Vanguard Robo Advisor
Dashboard Redesign

UX Design

UX Research

Usability Testing

role

UX Designer

duration

Feb 2024 - May 2024

team

Usability Testing Team:
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Ikra Javed
Sriya Kasumarthi
Norry Lu
Sarah Sutter
Janie Wang
Grace Zhang

SUMMARY

In the Vanguard dashboard redesign project, I focused on making the Robo-Advisor easier for beginners by streamlining the interface and improving educational tools to build their confidence and engagement. Following the goal to enhance digital experience for new users, I started with extensive user research to identify their needs, moving into designing and refining the interface through wireframes and user testing.

Each iteration was aligned with user feedback, resulting in a more intuitive and user-friendly platform that encourages new investors to engage confidently with Vanguard’s services. This project effectively met the objective of increasing accessibility and usability for novice investors.

User Research

Overview

After usability testing Vanguard's dashboard and refining our design questions, we focused on deeply understanding our users. Through audience analysis and listening sessions, we identified key characteristics, pain points, and motivations. These insights shaped 3-7 user personas and an empathy map, which highlighted essential traits of our target audience. This empathy-driven approach grounded our design decisions, allowing us to build a dashboard experience that truly resonates with users.

Audience Analysis

The initial stage involved piecing together a comprehensive picture of our prospective users, the "umbrella" audience. We gathered demographic data to get a grasp on the general characteristics that defined our audience—age ranges, technological fluency, and other relevant traits.

Each team member conducted a listening session, where we absorbed the stories of users without interjecting, allowing them to express their genuine feelings and experiences. These narratives were crucial; they revealed not just what users did, but how they felt and what they desired from their interactions with financial tools.

Persona Development

From the rich qualitative data collected, we distilled the essence of our findings into several distinct personas. This involved collaborative sessions where we pooled our observations and crafted personas that represented a range of user types—from the tech-savvy enthusiast to the cautious newcomer. These personas became the avatars for our design solutions, guiding our decisions and reminding us of whom we were designing for.

Empathy Map

We analyzed data from user research, categorized into an empathy map. This process revealed the user's preference for transparent, user-friendly technologies and their discomfort with information overload.
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1. Preference for Transparency - Users highly value clear, straightforward information about how robo-advisor technology works and its benefits.
2. Discomfort with Information Overload - Users experience discomfort and overwhelm when presented with too much finance jargon and information at once.
3. Need for Simplified Information - The design needs to focus on simplifying complex information to make it more digestible for users.

Ideation

Use AI to Ideate

After conducting usability tests and user research for the Vanguard dashboard redesign, I utilized multiple AI engines to help ideate and generate a detailed list of page elements.

A total of 94 page elements were generated by 6 different AI engines. The list was reduced to 25 key elements based on insights from usability testing and user research.

Card Sort

Using the key elements list, I conducted one pilot card sort then followed by 10 more card sorts to identify patterns, and group common functions, ideas and aspects of the dashboard together.

User Flows

Based on insights from card sorts, the key user flow in the Vanguard dashboard redesign centers on enhancing user engagement and efficiency in managing investments. Users can easily access account details, investment goals, and real-time market insights.

Design System

In designing the user interface for the Vanguard project, I carefully integrated Vanguard's brand colors while ensuring the design meets accessibility standards crucial for our diverse user base. The selected color palette not only aligns with Vanguard’s brand identity, appealing to our target audience, but also adheres to WCAG guidelines. This ensures high contrast and enhanced readability, making the interface accessible to users with visual impairments.

User Testing

Testing Methods & Objectives

Three user testings were conducted on usertesting.com. The main objectives for user testing was to evaluate the usability and functionality of the newly designed Vanguard dashboard, ensuring that it meets the needs of beginner and seasoned investors alike.
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Key Findings

Ease of Navigation: Participants found the new dashboard navigation to be intuitive and user-friendly, particularly appreciating the quick-access toolbar for real-time market data.
Watchlist Management: Feedback on the watchlist feature was highly positive, with users valuing the ability to easily add and remove stocks. However, some participants suggested adding notification alerts for significant price changes.
Educational Tools: Users responded well to the educational modules, noting that these resources were helpful in understanding complex investment strategies. They recommended expanding these resources to include more interactive elements.

High-fidelity Prototype

Reflections & Next Steps

1. Provide resources and educational contents.
Enhancing educational resources proved effective in boosting user confidence, affirming the importance of supporting users not just technically but also in understanding the content. The next step would be to develop more interactive tutorials and real-time support features to help users feel more confident and supported.
2. Iterative design process.
Continuous iterations and usability testing were key in refining the interface to ensure it was both intuitive and functional. In the future, it would be beneficial to establish a regular feedback loop with actual users to keep the dashboard evolving in line with user needs and technological advancements.

Vanguard Robo Advisor
Dashboard Redesign