Literature review

Project Background

The existing retirement website is undergoing a complete overhaul to deliver a modern look and feel, along with an intuitive and easy-to-use user interface.
An initial analysis of the legacy system revealed a dichotomy in user engagement: a small segment of highly active users frequently manage their investments, while the majority rarely visit the site. Consequently, the product team's early UX vision was to focus on the needs of active participants. [ spoiler alert, I disagreed with this approach and suggested an alternative below ]

Objectives / Research Questions

What design will best serve all retirement plan participants (not only very active ones)?
Provide the design team with actionable insights.

Proposed Approach

Conduct generative research in order to get a more strategic understanding of users (multiple usability tests followed)
Secondary Research: Review the behavioral finance literature to identify aspects relevant to retirement saving and planning.
- Automatic enrollment
- Automatic contribution increase1
- Attitudes toward retirement planning and saving
Provide a design brief

Results: Two money attitude profiles

Planners (45%)

Clear goals and interest in retirement planning.
Enjoy dealing with finances
Optimistic about meeting their retirement goals.
Disciplined savers, comfortable with equity risk taking.

Avoiders (55%)

Do not enjoy financial planning / dealing with finances.
Retirement vision less goal focused.
More reluctant to take on risk for higher return.
People can be avoiders for different reasons.
- No interest in planning / managing their retirement investments.
- Great source of stress.
- Retirement is off their radar screen.

Results: Design Brief Recommendations

Make the front end simple, appealing and directive.

Once there, it is important to keep avoiders on our site so that they will use the available tools. The front end should be simple, appealing and directive. A front end replete with data will likely turn off many avoiders.

Complexities appealing to planners can be placed one or two levels down. Planners will be more willing to overcome the barriers of navigation given their interest in financial information.

Retrospective

Secondary research can greatly benefit UX design and research activities.
Importance of managing (all) stakeholder expectations…
The grouping of users within planners and avoiders informed multiple research studies (e.g. usability tests) over the years - improving the representativeness of participants.

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