InvestOn Digital Advice Platform | Robo-Advisor Product & Service Design
BOK Financial
InvestOn Summary
TL;DR — InvestOn (Digital Advice Investing)
- Role: Lead UX Designer; Product & Service Design
- Org: BOK Financial
- Scope: End-to-end service design: Onboarding, goal-setting, portfolio tracking, systems integration, compliance gates, operations workflows
- Partners: Product, Engineering, Compliance
Outcomes
- −50% onboarding time (usability testing)
- +35% post-launch user activity (analytics)
- WCAG 2.0 compliance achieved
- Modular design system enabled faster feature additions
How we measured
- Onboarding time: Moderated usability testing across iterations; time-to-complete measured on the onboarding flow.
- User activity: Post-launch analytics; increase in activity among target segments (incl. first-time investors).
- Accessibility: WCAG 2.0 criteria applied throughout; periodic accessibility checks with iterative fixes.
Reconstructed summary for portfolio; no client data or internal screenshots shown.
Project Overview
At BOK Financial, I was the sole UX designer and lead the overall product design of InvestOn, a digital advice investing product designed to make investing more accessible to a broader range of customers. InvestOn provides users with a streamlined, user-friendly platform to receive personalized investment advice, track portfolio performance, and manage their financial goals. I was responsible for crafting an intuitive user experience that aligned with business objectives and empowered customers to take control of their investments.
Initial Challenges
Bringing InvestOn to life presented several challenges:
•Complex Investment Concepts: Investment products and strategies often overwhelm users unfamiliar with financial jargon or processes.
•User Confidence: Many prospective users lacked confidence in their ability to make financial decisions without professional guidance.
•System Integration: The platform needed to seamlessly integrate with BOK Financial’s existing infrastructure while offering a modern, engaging experience.
•Accessibility: Ensuring the product was inclusive and met WCAG standards was critical for serving a diverse user base.
Project Objectives
The primary goals for InvestOn were to:
1. Simplify Investing: Break down complex financial concepts into intuitive workflows and clear, actionable steps.
2. Build Trust and Confidence: Create features and content that educated users and reinforced their confidence in making investment decisions.
3. Drive Engagement: Encourage users to actively manage their portfolios by delivering a seamless and visually engaging experience.
4. Ensure Scalability: Apply an iterative design process and a unified design language to create a product that supports future features and maintains consistency across all components.
Methodology
To address these objectives, I followed a structured, user-centered design process:
1.User Research:
• Conducted interviews with potential users to understand their goals, pain points, and hesitations about digital investing.
• Analyzed behavioral data from BOK Financial’s digital platforms to identify patterns and opportunities.
2.Personas and Journey Mapping:
• Developed user personas representing key customer segments, including first-time investors and tech-savvy users.
• Mapped user journeys to highlight critical touchpoints and areas for improvement in the investing process.
3.Prototyping and Testing:
• Designed wireframes and interactive prototypes, iterating based on feedback from usability testing sessions.
• Focused on ensuring onboarding, goal-setting, and portfolio tracking flows were intuitive and engaging.
4.Collaboration and Iteration:
• Worked closely with product managers, developers, and compliance teams to align the design with technical and regulatory requirements.
• Designed from the start using the BOK UX design language, maintaining consistency across all digital products.
5.Accessibility and Inclusivity:
• Applied WCAG 2.0 standards throughout the design process, conducting accessibility audits and making iterative improvements.
6. Service Design & Cross Functional Alignment
- Created service blueprints mapping customer journey, backstage operations (Compliance, Risk, Legal, Ops), systems/APIs, and policy gates
- Identified bottlenecks and dependencies between customer experience, operational workflows, and technical infrastructure
- Facilitated alignment across Product, Engineering, Risk, Compliance, and Operations on implementation sequence and handoffs
Service Blueprint: Robo-Advisor Onboarding
While the InvestOn case study focuses on the UX/product design work, the underlying service design was critical to successful implementation. I created a detailed service blueprint mapping the end-to-end onboarding flow to align Product, Engineering, Risk, Compliance, and Operations teams.
The blueprint documented:
Frontstage (Customer Journey):
- Learn about robo-advisor → Start account opening → Answer risk questions → Set investment goals → Link funding account → Review/approve portfolio → Monitor performance
Backstage (Operations):
- Compliance review of account application (2-3 business days)
- Risk team evaluation of risk profile
- Legal review of disclosures
- Operations account setup
Support Processes (Systems & APIs):
- Account opening API (Docusign)
- Risk scoring algorithm
- Portfolio construction engine (Black Diamond Portfolio Engine)
- Funding/ACH API (Plaid ACH Integration)
- Rebalancing engine
- Performance reporting
Policy & Governance:
- AML/KYC verification
- SEC disclosure requirements
- FINRA suitability check
- Account minimums enforced
- Quarterly rebalancing policy
Key Insights from Blueprinting:
- Identified compliance review as primary bottleneck (2-3 business days)
- Flagged ACH funding failures as top customer friction point
- Proposed automation of low-risk account approvals
- Recommended real-time funding status updates to reduce customer anxiety
- Simplified risk questionnaire based on user testing and compliance input
This blueprint served as the alignment artifact for the cross-functional team, clarifying dependencies, technical requirements, and regulatory constraints before development began. It helped us launch the robo-advisor in under 12 months with zero compliance findings.
Results & Impact
InvestOn launched successfully, achieving the following outcomes:
• Simplified Investing Experience: Usability testing revealed a 50% reduction in onboarding time, with users praising the clarity of the process.
• Increased User Engagement: Post-launch analytics showed a 35% increase in user activity, with significant growth in younger, first-time investors.
• Enhanced Customer Trust: Personalized features, such as tailored goal-setting tools and portfolio recommendations, increased user confidence, reflected in improved customer feedback scores.
• Scalable Foundation: The platform’s modular design system allowed for the seamless addition of new features, such as expanded portfolio analytics and educational content.
• Improved Accessibility: The product met WCAG compliance standards, ensuring inclusivity for all users, including those with disabilities.
My Contributions
User research & personas • Journey mapping • Information architecture • Wireframing & prototyping • Usability testing • Service blueprinting • Cross-functional facilitation (Product, Engineering, Risk, Compliance, Operations) • WCAG 2.0 accessibility implementation • Design system integration • Iterative design & launch support
Designing InvestOn demonstrated the power of combining product design with service design thinking. By mapping not just the user experience but the entire service—including backstage operations, technical systems, and compliance workflows—we aligned a complex, cross-functional team and delivered a product that launched in under 12 months with zero compliance findings. This project reinforced my passion for designing experiences that make meaningful differences in people’s lives while navigating the operational and regulatory complexity of financial services.