This process started as a very specific requirement: to migrate the Settings window of a Markets platform from Flux to HTML with UX/UI improvements for all LOB (Limit Order Book). The specialist running the limit order book had the responsibility to guarantee that the top priority order was executed before other orders in the book.
This person had to do this before other orders at an equal or worse price held or submitted by other traders on the floor. So, they needed to be able to set up their workspace to perform their tasks in the most efficient way.
There were two types of problems. On the one hand, at a technical level, the migration of the platform, which implied rethinking the flows.
On the other hand, the need to facilitate setting processes for platform users. Where there were several inconsistencies both in the first setting during onboarding and in the settings window.
After interviewing some of the users of this platform we defined that there were two type of users:
So, we needed to design a very user friendly tool and a wizard for those who were using this platform for the first time.
Wizard was also to help setting up the main things and to show users were to find advanced settings. The main requirement was to design a layout that was flexible to future modifications because they were not certain about the exact features that were going to be included in the platform. I also worked on the Information Architecture and minimising the amount of steps needed to set up the main workspace.
After some research with users and benchmarking we defined the following scope:
On the one hand, there were many design requirements and guidelines to follow. I could not propose changes related to the way that shown., such as the menu on the side. All changes had to go through a series of approvals that took a lot of time and we had a development team with many technical limitations. On the other hand, there was so much information to study about Trading, how LOBs worked, and what users needed. Also, there were few opportunities to get feedback from users, which made the process really stressful.
That's why I defined as a starting point to prioritize the Information Architecture and to understand the relationship between the settings window and the dashboard. At that time, they seemed different products. The Settings Window was using different labels from the Dashboard and it was very difficult to find each component. So, this was a starting point for the First Time Users Wizard.
During this process I learned a lot about working in large teams and the internal difficulties in streamlining the processes that finance companies have.