Nucleus Financial
New business journey
Nucleus Financial's investment wrap platform provides financial advisory firms with a powerful tool to manage their client's investments across a broad range of tax wrappers and asset choices. However, users had fed back that the platform’s New Business journey was causing confusion and frustration. Nucleus approached Bravura Solutions to redesign the experience.
My role
I led the design and collaborated in an agile environment with people from within Bravura and our client Nucleus, including:
2 Business Analysts
Product Owner (Client-side)
Product Owner (Bravura)
Digital Business Consultant
Digital Technical Consultant
Developers
I also oversaw the output from another Bravura UX designer who joined our team for a limited period.
I led multiple stages of the process including:
Heuristic analysis of existing journeys
Competitor analysis
Flow mapping
Ideation
Wireframing
Prototyping
User testing
Visual design
Handover to development.
Discover
Nucleus conducted a series of user consultations before I was involved in the project. These had led Nucleus to seek out our help at Bravura to address some key issues they had identified.
Key takeaways from Nucleus’s consultations were:
Users felt they were being asked to click ‘Next’ to progress far too often
The existing ability to process several financial products for a client in one journey is crucial and must be maintained, however at times the current journey became confusing, especially for new starters
There was frustration at having to complete lengthy paperwork and numerous phone calls to Nucleus for activities that would ideally be online
I needed to address these issues and find other opportunities to improve the experience.
My Research and Discovery
I conducted interviews with key stakeholders within Nucleus to delve deeper into the brief. I discovered that the primary users for the New Business journey are:
Backroom admin staff
Small, independent financial advisers
Both of these need to input large amounts of data quickly and accurately into the system. It was important to note that:
New business is NOT the place where investment decisions are being made, only where the relevant data is inputted.
This conclusion was further validated in discussions with Nucleus's end users. By establishing this early on and gaining agreement across the team, we were able to maintain focus on adding value to the user experience and avoid adding unnecessary features that would only create distractions.
Define
Heuristic review
I conducted a heuristic review of the existing journey, using Jakob Nielson’s 10 usability heuristics for user interface design.
Early work focused on adding new clients, the main issue here were:
Poor input field labelling, with the label often some distance from the field itself resulting in the potential for issues with Error Prevention
Confusing Button placements that caused unnecessary cognitive friction for the user with some potential confusion as to what they relate to again raising issues with Error Prevention.
A screengrab from the old page for Epics 1-3. Many of the input fields are a long distance from their labels, which are all aligned to the left.
I went on to address a high-priority user complaint of being asked to click "Next" too often.
The data held by Nuclues and feedback from their users, showed us that most New Bussiness journeys delt with multiple tax wrappers at one time and users often had multiple entries for different clients. The emphasis was therefore on making data input as fast as possible.
Gating steps with ‘Next’ buttons is a common pattern for B2C user journeys, but in this B2B platform is was only slowing things down. I needed to find a way to make the entire process more seamless and fast for our professional users.
An example of a page from Epic 4, with a gated stepper along the top based on instructions with two tax wrappers below.
Upon further inspection, it became clear that the user journey was confusing for users and it was difficult for the user to keep track of where they where in the process for each individual tax wrapper.
The existing journey had separate steps for each instruction type, such as "payments" or "asset selection," with different investment wrappers (ISA, SIPP etc.) appearing and disappearing in each step which:
Led to confusion as causing issues with Recognition Rather Than Recall
Posed problems for the Visibility of System Status.
Flow Mapping
I went on to create a flow map to show were many of these problems were in the user journey and help suggest ways we could address them before looking at any individual page designs.
I suggested moving towards a wrapper-led structure, where all investment wrappers are displayed on a scrollable bookmarked page with no click-through ‘Next’ buttons or gated steppers.
This approach offers several benefits:
Users can see all of their investment wrappers' progress at all times, instead of seeing some disappear at different stages without explanation.
Wrappers and sub-sections can be edited or deleted without needing to go back multiple steps.
A wrapper-led approach aligns with established norms in fintech.
‘Next’ buttons which had been a clear complaint from existing users and slowed down their processes were reduced to one single ‘Next’ button after all the data had been entered.
Flow diagram highlighting issues with the existing instruction led structure.
Userflow demonstrating the advantages of a 'wrapper' led approach
Develop
Design Process
I would sketch initial ideas by hand during short online workshops with team members from Nucleus. We would then quickly agree on a way forward to progress to wireframes which could be shared more widely within the team.
To reduce cognitive load, I suggested a single-column format that uses progressive disclosure. This means that users are presented with less information on the screen at any given time.
I also explored different approaches, including collapsible sections and side navigation.
An early sketch when exploring ideas
Low fidelity testing
I created four low-fidelity prototypes, two for wrapper-led and two for instruction-led approaches, each with collapsible and side navigation variants. We then conducted user testing with actual Nucleus users and provided them with simple tasks to complete.
The user testing sessions showed a strong preference for the wrapper-led, stepper-free, side navigation approach, consistent with feedback from earlier user consultations.
Option A: Collapsable / Wrapper account led
Option A: Collapsable / Instruction led
Option C: Side Nav / Wrapper account led
Option D: Side Nav / Instruction led
Iterative improvements
After each round of user testing, I made iterative improvements to the designs and incorporated them into a new prototype for the next round of testing. This process allowed me to progressively enhance the user experience, ensuring the application was continuously refined and user-focused through multiple testing cycles.
Wireframe for Epic 5, (Lumpsum and Regular Payments), incorporating the side navigation structure of Epics 1- 3
Deliver
High-fidelity prototypes and developer handover
In the later stages of the project, I developed high-fidelity designs. The UI design needed to align with the constraints of Nucleus’s existing platform. These constraints included the top navigation, restricted page width, and adherence to the established color palette and font selection.
High fidelity design for Epic 5
To facilitate the development process, I provided developers with interactive prototypes and fully annotated flat designs. Maintaining open and constant communication with the engineering team was crucial to ensure a successful build. Through regular meetings we addressed any technical considerations or implementation challenges that arose during development.
Outcome
When I concluded my work at Bravura, the project had produced several positive outcomes:
The success of the project led to a continued collaboration between Bravura and Nucleus for the development of other journeys on their platform, resulting in more revenue for Bravura.
One of the core requests from users was achieved, with many functions that previously required manual processes being brought onto the platform, resulting in significant cost reductions for both Nucleus and its clients.
The biggest issue reported by users was addressed, with a seamless flow of data inputs allowing for a much speedier experience by our professional users and the removal of multiple ‘Next’ buttons.
Feedback from users has been extremely positive, with a clear consensus that the interface is easier to use and the journeys are more intuitive. These positive outcomes validate the effectiveness of the design approach and highlight the value of user-centred design in creating impactful and successful solutions, which Nucleus’s internal team learned from me along the way.
Additionally, I demonstrated the potential for the UI to evolve into a more immersive and engaging experience for users, unencumbered by the constraints of the existing platform-wide design system. By utilizing the entire screen real estate, we can present information more clearly, resulting in improved usability. This forward-thinking approach not only addresses current user needs but also provides suggestions for future-proofing the platform.
A full width design for a phase 2 restyle of the Nucleus platform
Stakeholder management
As a UX designer, I faced the challenge of working with a client, Nucleus, who was not used to briefing requirements to a UX designer. They often presented me with their own solutions instead of the actual problem. To navigate this situation, I had to adopt a diplomatic approach, while also being part detective to uncover the real issues.
I made sure to listen carefully to their ideas, but then I explained that what I really needed was a fundamental understanding of the problem at hand. Once I felt I had a clear grasp of the problem, I would explore their proposed solution and suggest alternatives if necessary.
Throughout the process, it was crucial to maintain a respectful attitude and avoid making decisions based on emotions. Instead, I relied on logical reasoning to test the feasibility of any idea, no matter where it came from. By doing so, I was able to work collaboratively with the Nucleus team to identify and solve their challenges effectively.
Kerri Liddell - Product Manager (Previously Senior Business Analyst)
