Web sign-up page redesign
Gearing Towards Digital Transformation
Redesign of a web-based legacy login and sign-up page/process through improvement of user flow, and UI elements resulting in lower drop-off rates, and increased monthly user acquisition.
Role
Lead UX Designer
Responsibilities
Research, Design, Testing
Duration
3 months
Background
Why is this project important?
Metlife Japan has started putting effort in strengthening its Digital platform and services. Users need an "Online Service Account" in order to be able to use these services. This project/service, is a login/sign-up page which serves as a gateway and is crucial for the on-boarding of users to the said Digital platform.
Currently, there are at least 300,000 registered online service accounts, which is 3% of the total users (policy holders).
Several strategies are being placed in order to improve the adoption of the digital platform, however, if the current on-boarding design/process doesn't undergo a revamp, the costly Digital Strategy and campaigns won't achieve a greater reach.
Goals and Limitations
What do we want to achieve?
All stakeholders (Business, Dev, Marketing team), together with UX team, got together in a series of meetings to clearly define the goals, scope, and limitations for the project.This allows everyone to be on the same page, and create a design/product that fits everyone's needs, within resource constraints.
  • Business: Increase adoption rate, and reduce drop-off rate
  • UX: Determine issues in the current sign-up design/flow
  • Marketing: Follow existing Metlife Japan brand guidelines for digital products
  • Development: Provide designs that are feasible and not too complicated
Process
How did we tackle this project?
  • We started the whole process with using the available information from different sources (analytics, marketplace reviews, claims history, etc.).
  • Next, goals and limitations have to be defined with the users in mind. As mentioned in the previous section, this was made possible through a series of meetings and workshops with the stakeholders. Sprint planning occurs after having set specific goals (and user stories).
  • We then make sketches, and early design solutions, while making sure everything is aligned with the goals/limitations. During this phase, we also constantly update stakeholders for the approval of the design solutions through, daily stand-ups, backlog grooming, sprint reviews. Working with the developers is also crucial, to make sure that the designs suggested are feasible.
  • After having a design covering the goals, and addressing issues found, we then have several rounds of user testing to validate specific points in our design. We produce several outputs User Journey Maps, Affinity Maps, Thematic Analysis to help us discuss the findings with the stakeholders. Further iterations are then made, to reflect issues discovered from user testing.
  • Improvements are then constantly communicated with the stakeholders, for prioritization of features to be implemented, feasibility checks, and ensuring that suggested solutions are still aligned with the goals.
Problems and Solutions
How might we...
We have listed up the main problems that we encountered that are crucial in achieving our goals. For every problem, we have designed and tested solutions, that made up the overall redesign of the service.
Problem 1
How might we provide a clear navigation within the page for first time users, to help them create a new account?
Existing Login/Sign-up page has a lot of texts, and links. Link to sign-up page is also hidden among other links. In the image below, we can see the monthly usage data pointing to our two most important features of this page: Login and Sign-up.
Solution 1
Clear and Logical Call to Action
To give focus on the two main features of the page, we created a clear division between the Login and Sign-up sections. We have also got ridden of the links that shouldn't be given focus in the page. The new design contains the minimum required, and compliant information/items. This design also considers the limitations of the development teams.
Problem 2
How might we reduce effort for users while providing them a clear flow, to give them clear expectations in completing the whole process?
The Identity Verification page of the sign-up process is effortful, because of the number of fields, and users weren't prepared when they see that they have to enter their Policy Numbers, resulting to drop-offs.
Solution 2
Effortless Input and Visible Progression; Support for Multiple Policy-Holders
After determining the most important required information from the users with the Business team, the number of input fields have been reduced to a minimum. Policy Number input is also placed at the beginning of the sign-up process, to help users prepare their Policy Numbers before starting the sign-up process, and to avoid drop-offs and risk of losing information that has already been entered.
A feature where users can add multiple Policy Numbers tied to a given Policy Number is also possible after login.
Problem 3
How might we help users navigate through a seamless sign-up flow, to give them enough motivation and security needed to complete the whole process?
Looking at the whole sign-up flow, we saw the most significant drop-off rate when users were asked to confirm their email. This is due to the lack of motivation to continue with the process, and a feeling of anxiousness when users move channels and receive unfamiliar messages.
Solution 3
Seamless and Consistent Sign-up Flow
The whole flow was re-ordered, wherein the email confirmation is the "last step" of the process to give users the motivated to make that last action to complete the process. Consistent use of branding throughout the whole process, provides an omnichannel experience for users, helping users recognize the brand and removing any "worry" they have when moving from one step to another.
Takeaways
Communication is key
Communication is a very crucial element in this project, where a lot of stakeholders are involved. Every department has their limitations, and as UX designers, we have to effectively communicate what is best for the users; However, not all attractive solutions, which are best for the users, are always attractive for others.
What helped UX team the most, in presenting these ideas, are data-driven design solutions. And in this context, data also means user voice, user behavior, competitor analysis, market trends, design principles. Stakeholders are more open to changes, when presented with clear, and real data.
At the end of the day, not all design suggestions/solutions are going to be accepted, but it important to make everybody empathize with the users, by story-telling using data.
Next Steps
  • Design Implementation and Handoff to the Development team
  • User Acceptance Testing
  • Support for Development team during deployment, and review of actual product
  • KPI monitoring after deployment
Check out my other projects
Enterprise product redesign
Meaningful Complexity - Balancing Utility and Usability
In-app feature design
Uber Eats in a time of a Pandemic: Designing for Sustainability