Superannuation Member Portal
The company, a retail superannuation fund, aimed to increase member retention and attract younger demographics. The goal was to enhance the user experience of their member portal to encourage long-term engagement.
My Role: UX Designer with UI contributions
Team: Worked alongside UX and UI Lead Designers
Year
2018
Immersion and Planning Phase
Planning Phase
Drafted a timeline of the project and presented this to the client to be agreed on. It was important to bring the client on the journey with us to ensure they understood why and how our solution would come to fruition.
Immersion Phase
Assessed the company's existing user data and tracked key metrics.
Conducted a competitive analysis of other superannuation portals.
Mapped all possible user scenarios and pain points.
Created a research plan and detailed timeline.
Key Insight: Younger users were unaware of the benefits of early superannuation engagement, often assuming it was something to consider later in life.
Kick-off & Stakeholder Alignment
Hosted a kickoff workshop with stakeholders to define and confirm objectives and problem statements.
Created a prioritised list of use cases, tasks and scenarios that the portal would need to accommodate for
Conducted follow-up interviews to refine project goals.
Established a clear vision statement to guide the project.
Key Insight: I matched the primary target demographic, allowing me to bring a deep level of user empathy to the project.
— Vision Statement—
“A fresh and unexpected Super experience that I want, not what I expect”.
Concept Development & User Testing
The project was broken into three iterative sprints, each followed by usability testing and feedback integration.
Sprint 1: Registration & Dashboard Concepts
Challenges & Goals
Reduce the 16-step registration process to improve completion rates.
Redesign the dashboard to surface essential information intuitively.
Approach
Researched global best practices for registration flows, cross referencing these with our user flows to reduce a 7 screen 16 step process to a 4 step process ensuring that sufficient information could be captured to prompt sign up if the process was abandoned before it was finished
Ideation phase
Began to ideate around the dashboard and what the landing page would look like and what information would be surfaced, as well as how to organise this information in a way that was easily accessible for users wanting to get in and out of the portal after finding what they are looking for.
Narrowed down to two dashboard concepts which would ensure users could get in to and out of the portal easily after finding what they were looking for: Traditional Dashboard vs. Netflix-Style Layout.
User Testing
From our research we found that the superannuation fund had a 90% drop off rate for registrations and, with 70% of new joiners being under 25, we decided to target them primarily with our concepts for a registration flow.
I created a user testing plan that laid out a series of questions to asses their current knowledge and experience with super and then lead users through the registration flow and assess their understanding and thoughts at each stage.
Stage 1 Testing:
6 Participants
Age: 25 and under
1x good understanding about super
5x little to no understanding about super
Focus on ‘first timers’ registration / login and first time dashboard experience
Axure Prototype & Card Sort
Users were taken through a functioning Axure prototype I created with the proposed 4 step registration then presented with one of the 2 different concepts for the dashboard.
There was a particular focus on the initial impression as this was especially important to the under 25s demographic being most associated with having little to no knowledge about super.
I also prepared a card sorting activity. Taking all sections within the current navigation and printing them on cards, we asked each user to organise these cards based on what they thought would group together under each menu item.
These tests recorded the user’s face and the screen they were viewing and I created clips of the testing footage to provide to clients to explain our design decisions and particular pain points or successes achieved by the user.
First round Findings
Findings were grouped into an affinity diagram to categorise and better understand issues.
The streamlined registration process was well-received, with users commenting on its simplicity and overwhelmingly positive feedback on added patters such as address autocomplete features: “So good! I would have expected to have to fill in more details”.
Users preferred the Netflix-Style Dashboard for its at-a-glance information presentation.
Card sorting revealed users struggled with terminology such as "insurance" in a superannuation context.
I placed the findings into a slide deck which was then used to present the results to our client.
Sprint 2: Iterations & Advanced Features
Based on the feedback from the first research I;
Refined navigation based on card-sorting insights.
Enhanced dashboard usability and educational value.
Designed interactive flows with a particular focus on the “My Super” category including contributions, investments, beneficiaries, and finding lost super. I also included a Contributions Calculator in the prototype which could predict the average benefit added.
User Testing Round 2:
Focused on the middle demographic of users who were just starting to get involved with their super and needed education around what their super was about and what they needed to do to keep it in pristine condition.
the test consisted of a series of questions to asses their current knowledge and experience with super and then a series of tasks we would ask them to complete (find lost super, add a beneficiary, use the calculator on contributions page) to measure the ease of use of each concept and expectations associated with each task.
Stage 2 Testing:
5 Participants:
Age;
2 x 35+
3 x 25-35
5x Fair understanding of super.
Becoming more involved / needing to know about their super
Have logged in to their super account at least once
Completed at least one task in their member portal (e.g. consolidated super)
Findings
The Netflix Layout remained the preferred design despite minor usability challenges and users being able to complete all tasks successfully on the Traditional Dashboard Layout. The decision was taken to move forward with the Netflix layout.
The Contributions Calculator was highly engaging, with users testing different contribution amounts.
Users were not exactly sure how to move their super to a new employer and tended to go with the default and open a new account. They expected their super fund to auto-fill employer transfer forms so forms could be sent directly to their new employer rather than downloading and completing them manually.
Once again the findings were grouped in an Affinity Diagram prior to being consolidated into a deck for clients.
Sprint 3: Refinements & Older Demographic Testing
Challenges & Goals
Validate final designs with an older user base (30-55 years) as this group was most likely to interact with their super account.
Test new navigation structures and educational elements.
Ensure usability of employer transfer and beneficiary flows.
Approach
Tested effectiveness of the summary tiles at the beginning of each row and on-site calculators vs links out calculators.
Adjusted secondary navigation for visibility.
Redesigned "For Your Employer" section to streamline super fund transfer when moving to a new job.
Conducted usability testing with users who had prior experience with super.
Stage 3 Testing:
5 Participants:
Age: 30+ (30-55yrs)
2x had a fair understanding of super
3x little understanding of super
Becoming more involved / needing to know about their super
Have logged into their super account at least once
Completed at least one task in their member portal (e.g. consolidated super)
Findings
Users successfully completed tasks but still required clearer secondary navigation cues.
Users valued the pre-filled employer transfer forms and requested additional automation.
Surfacing key information for employers increased user confidence in transferring super.
External calculators needed to be placed on their own row to reduce confusion.
Iterations
Incorporated client feedback from their respective sub-divisions into designs.
Turned wireframes into UI elements and incorporated new branding.
I created detailed UX specifications and interactive high-fidelity prototypes in Axure.
User Testing Final Round:
I conducted final round of testing with a split of all 3 user demographics and a 50/50 split of client customers
Sessions were livestreamed to the client who could watch the solution being tested live to validate overwhelmingly positive results.
I was in charge of running this next door session and involving the clients in note taking, so they could gain an insight and experience of how the concepts were iterated and tested to achieve their final solution.
“This is so easy, Its Like Super for Dummies, Its Great”.
Stage 2 Testing:
12 Participants:
2 x 56-65
5 x 36-55
4x 25-35
6 x Rest Members
Knowledge of Super:
3x Little Knowledge about Super
5x Moderate Knowledge about Super
4x High Knowledge of Super
Final Refinements & Development Handoff
Final Iterations
Removed elements causing friction
Added email options for legal agreements and confirmation screens.
Increased tile sizes and enhanced summary sections for clarity.
Added the ability to add multiple non-binding beneficiaries at once.
Added a confirmation before proceeding to the homepage; taking the opportunity to let the user know that they have default insurance and investments provided by law.
Development Assets
I created the UX Specifications, annotating various screens of the UI as well as providing reference animations and the Axure prototype from testing to be handed over to the Client’s development team for implementation.
Final Refinements & Development Handoff
Impact & Results
Registration drop-off reduced significantly by simplifying the process.
Increased user engagement through an intuitive Netflix-style dashboard.
Higher task completion rates due to improved navigation and interactive tools.
Stakeholder alignment achieved, leading to minimal revisions during the development phase.
Key Takeaways
Simplicity wins: Users preferred a streamlined, intuitive experience.
Engagement drives retention: Interactive tools like the Contributions Calculator motivated action.
Terminology matters: Clear, user-friendly language is crucial in financial applications.
Stakeholder collaboration is key: Regular workshops and live user testing sessions enhanced buy-in and alignment.
Final Thoughts
This project reinforced the importance of iterative user testing and clear communication with stakeholders. By prioritizing usability, education, and engagement, we created a member portal that not only meets user needs but also aligns with business goals.
Final Deliverables:
High-fidelity prototype, UX specifications, and annotated UI designs.