Design Process
01/
Understand the Users
Through numerous meetings, email exchanges and workshops,
WE UNDERSTAND...
The clients
Most of our existing clients are national banks and financial institutions who rely on creating secured workspaces for their end users to work productively.
The users
- Half of the administrators do not come from a technical background
- Most of the administrators have other tasks outside of the administrative ones
- They are used to apps like Salesforce, Excel, Bloomberg, Symphony, Outlook, Tableau, Power BI, Microsoft Teams and more
Goals and needs
- Manage users in large volume
- Create company content
- Distribute content to different departments and of different levels of permissions
- Oversee existing workspaces
- Configure intergrations
etc.
Solution
Administrators at financial institutions need to perform a large number of configuration tasks on a daily basis. An Admin Console that is easy to navigate and simple to use will enable both technical and non-technical administrators to manage users and company content, and distribute company content securely and seamlessly.
02/
ideation - User story & flows
“Admin wants to distribute a FX Blotter app to the Banking department, but only the manager have the edit permission, rest of the team can view content.”
ideation - User story & flows
By researching and looking at existing admin consoles,
WE REALIZED...
Easy Navigation
After looking at other admin console designs out there in the market, we realized the left-hand-sided navigation column divides content into modules and features, while the rest of the screen shows that content in detail. It's convenient to visually separate such navigation by using different background colors or shades.
Use Familiar Patterns
We considered both card and table views for displaying content in the console. Ultimately, we chose the table view because our users, who have financial backgrounds, are accustomed to tools like Excel and Power BI. They prefer a condensed format with sorting and filtering capabilities, which aligns with their existing workflows and enhances usability.
Consider the Context
Editing is a key feature of the admin console, but different types of information require different approaches. For minimal input fields, we use a modal pattern for quick edits. When handling large volumes of information, we opt for a full-page design to provide an uninterrupted experience and allow users to review all inputs before submission.
ideation - Wire Flow
With a tight deadline and client’s wanting to view the POC in hi-fidelity designs, we quickly put the hi-fi designs together that satisfied the sample use case flow.
04/
Testing & Updates
Due to a tight timeline, we did our user research mostly by recruiting focused groups from the clients and internally, which WE LEARNED...
Due to tight timeline, we rely on recruiting small user groups and getting feedback from client’s side for understanding the users, to which we understand:
Frictions in User Group Assignment
Based on testing insights, admin users found it cumbersome to create groups and assign users to a particular group mainly for 2 reasons:
1. Admins have to go to 2 different places to create group and new user profiles
2. There is not enough flexibility in user creation and group assignment
Complicated Access Assignment and Authorization Grant
Through testing we also realized admins found it confusing how they give content access to users and grant different levels of authorizations. We improved the design by providing more clear instructions and simplifying the authorization granting process.
