Fidelity Investments

AdviceHub

How might we simplify complex capabilities across multiple experiences to create a more efficient workflow for associates to deepen and broaden client relationships?
Role Senior UX Designer
Channel Web
Timeframe 3 months

Overview AdviceHub is a platform that modernizes and consolidates legacy desktop tools, enabling associates to manage Fidelity's Managed Solutions relationships more effectively and with greater efficiency.
Contribution Led UX as part of an Agile squad—defined user priorities through workshops, optimized filtering for 500+ associates handling 1,000+ clients, and drove an 80% engagement boost.

Problem Advisors faced fragmented tools and legacy systems that made client data access complex, increasing errors and reducing service quality across 50+ disconnected processes.
Hypothesis Refining information architecture and consolidating workflows will reduce task time, decrease errors, and increase associate engagement.

 

Disclaimer: Due to compliant restrictions, details have been omited. Let's connect for more details!

Overview

Associates struggle to efficiently access essential client information due to disjointed applications, causing time inefficiencies and hindering their ability to provide optimal client service.

Problem

A lack of cohesion across various tools for advisors has created a complex and challenging ecosystem to navigate, comprising 50+ distributed processes.Legacy platforms and limited integration produce confusion, inefficiency, and manual errors.
  • 01
    50+ distributed processes

    A lack of cohesion across various tools for advisors has created a complex and challenging ecosystem to navigate.

  • 02
    Legacy platforms

    The lack of integration across applications creates confusion, inefficiency, and manual errors.

Initial homepage from MVP launch
Initial homepage from MVP launch
Initial view of profile
Initial view of profile
Initial view of worklist
Initial view of worklist

Solution

Enabled context sharing and consolidated workflows to reduce redundant tasks and centralize client data access.
  • 01
    Context sharing

    Enabled client authentication sharing across systems to reduce tools by syncing data.

  • 02
    Consolidated processes

    Streamlined touchpoints, reducing processes by roughly 50% and improving workflow efficiency.

Approach

Worked with cross-functional squads to validate information architecture through moderated usability tests and iteratively refine navigation and filtering to prioritize user tasks.

Insights
  • Overall, users responded very well to the simplified navigation, describing it as simplified or easy to use.
  • Back-office participants favored direct access to specific workflow tools/features when needed.
  • Users valued a functional home page highlighting their next best area of focus.
  • The majority found the overall experience simple and easy to navigate.
  • Participants expected customized information related to their role on the home page, especially high-risk items.
Recommendations
  • Refine roles and responsibilities to ensure proper permissions and access across the platform.
  • Expand data sourcing via APIs to reduce the need to gather client information across tools.
  • Conduct deeper IA analysis as more products are consolidated in AdviceHub.
  • Ensure complex data tables are accessible, including interactive tables with advanced filtering.
  • Define sentiment and task completion metrics to quantify UX improvements.

Context Sharing Workflow
Context Sharing Workflow

Ideation

To scale our platform infrastructure, iteration on information architecture paved the path for migrating data and complex workflows.

Tested visual treatments for navigation while consolidating features toward a client-focused paradigm.

Global navigation Tested visual treatments for navigation while consolidating features toward a client-focused paradigm.
Explored filtering by role to consolidate client books and prioritize near/overdue actions.

User filtering Explored filtering by role to consolidate client books and prioritize near/overdue actions.

Personalized worklist Users can create and save preferences on client books with actions.
Users can create and save preferences on client books with actions.
Enhanced user alerts Implemented automated events for new or updated work items.
Implemented automated events for new or updated work items.
UI enhancements Updated design system to a modern visual language leveraging CSS grid.
Updated design system to a modern visual language leveraging CSS grid.

Wireframes

Wireframes and prototypes validated IA, filtering, and dashboard layouts to support primary associate tasks.

Updated dashboardOne-click access to advice tools such as transition analysis, fee estimation, and gradual investing.
One-click access to advice tools such as transition analysis, fee estimation, and gradual investing.
Centralized client booksOpen a client profile by searching SSN or Account Number for quick access.
Open a client profile by searching SSN or Account Number for quick access.
Client ProfileView plan summary, upcoming reviews, accounts, and goals in one place.
View plan summary, upcoming reviews, accounts, and goals in one place.
Manage client dataCreate and manage account profiles, review plans, enable resource access, and recalculate fee households.
Create and manage account profiles, review plans, enable resource access, and recalculate fee households.
Worklist managementConsolidated worklist with prioritized urgent items, sortable plan review lists, and notifications.
Consolidated worklist with prioritized urgent items, sortable plan review lists, and notifications.

Impact

Centering strategy on efficiency and UX led to measurable improvements across adoption and performance.

Work items in 2021 processed.

2,800+

~1,000 new users from 2020 (increase of users).

80%

~2,100 days reduced in load wait times.

75%

Takeaway

Advocating for a human-first experience is essential; present alternate design solutions to persuade cross-functional teams.

Lessons learned
  • Partner closely with the scrum master to shape design within the product lifecycle.
  • Reduce jargon by collaborating with content strategy to improve clarity for users.
  • Leverage existing UX resources to educate stakeholders on accessibility and complex patterns.
Potential next steps
  • Define ease-of-use metrics to measure effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction.
  • Iterate detailed design based on user testing insights.
  • Partner with architects to expand component and API integrations for reusability.

AdviceHub Platform Consolidation Modernizing advisor workflows by consolidating 50+ legacy processes into unified platform

CDO Priority Set expectations for brevity (15 min), establish credibility, preview your direct leadership impact. Say Your title, company context, the business problem scale. Emphasize "I led" statements, quantifiable scope (users, teams, timeline). Avoid Generic team language—focus on YOUR role/decisions.

Context The Challenge
  • Organization Fidelity Investments is a multinational financial services corporation, offering investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, and brokerage services to individuals and institutions worldwide.
  • Problem Advisors faced fragmented tools and legacy systems across 50+ processes, creating inefficiency and errors
  • Scope Platform consolidation serving 500+ associates managing 1,000+ clients across Managed Solutions
  • Timeline 3 months
  • Role Senior UX Designer

CDO Priority Demonstrate strategic context awareness—why this mattered to the business. Say Root cause (acquisitions, tech debt, org structure), business cost/impact, constraints that made it hard. Emphasize Why YOU were brought in, executive stakes, urgency. Keep under 60 seconds.

Context My Role & Impact

  • Design Leadership Led UX as part of Agile squad, facilitated design workshops to define user priorities

  • Research & Strategy Conducted moderated usability tests to validate information architecture and navigation

  • Component Design Optimized filtering and dashboard layouts for associates managing large client books

  • Adoption & Governance Worked with cross-functional teams to enable context sharing and reduce redundant workflows

  • Measurable Impact 80% engagement boost, ~50% process reduction, 75% improvement in load times

CDO Priority Prove you led hands-on AND strategically. Say Specific actions YOU took (audited, designed, trained), tactical deliverables with YOUR fingerprints. Emphasize Leadership evolution—IC work that built credibility → process/systems you established. Connect metrics to your decisions. CDOs want to see agency, not task completion.

Research What We Discovered

  • Usability Testing Users responded very well to simplified navigation, describing it as easy to use

  • User Interviews Back-office users favored direct access to specific workflow tools when needed

  • Task Analysis Users valued functional home page highlighting next best area of focus

  • Role-Based Needs Participants expected customized information related to their role, especially high-risk items

  • Key Insight Context sharing and workflow consolidation would reduce task time and errors

CDO Priority Show research rigor led to strategic insights, not just findings. Say Methods YOU used (interviews, audits, synthesis), key insight that changed the approach, how you reframed problems to leadership. Emphasize User empathy, business risk/opportunity, influencing up. 1 memorable story > 5 data points.

Exploration Approach

Complete Platform Rebuild

Start from scratch with modern stack—too high risk during mainframe migration

Incremental Consolidation (Selected)

Migrate tools gradually while refining IA—balanced risk and value delivery

Status Quo

Keep separate tools—wouldn't solve fragmentation or efficiency issues

CDO Priority Demonstrate design thinking—explored multiple paths, made informed trade-offs. Say Why each approach failed/succeeded, YOUR criteria for selection, what you personally built/designed. Emphasize Strategic architecture decisions (tokens, systems thinking), balancing user needs vs. business constraints. Show prototyping rigor, not perfection.

Process Critical Design Decisions

Context Sharing

Enabled client authentication sharing across systems to reduce tool-switching

Consolidated Workflows

Streamlined touchpoints, reducing processes by roughly 50%

Global Navigation

Tested visual treatments while consolidating features toward client-focused paradigm

Enhanced Filtering

Explored filtering by role to consolidate client books and prioritize actions

Why these mattered Platform stability dominated team velocity—prioritized enhancements enabling task completion

CDO Priority Prove you make principled decisions under ambiguity. Say Each decision's rationale, what you traded off, how decisions connected to research insights. Emphasize YOUR convictions (why you fought for X), where you adapted based on feedback. Focus on 2-3 decisions that show strategic maturity. CDOs value judgment over process.

Outcomes What Worked

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration Partnered with squads to validate IA through moderated usability tests

  • Iterative Refinement Refined navigation and filtering based on continuous user feedback

  • Personalized Worklists Users could create and save preferences on client books with actions

  • UI Enhancements Updated to modern visual language leveraging CSS grid

  • Result 80% user growth, 2,800+ work items processed, 75% reduction in load times

CDO Priority Show execution + change management skills. Say Specific tactics YOU ran (workshops, partnerships, pilots), how you drove adoption without authority. Emphasize Building coalitions, creating internal champions, adapting when initial plans failed. Mention systems/frameworks you created that others could replicate. CDOs hire multipliers, not doers.

Learnings What Didn't Work

  • Tool Consolidation Timing Migrating during mainframe decommissioning created tension between stability and UX

  • Early IA Studies Should have completed IA studies before feature migration to reduce rework

  • Key Learning Platform stability must enable task completion before optimizing experience

CDO Priority Demonstrate self-awareness and learning agility—critical for senior roles. Say 2-3 failures YOU owned, what you learned, how you pivoted quickly. Emphasize Personal accountability ("I pushed too hard," "I bottlenecked"), data-informed corrections, humility. CDOs respect vulnerability + action. Never blame team/stakeholders—show ownership.

Reflection Key Lessons

  • Lesson 1 Advocate for human-first experience by presenting alternate solutions to cross-functional teams

  • Lesson 2 Partner with scrum master to shape design within product lifecycle

  • Lesson 3 Reduce jargon through content strategy to improve clarity

  • Lesson 4 Leverage existing UX resources to educate on accessibility

CDO Priority Synthesize insights into transferable principles—show you build repeatable systems. Say 3-5 lessons that transcend this project, how they'd apply to new contexts. Emphasize Strategic maturity ("systems > heroes"), process innovations you'd bring to their org. Connect lessons to CDO concerns scaling design, org transformation, cross-functional influence.

Results Impact

2,800+

Work items processed in 2021

80%

Increase of 1,000 new users from 2020

75%

Reduction in load wait times (~2,100 days saved)

Qualitative Impact Context sharing and tool consolidation strengthened client relationship workflows and reduced manual errors

CDO Priority Quantify business value in their language—this is THE slide that matters. Say How metrics were measured (methodology = credibility), before/after comparison, financial impact. Emphasize Metrics tied to YOUR decisions/work, exceeded goals (show ambition), qualitative transformation. Spend 90 seconds here. CDOs fund impact, not activity. Always tie to revenue/cost/risk.

Future What's Next

  • What I Learned Importance of balancing platform stability with experience improvements

  • What I Bring Ability to navigate complex constraints while advocating for users

CDO Priority Connect past success to future value for THEIR org. Say Proof of sustainability (what happened after you ), transferable capabilities you demonstrated. Emphasize Leadership philosophy, comfort with ambiguity, what you'd bring to their specific challenges. Close with confidence "This taught me to [capability], which aligns with your [need]."

Discussion Questions & Deep Dives

I'm happy to discuss platform consolidation strategies, IA validation methods, or legacy system modernization.

What aspects of platform consolidation would you like to explore further?

CDO Priority Invite engagement, show depth without overwhelming. Say "Happy to elaborate on [their concern]—design process, stakeholder dynamics, technical decisions." Emphasize You have more depth than shown, you're collaborative and open. Read the room If early (13 min), offer areas to expand. If late (16 min), offer Q&A only. Demonstrate executive presence.

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