Who this guide is for Partners, delivery leaders, and product owners at professional services firms evaluating or rebuilding client portals. Step 1 — Define the job-to-be-done Partners use portals when they save time on status communication and document exchange. List the top five partner questions clients ask weekly. Step 2 — Design for status, not features Lead with engagement health, next milestones, and outstanding client actions. Avoid dashboard clutter. Step 3 — Pilot with one practice area Measure weekly active usage and support tickets before firm-wide rollout. Common pitfalls • Building marketing-style portals without operational data. • Requiring clients to learn a new tool without email notifications. • Ignoring mobile access for executives reviewing updates between meetings.