Info Architecture

Each module is anchored by a Dashboard that summarizes large amounts of data. These Dashboards drill down into Reports configured by the user. Optimizing the Dashboards relied heavily on data visualization and visual design skills, while interaction design expertise was critical when streamlining the Report UI. Meanwhile, solid information architecture and user research skills proved instrumental when pulling together the various pieces of the system into a single, easy to navigate, platform.

First, I looked at the existing, individual component UX and performed a gap analysis to estimate the work needed to bring the products together. This included a map of the individual products’ information architecture to help identify inconsistencies and overlaps in the organization of the modules. This process uncovered a number of discrepancies, though we waited to resolve them until we determined how to merge the modules into a single platform.

Next, I worked with the product managers of each of the modules to determine overarching features that should be added at the platform level to weave the modules together. We looked at common traits shared by potential clients that could guide our decision-making. Ultimately, it was determined that most clients had similar organizational structures within their compliance department: upper-level executives were responsible for a larger number of compliance roles, with a multiple direct reports who managed specific areas matching our modules’ functionality. Purchasing decisions were made by the senior compliance executives, so it was important to consider both the usability and curb-appeal for this audience when designing the structure of the platform.

To help pull together the disparate elements of the existing system, I designed a series of Summary screens, targeted at Chief Compliance Officers who needed to scan multiple areas of responsibility. These screens highlighted key metrics that these executives needed to monitor and then allowed a quick path to drill down to the underlying data that they would reference less frequently. However, these Detail screens were the domain of the direct reports: discipline managers who relied on this data to manage their teams on a daily basis. The Summary screens also served as reports to enable efficient, data-oriented conversations between the CCO and their team discipline leaders.

To better serve the discipline leaders, I designed a system of filtering behaviors that provided an range of visibility levels: some filters completely excluded records that didn’t meet the filter criteria, while other data sets just visually de-emphasized non-matching records without completely obscuring them. By developing a number of these techniques as patterns with defined use cases, I enabled developers to apply them throughout the system based on the level of visibility the user needed in each scenario without granular design guidance.

I also mapped the data used throughout the system to identify opportunities to provide “warp zones” between data sets. These quick links allowed users who were viewing one group of data to quickly jump to a related data set without clicking through a cumbersome set of breadcrumbs and navigation.

For example, a manager might be reviewing a series of trades made in the last week to monitor for insider trading behavior. After noticing a frequent pattern of short sells by a particular employee, the manager may want to review that employee’s overall compliance profile. In the previously fragmented structure of this system, they would launch a different application and review the employee’s information in an unrelated UI. My new design integrated that information into the current insider trading screen, using a standard UI component that could be reused in multiple contexts. By designing shortcuts to this data, I accelerated the ability to cross-reference data throughout the platform and enabled development efficiency with patterns that could be implemented once and leveraged repeatedly.