Redesigning the myMAWER web portal experience
Overview
The myMAWER responsive portal experience was re-imagined as an evolution, not a revolution, to deliver a cohesive UX and UI that adds genuine value for the end user.
Stakeholder interviews were conducted to gather insights that formed the foundation for design decisions, driving a sustained positive shift in CSAT survey results.
Role
UX Designer - research, wireframing, usability testing, facilitating, design guidance, design and functionality testing
Team
Client Experience Lead, Chief Marketing Officer, Business Analyst, MISC Dept. stakeholders, Engineers, QA Specialists
Project lifecycle
1yr 4mo
Background
The myMAWER portal was designed for an ultra-high-net-worth client segment in the private wealth and institutional investing space. Clients use it to review their investment performance, holdings, transactions, documents, and related insights that add value to their investment experience.
Additional context
The experience lacked research methods to inform design decisions, relying instead on assumptions and best practices from 2016. As a result, it didn’t fully meet end-user needs and faced scalability constraints for future enhancements.
Goals
- Drive a positive shift in the experience through CSAT surveys
- Provide timely, accurate, and relevant account information and content through an easy-to-use portal experience
- Create a scalable experience that can accommodate new features and functionality
Problems and opportunities
Three groups helped shape our research approach: alignment with the business group ensured a clear interview strategy and project plan; the investment counseling team highlighted known issues, opportunities, and a desired future state; and clients provided direct insights into use cases, issues, and opportunities.
Key findings
Based on discussions with the investment counseling group, end-user input, and other proactive measures, we began narrowing our focus to the following:
Account Summary
1 Market value lacks emphasis
Investors look for the total value of their investments as their primary piece of information.
2 Layout doesn't make use of space
Better use of space could create a consistent visual pattern for additional information at the top and allow for future scalability.
3 Image based authorship
Getting away from visual image asset creation could free up marketing resources.
Performance visibility missing
Clients wanted the big picture, asking: “What’s my rate of return? What does asset allocation look like? How much have I contributed versus gained?”
No goal tracking visibility
Investors wanting to track progress towards their goals relied on external tools like Excel spreadsheets.
Account Detail Views
1 Dropdown lacks emphasis
Users switched between Account Detail Views and Account Summary to select different accounts.
2 Asset Mix lacks grouping
No way to know what portion of the portfolio is allocated to equities or fixed income.
3 A confusing performance visual
- Title is confusing without context
- Lacks story telling how much have I contributed versus gained
- Hierarchical placement of visual could be better
- Poor ocular perception with performance reading left to right but labels being on left
- Clients desire their performance in relation to benchmarks
4 Tables not easy to consume
Tabular data is overwhelming and not mobile friendly. Visual distinctions between annual and monthly data is missing.
Accounts lack identification
No risk profile or objective associated with the accounts, and account numbers and inception dates were missing.
Iterative approach for the absolute win
Based on the findings, we started with some low-fidelity wireframes and discussions around what was possible. The idea was to iterate quickly and get prototypes in front of the users to keep making meaningful tweaks.
Early set-backs
Month-end performance
Contributions and dollar return amounts (updated monthly) versus market value (updated as of last business day) told a conflicting story and were omitted from the primary Account Summary card. Complexity to show a cumulative rate of return was also descoped and omitted.
Goal tracking
Investment Counsellors relied on existing goal-tracking software, and reluctancy to have future projections being interpreted as rates of return cemented the omission of goal tracking as a concept. There was also resistance against the automation of account naming conventions.
Performance vs. benchmark
Comparative benchmark visibility was descoped short-term and proved difficult to include long-term. Portfolio performance and benchmark comparisons were left to investment counsellors as value add conversations.
Unexpected discovery
Iterative testing revealed that clients preferred a visual of accounts within their merged configurations. We extended this visual on Account Summary for consistency.
Modular design
We used the space above Account Summary and Account Detail Views to create a modular card configuration that could store various information and scale with future needs.
Account info Marketing content
Putting it all together (with a bow on top)
After wireframe validation, we created high-fidelity mockups and conducted additional rounds of stakeholder and user testing to address any gaps. Developers and QA teams were also looped in to validate oncoming expectations.
Account Summary
1 Emphasis on market value
The market value in the primary card on Account Summary was given more visual emphasis as a quick win.
2 Bringing in performance visibility
The rate of return and asset allocation were added to merge and individual account cards to give clients a clear view of their portfolio’s allocation and performance.
3 Purposeful marketing content
Enhanced UI improved content categorization on the front end, while backend tagging made content performance more trackable.
Better use of space
Modular design principles made better use of space at the top to retain consistent follow through for account information and marketing content between Account Summary and Account Detail Views.
Account Detail
Emphasis on account navigation
To prevent users from switching back to Account Summary to select a different account, the account dropdown was given greater visual emphasis.
Account Identification
Account numbers, inception dates, risk profiles, and portfolio objectives were added to provide a clearer, more transparent story about user accounts.
Improved Asset Mix visual
Improved hierarchy, categorical grouping of asset class allocations, and drill-down accordions for those groupings were welcomed additions.
Easily consumable tables
Accordions on the performance tab grouped data by year, while redundant total rows on the Holdings tab were removed. Layout and spacing tweaks improved data glanceability and a stacked orientation on mobile enhanced consumption of tabular data on smaller devices.
Performance visual improvements
- Relevant title and tooltip added for further information
- Contributions and dollar return told a better story showing users how much they’ve contributed versus gained
- Ocular perception improved with labels on the right, aligning with a left-to-right visual flow
- Visual given hierarchical priority providing users with a quick overview of their performance
What it all led to the — north star principles
Informative and purposeful
The focus on performance throughout the experience was intentional, helping clients track their progress. Additionally, adjustments to tabular data, especially on mobile, improved overall usability.
Intuitive and accessible
Visually consistent account treatments on Account Summary and Account Detail Views in merged configurations were easy to interpret. The new UI tied the entire experience together.
Ongoing adherence to WCAG guidelines ensured good contrast, legibility, keyboard accessibility, and clear navigation, benefiting users aged 50-70.
Forward-looking and scalable
Modular design made better use of space so that future ideation could be more replicable and scalable.
Overall highlights
Below are some highlights including how the new UI was carried over into other parts of the entire experience.
Did it make a difference?
Measuring success for this endeavor was challenging, but a positive shift in CSAT survey scores was the primary goal. Anything beyond that would be a welcomed bonus!
- 98% reduction in marketing content authorship time
- 73% increase in performance visual engagements
- 66% reduction in navigation bounce back between Account Summary and Account Detail Views
- 34% increase in marketing content click-through rate
- 32% reduction in front end future enhancement execution time
Positive shift in CSAT survey score from 3.9 to 4.4
Designer lesson log
Research is a cheat-code
Having something to lean on helped us make more informed decisions, shaping how we would approach the experience moving forward.
Iterative testing is validating!
Creating something and validating it with stakeholders and users helped keep the project on track, minimizing surprises and churn.
Asking for help builds trust
Being available to help is passive. Trust is truly built when you actively ask for help or input. Be mindful of the ego!
Going beyond the deliverables
After the celebratory dust settled, I began thinking beyond what we had established. The experience was far better than where we started, but surely, the job is never really done, right?
Unfortunately, these enhancements didn’t see the light of day but got stakeholders excited about the future of the entire experience.
Overall performance visual
Was there a way to combine performance across all accounts and show it on Account Summary as an additional visual aid?
Relevant details upfront!
Could documents and transactions live on the Account Summary to provide users with a quick snapshot of updates?
Making learning more robust
Could we bring all insights together in one place and make authorship seamless between our websites and the portal experience?
This thing called AI
Could we leverage LLMs as digital companions to unpack our insights and provide commentary based on Mawer’s investment philosophy?
Hearty acknowledgements
Hats off to the unsung heroes who make us look good. We don’t always see the lines of code or the back-and-forth between QA, Design, and Engineers, but it truly takes a village!
You know who you are. Thank you.