Improving insurance mobile app usability through testing and iterative design
After a year at Omni Strategies, I transitioned to a leadership role as we began developing 'MyPolicy.market,' a centralised 'all-in-one' platform for buying and selling insurance.
I tested the existing web prototype and led the design of a mobile-friendly experience with a focus on improving usability.
Lead Product Designer
1 Product Designer
1 Content Designer
1 Product Manager
3 Software Engineers
2 Executive Managers
At a glance
▸ Inefficient product development process.
▸ Limited resources, dev time and budget.
▸ Understand web prototype usability flaws.
▸ Develop MVP with improved usability.
MVP designed on schedule.
Task Success Rate in testing.
Faster feature development.
Result — Improved usability with a 85% task success rate
After 10 months of working on MyPolicy.market alongside other projects, I defined a strategic positioning and market opportunity for the product in collaboration with the PM and Exec management.
Leadership decided on creating a user-friendly mobile app for instant insurance requests and policy management and a SaaS web interface for insurance companies and brokers. I drove the identification of a USP – accessibility and led the design of the MVP, achieving an 85% Task Success Rate (TSR) in testing of the ‘Get a Quote’ feature, the key to the entire mobile app.
Inside the Outcomes and Results
⁰¹ Discovery
¹ Understanding key features in a crit session
I conducted a crit session with the CEO, engineering and the business team to understand the web prototype.
As a result, I mapped out the existing user flow of key features in the system.
² Competitive analysis
I recognised the need for a clear positioning strategy after discussions with leadership and the business team.
Collaborating with the project manager, I developed a unique selling proposition (USP) and conducted a competitive analysis, benchmarking our product against existing offerings in the local industry.
³ Usability testing
I ran a test with 20 participants to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the ‘buying experience’ – the insurance purchasing form in the web prototype.
The results validated some of my concerns about the usability of the form.
⁰² Synthesis & Design
¹ Product positioning
From conducting the competitive analysis and identifying the product flaws through usability testing, I worked with the Product manager and business operations team to create a brand identity and product positioning.
² Experience redesign
Building out the newly defined product, I focused the experience design of the key pillars of simplicity and accessibility.
Maintaining contextual understanding with Miller's Law
As part of my effort to maintain alignment with our product pillars, I leveraged chunking in the experience and component design.
The result?
Components helping users maintain a sense of location and contextual understanding, improving the ease of filling forms digitally.
Components designed to maintain contextual understanding
⁰³ Iterative design
¹ Design & iteration
I explored designs hinged on our central pillar - accessibility.
I focused on key flows and features identified to be problematic from the crit session namely: User Authentication, Insurance Application Flexibility, Insurance Application Filling/The Buying Experience.
Prototype — User logging in to app
Prototype — User changing application method
Decision point to provide application flexibility for users
Usability test — Insurance selection
I conducted usability tests with our 20-person user group to evaluate the experience of our insurance selection screen for simplicity and comprehensiveness.
Why? We were launching an MVP with only 2 insurance types available at launch with others following post launch.
Before: Users were unable to discern what insurance types were instantly available
Feedback: Icons and the quote button were significantly more visually accessible.
Feedback: Icons were not visually accessible and the quote button was not obvious.
Feedback: Icons and the quote button were significantly more visually accessible.
A/B test — Navigation
Content Design Accessibility
I collaborated closely with the Content Designer to ensure Content Accessibility across the product experience.
² Design system & handoff
I led the development of a design system based on lessons learned while building Omnibus Design System.
Ensuring consistency with WCAG AA accessibility guidelines for components, elements and intractable artefacts.
Learnings
Accessibility beyond visual 🔍
Understanding the context of accessibility covers more than visual artefacts and the role it plays in product development.
Design systems — Product 🤝🏾 Eng
Building the design system and developing component tokens, I gained a deeper appreciating for cross-functional collaboration.
'Good' solutions are contextual 🤔
Solutions aren't always one-size fits all. Familiarising with the context makes developing a good solution possible.
Trade-offs are part of development 🌚
Building is a balancing act, not all features are feasible. Knowing when to hold and fold 'em is a part of building feasibly.
MVP designed on schedule.
Task Success Rate in testing.
Faster feature development.
Result — Improved usability with a 85% task success rate
After 10 months of working on MyPolicy.market alongside other projects, I defined a strategic positioning and market opportunity for the product in collaboration with the PM and Exec management.
Leadership decided on creating a user-friendly mobile app for instant insurance requests and policy management and a SaaS web interface for insurance companies and brokers. I drove the identification of a USP – accessibility and led the design of the MVP, achieving an 85% Task Success Rate (TSR) in testing of the ‘Get a Quote’ feature, the key to the entire mobile app.
