Penfold app

The Penfold app, which originally focused on the self-employed, had to evolve to include workplace pensions. It was clear the app needed an improved navigation and information architecture due to cluttered dashboards that was hindering the user experience.

Team: 1x Product Manager, 1x Product Designer, 5x Engineers · Timeframe: May 2023 - September 2023

TL; DR - How I contributed

I drove strategic change by collaborating closely with the Co-founder and Head of Product to shape the long-term vision. I led research initiatives, enhanced the information architecture, and redesigned the dashboard. Additionally, I streamlined the design process and component documentation, ensuring smooth development and an improved user experience.

Outcome: 3.6x transfer flow conversion rate, 4x engagement with core feature

Overview

Penfold is a digital platform designed to streamline pension management for both self-employed individuals and employees.

The Penfold app initially catered to self-employed contributing to their pension, but with the introduction of the Workplace pension proposition, the existing product had to adapt to accommodate new features.

The dashboard of our app showcased the problem - without investing in exploring the overall Information Architecture and navigation, the dashboard became cluttered, complicating the user experience. Furthermore, the app was later adapted to include a desktop version for Workplace users invited to log in via their work email. However, this desktop version proved clunky, resembling little more than a stretched mobile version.

This project aimed to bring foundational changes, allowing personalisation and boosting engagement, aligning with our vision to support everyone saving more for retirement.

Discovery

Rethinking strategy: A design-driven transformation

When I joined Penfold, the main focus was on pension transfers, but I noticed the product development process was making small, incremental changes over time. In my first week, I conducted an app audit, identifying issues and seeking feedback from key teams like Account Managers and Customer Support. In agreement with my manager and Head of Product, Barry, I worked on two streams: one for immediate product needs, especially in pension transfers, and another involving our CEO, Chris, Barry, and my Product Manager, Emi, to establish a long-term design vision.

I structured the discovery work with a research plan, customer calls, vision workshops, design critiques, ideation sessions, and literature research. During these activities, we rethought our business strategy, shifting focus to customer experience and prioritizing larger initiatives over small tactical changes. This strategic shift aligned with our broader product vision, enabling meaningful progress toward long-term goals while still pursuing transfer-focused initiatives.

Design

Empowering user action: designing for meaningful engagement

During this project, I worked on numerous iterations of the Information Architecture and dashboard design. Starting from my first week, I ventured into the project with a multitude of assumptions about the product. As I continued working with others on the product's vision, their input helped me get a clearer direction for what I wanted to achieve with the design. As time went by I also gained a better understanding of our design system and identified its gaps, while undergoing a brand refresh, providing an excellent opportunity to incorporate the new brand elements into the product.

To validate our designs, we employed a combination of moderated and unmoderated testing.

The designs targeted two essential aspects: improving the workplace customer experience while catering to self-invested users, and presenting relevant information at all times, particularly during empty states, to encourage meaningful user actions. To achieve this, we adopted a modular approach, enabling components to display relevant information when needed, enhancing user engagement and satisfaction

Handling this complex project was quite a challenge, especially when it came to passing it on to the developers. To make things clear, I documented all the different parts and made sure each Figma page was named after each story and ticket to help the developers find their way around the big design file.

Outcome

A better onboarding experience to boost new customers' engagement

+3.6x

conversion rate for transfer flow

+4x

engagement with core feature

When we redesigned the dashboard, we were concerned it might impact transfer requests negatively. However, the outcomes exceeded our expectations.

The percentage of customers submitting transfer requests increased significantly from 10% to 36.7%. Moreover, there was a substantial rise in transfer detail, indicating that more customers were willing to edit and successfully complete rejected transfers.
Other features in the app also experienced a similar trend, with our Forecast tool witnessing a 4x increase in page views and interactions.