming users.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for reading!