Impact
90% User Satisfaction Rate
Achieved high sentiment survey scores from users during post-launch testing.
Achieved high sentiment survey scores from users during post-launch testing.
Reduced Cognitive Load
Streamlined the workflow by decoupling the two different views, ensuring users only interact with relevant data.
Streamlined the workflow by decoupling the two different views, ensuring users only interact with relevant data.
Process Efficiency
Decreased uncertainty for infrequent users by implementing proactive in-app guidance and context-rich notifications.
Decreased uncertainty for infrequent users by implementing proactive in-app guidance and context-rich notifications.
Overview
ROLE
• UX Designer at OneTrust
TIMELINE
• 3 months
• 3 months
TEAM
• 2 UX Designers
• 1 UX Researcher
• 2 Product Managers
• 1 Front-End Engineering Lead
• 1 Back-End Engineering Lead
• 2 UX Designers
• 1 UX Researcher
• 2 Product Managers
• 1 Front-End Engineering Lead
• 1 Back-End Engineering Lead
PLATFORM
• B2B Web Application
• B2B Web Application
TOOLS
• Figma
• Maze
• Figma
• Maze
What is an ethics disclosure?
An ethics disclosure is the voluntary release of information from an employee.
• This helps build transparency and trust within a company to mitigate risk
• The process involves employees answering a series of ethics and compliance survey questions
• Example questions include: "Do you have an additional job? If so, how many hours a week do you work?"
The individuals who review disclosures are known as Approvers. They can either approve or send back the disclosure. Employees who submit a disclosure are referred to as Respondents.
The problem
Approvers were forced to use the same interface as Respondents, despite having entirely different objectives. This caused:
• Infrequent users (reviewing 1–2 times a year) felt "lost" in a UI not designed for them, resulting in a high cognitive load
• Users had to hunt through redundant arrows and menus to find actionable data
• A lack of context forced users to leave the platform to find additional information, stalling the approval flow
On the original screens, users needed to click the bottom right arrows on the page to enter the view they needed to review (Left). Users were also presented with a redundant way to navigate the questions (Right).
“Approvers look at the wrong places. When there are so many things to look at, they can lose sight of the most important things."
- User interview participant
- User interview participant
Working with PMs and Engineering, I went through each screen of the approval flow to understand the technical limitations, assumptions, and historical context before beginning research.
Research goals
Explore and understand
What are the specific challenges approvers face within the disclosure approval workflow?
Validate
Are design improvements addressing pain points?
Research process & methods
Customer communication
I spoke with 11 individuals across 5 different customer organizations. Additionally, I sent a survey to 40 customers.
Adapting to survey response delay
Adjusted to a delayed user response during the holiday season by shifting focus to technical discovery and PM alignment to keep the sprint moving.
Key insights & recommendations
Users often become a blocker because they use the tool infrequently, sometimes only once or twice a year, which leads to confusion about which actions to take.
Recommendation: Implemented step-by-step tip modals and stripped the UI of respondent-only features to minimize distractions.
Users often leave the workflow to search for more context.
Recommendation: Added a configurable side-drawer that surfaces HR data and disclosure history directly within the review screen.
Users can be uncertain about what they need to do after they submit their review.
Recommendation: Created an automated redirect to a prioritized task list, ensuring the user always knows their next best action.
Recommendation: Implemented step-by-step tip modals and stripped the UI of respondent-only features to minimize distractions.
Users often leave the workflow to search for more context.
Recommendation: Added a configurable side-drawer that surfaces HR data and disclosure history directly within the review screen.
Users can be uncertain about what they need to do after they submit their review.
Recommendation: Created an automated redirect to a prioritized task list, ensuring the user always knows their next best action.
Wireframes & early iteration
Design trade-off: complexity vs. speed
The Decision: Pivoted from a data-visualization dashboard to a high-density, text-based data model.
• The existing design system lacked robust data-viz components that could handle the highly configurable nature of customer data and building custom components from scratch would have required significant engineering effort and risked delaying the release
• Research indicated that information accuracy was more critical to approvers than visual charts
• By choosing a structured text layout, we ensured 100% data integrity and eliminated the risk of "broken" or misleading visualizations for complex data sets
• This pivot reduced the estimated front-end effort by approximately two development sprints
User feedback
Positive, yet constructive
Overall, customers found the new designs clear and easier to utilize. There were some minor concerns in the UI and the data viewing customization that needed to be addressed.
High-fidelity mockups
A tip modal with multiple steps to help guide the approver when they enter the flow. They can choose not to show it every time they log in. It addresses the insight that users may not know what actions to take.
An updated approver view of a disclosure. It is a more condensed and efficient way of showing the responses. It also addresses the insight that approvers may need to locate more information before finishing their review.
A new table view the user is navigated to after finishing their review. It shows which disclosures still need their attention and which ones they have completed. It addresses the insight that an approver may not know what to do after submitting a review.
Outcomes
I delivered a pragmatic, high-confidence solution under technical constraints.
I made a strategic design pivot that preserved data integrity, reduced implementation risk, and eliminated the need for additional development cycles, enabling the team to ship on time without compromising user trust.
I drove cross-functional alignment and delivery.
I reacted to research and timing risks, aligned Product and Engineering around clear design priorities, and translated complex findings into decisive requirements that kept the project moving despite external delays
"Nick is a skilled and thorough researcher... His ability to uncover key user insights has contributed significantly to the success of our team’s projects."
- John Langford, previous UX manager at OneTrust
- John Langford, previous UX manager at OneTrust
