A global research & investment management firm with institutional, retail, and high-net-worth investors.
The objective was to design a feature for AllianceBernstein’s private wealth app that allowed clients to sign documents electronically.
Documents requiring only a signature (eSign documents) were to be signed in-app, while documents requiring completion of multiple fields (DocuSign documents) were to reroute clients to sign on the web due to business and technical constraints.
Lead user researcher and UX designer in charge of bringing the eSign feature to the mobile app. I worked with a team comprised of a business analyst, UI designer, and developers. I was tasked with wireframing, prototyping, copywriting, and usability testing.
Sketching & Wireframing
I began the design process by sketching all potential screens instead of conducting initial user research, as we aimed to mimic Bernstein.com’s existing eSign functionality in terms of information architecture and signing flow. I then worked on determining points of entry and the feature’s in-app location.
Prototyping & Usability Testing
I created a higher fidelity clickable prototype and used it to conduct usability testing with 5 people in a series of 30 minute sessions. Beforehand, I worked with my team’s UX lead to design a research plan and script. We aimed at a high level to see if the feature was clear, intuitive, and easy to use.
Afterwards, I synthesized the findings, sketched potential solutions to users’ confusions & frustrations, and presented them to the rest of the design team and to the business stakeholders.
Iterating & Usability Testing (Again!)
Based on the results of the first round of usability testing, clients were confused, extremely frustrated, and concerned about the safety & security of signing documents on the app.
In the second round of testing, I re-designed several screens with a plan to completely mitigate confusion and security concerns. Due to technical constraints, clients would continue to be rerouted to a browser to complete DocuSign documents; I knew I wouldn’t completely rid clients of frustration. The goal instead was to significantly lower their levels of frustration to a point where they would be able to successfully complete their documents as well as go again in the future to the app to access eSign.
After iterating a couple times mid-testing based on feedback, I again distilled the learnings.
The solution provides our clients with an easier way to sign eSign documents on-the-go and to navigate to DocuSign documents on the web without confusion or security concerns.
It is currently in the development phase, to be released by March 2019.
Try my final eSign InVision prototype here!