PilotAI Wealth Management Platform (Based in U.S)
PilotAI is a wealth management platform powered by AI, aimed at helping users manage their finances with personalized investment strategies.
Role
Product Designer
Duration
Ongoing
Responsibilities
Discovery, UI/UX designs, handoff to dev, QC
Project Background
After an initial 3 months of development, the product was launched. However, upon joining the project as a UX designer, it was clear that there were significant usability and consistency issues that needed to be addressed.
The original designer had left, and I was tasked with taking over the project to improve the user experience, set up a design system, and enhance the onboarding process. This case study outlines the challenges I faced, the design process, and the solutions implemented to improve the platform's usability, particularly for mobile users.
The Problem
The platform had just gone live, but several key issues were apparent:
Lack of Design System: There was no established design system, which led to inconsistencies in UI elements and visual clutter across the platform. The user interface felt disjointed and lacked cohesion.
Confusing Onboarding: User feedback and sales team reports indicated that the onboarding process was confusing and unhelpful. Many users found it difficult to understand the platform’s value, and the questionnaire steps felt overwhelming.
Mobile Usability: A significant portion of users were accessing the platform from mobile devices, but the design had not prioritized a mobile-first approach. This led to poor usability and frustration, as many elements were not optimized for smaller screens.
My Approach
Establishing a Design System
Steps:
Audit Existing UI: I conducted a thorough audit of the current UI to identify inconsistencies in typography, button styles, spacing, and color usage.
Component Library: Created a library of reusable components such as buttons, input fields, form elements, modals, and cards. These were designed to be flexible for both mobile and desktop views.
Design Tokens: Implemented design tokens (colors, spacing, typography) to ensure uniformity across all platform elements.
Documentation: Developed clear documentation outlining how and when to use each component, ensuring that the design system could be easily adopted by the development team.
Collaborating with PMs and Developers
With the design system in place, I worked closely with the Product Manager (PM) and developers to ensure that:
Existing features were gradually refactored to align with the new components. Changelog was created in Figma to ensure that latest updates are visible to designers and developers.
Future features would consistently use the new components, streamlining development and maintaining design consistency.
3. User Discovery & Research
To address the usability issues with onboarding and improve the overall user experience, I conducted a comprehensive discovery phase. This involved gathering feedback from both existing platform users and the sales team.
Methods:
User Interviews: I conducted interviews with a subset of active users who had completed the onboarding process. I focused on understanding their pain points, frustrations, and expectations.
Sales Team Feedback: I worked closely with the sales team to understand the feedback they had received from prospects and clients. This provided valuable insights into the initial user experience.
Usability Testing: I set up a series of usability tests, including task-based testing for new and returning users, to identify bottlenecks and points of confusion.
Using the data collected, I did Affinity Mapping to group similar pain points and patterns observed across participants. This process allowed me to identify the key problems and opportunities to address.
4. Mobile-First Redesign
Given that most users were accessing the platform via mobile, I recognized the need for a mobile-first approach. The platform had been designed with a desktop-first mindset, which led to a subpar experience on mobile devices.
Key Changes:
Responsive Layouts: I ensured that the platform’s layouts were responsive, prioritizing touch-friendly interactions and optimizing for smaller screens.
Simplified Navigation: The navigation was simplified to ensure that users could easily access key features without feeling overwhelmed by too many options on mobile screens.
Optimized Forms: Given the importance of the questionnaires in the onboarding process, I reworked the forms to be more mobile-friendly, reducing the number of fields per screen and adding clear instructions.
Interactive Onboarding: I revamped the onboarding process with more intuitive, digestible steps. Each questionnaire screen was streamlined, and I introduced tooltips and contextual help to guide users through the process.
Key Outcomes
1. Improved User Feedback
After implementing the changes to the onboarding process and design system:
Onboarding Completion Rates: We saw a significant increase in the number of users successfully completing the onboarding process. Users reported that the new onboarding flow felt more intuitive and easier to understand.
Positive User Sentiment: Feedback from users became more positive. Users appreciated the simplicity of the redesigned onboarding and found the platform more navigable, especially on mobile devices.
Reduced Support Requests: With clearer guidance during onboarding, we saw a decrease in support tickets related to confusion about account setup and questionnaire steps.
2. Increased Mobile Usability
Higher Mobile Engagement: With the mobile-first redesign, mobile users experienced a smoother, more optimized experience. The platform was now responsive and fluid across various screen sizes, which led to higher engagement on mobile devices.
Better Retention: Retention rates improved, particularly for mobile users, as the platform was now more accessible and easier to navigate.
3. A Consistent and Scalable Design System
The new design system allowed for faster iteration and consistency across the platform. The development team was able to implement new features more efficiently, and the overall product felt more polished and cohesive.
Challenges and Learnings
Balancing Immediate Fixes with Long-Term Goals: As the design team was working to overhaul the platform, I had to balance quick fixes (like improving mobile layouts) with long-term goals (like setting up a scalable design system).
Stakeholder Buy-in: Convincing stakeholders of the importance of a mobile-first approach and investing in a design system was challenging at first, but once they saw the positive impact on user engagement, they became more supportive of the changes.
User Education: Even with the redesigned onboarding, educating users about the platform’s features remained an ongoing challenge. Continued refinement of the onboarding flow and in-app guidance is needed as new features are added.
Final Thoughts
By addressing the usability issues through a well-structured design system, conducting thorough user research, and prioritizing mobile optimization, I was able to significantly improve the user experience of the PilotAI platform. The results were evident in increased user engagement, higher onboarding completion rates, and a more consistent and cohesive design that would support the platform’s growth in the future.
This project reinforced the importance of a user-centered design approach, where continuous feedback and iteration are essential to creating a successful product.