Improving User Comprehension by 25%
Navigation Testing
Company
Questrade
Industries
FinTech
Date
Nov 2023
Questrade is Canada's largest independent online brokerage firm. It provides self-directed and managed investing platforms, enabling Canadians to trade stocks, ETFs, and other financial products through intuitive digital tools.
About the Project
Questrade’s navigation structure was designed to help users manage their finances, but was it intuitive?
Our goal was to evaluate whether users could easily find key financial actions like moving money, transferring investments, and managing their accounts.
Research Impact
Through research, we found that certain navigation labels created confusion when users tried to complete key financial tasks. As per our recommendations, the design team changed the "Account Management" label to simply "Management."
This one-word change significantly reduced misclicks and improved task accuracy.
For a platform where users are often managing large sums of money or time-sensitive transactions, this refinement helped reduce cognitive load and prevent user frustration, contributing to a more seamless and reliable user experience.
The Process
As Lead UX Researcher, I designed and ran a first-click testing using Optimal Workshop and UserTesting.com:
Recruited 40 participants (evenly split: new vs. existing users)
Randomized 2–3 tasks per user to avoid answer bias
Analyzed click behavior to identify label confusion
Insights revealed that users misunderstood where to initiate financial actions, often choosing "Account Management" for tasks related to moving money.
I distilled these findings into actionable recommendations alongside another researcher and presented the findings to the design team.
Upon running a follow-up study, we found a 25% increase in task success rates after the label change was implemented.
What I'd Do Differently
A/B Testing
A simple label change is easy to isolate, making it ideal for an A/B test to validate behavioral impact at scale and detect statistically significant differences in misclicks or task success.
Open Card Sorting
Could have helped uncover how users naturally categorize key actions and if there may have been a better fitting label than "Management."
However, results from card sorting can be fragmented and need careful synthesis, especially with smaller sample sizes.
Task Completion Time Tracking
Comparing time-on-task across rounds could highlight trade-offs between clarity and speed.
For example, improved accuracy but slower performance may suggest the label is technically clearer but less instinctive.
Benchmarking Against Industry/Internal Standards
Would help contextualize observed metrics (e.g., accuracy, speed).