Stable Value
Designing Financial Transparency: How We Made Stable Value Funds Transparent
OverviewStable value fund customers, conservative investors seeking principal preservation with bond-like returns had no secure place to view account details, statements, or important documents. Instead, they received everything via email, which frequently resulted in wrong information or even someone else's sensitive paperwork being sent to them.
Understanding the problem
BackgroundBeyond the security and privacy concerns, home office workers were spending 40% of their time simply triaging basic user requests due to these outdated systems.The existing platform suffered from unclear instructions, redundant data entry, poor navigation, and frequent system glitches that forced users to restart their work.
InfoRole
Product Designer-responsible for research, interaction design, and scaling patterns through the design system.
Team
I worked alongside a product owner, 2 business analysts, and 5 engineers on a project that had been long overlooked by the business.
Timeline
6 months
Understanding the ConstraintsBusiness Challenge
The system relied on delayed batch data and legacy infrastructure that limited “real-time” experiences.
User Challenge
Advisors needed transparency and clarity but were often blocked by performance limitations and incomplete history.
Key UX Tension
Balance transparency with technical reality without eroding user trust.
A Rare OpportunityWhen the product owner said "design whatever you want," I saw this as more than creative freedom it was a chance to establish modern patterns for an overlooked customer segment. But first, I needed to understand who these customers really were.
Design Strategy and DecisionsExperience Principles
Expectation setting over false precision
Speed over sophistication
Clarity over visual density
Key UX Decisions
Introduced “data freshness” indicators with timestamps
Designed lightweight, fast-loading summaries
Built modular export components aligned with design-system standards
Research: Who Are Stable Value Investors?I dug through our research repository and conducted interviews with internal stakeholders to understand:
Customer profile:
Conservative with their funds, preferring lower risk
Value transparency and are cautious about changes
Seek predictable, steady returns with specific time horizons
Most have 1 account, some have 3-5, very few up to 40 accounts
Business CaseHome office spending 40% of their time on basic triage created a clear ROI for self-service features. I used this data to advocate for solutions that would empower users while reducing operational waste.Content areas too small to read comfortably.
Testing Early, Validating OftenUsing our account with UserTesting.com, I conducted comprehensive feedback sessions with 11 participants: 8 end users and 3 home office workers. My goal was to validate layout, overall friendliness, and whether the design met actual user needs, all while still in low-fidelity.
What Users Told MeEnd users were excited to finally have:
A secure place for documents
More timely access to updated information
Visual affordance into account information prominent above the fold
Home office workers validated that this would significantly reduce their triage burden.
The Mid-Project PivotWhile deep into high-fidelity designs, requirements changed. Bulk download suddenly became the highest priority. I had to completely redesign one section of the dashboard.
The challenge: We didn't have bulk download as part of our design system.
My approach: Rather than creating a one-off solution, I collaborated with designers on the design system team to create a reusable pattern that could scale beyond this project. This turned a blocker into a contribution to the broader design ecosystem.
I also balanced modern aesthetics with conservative audience expectations, the design needed to feel clean and trustworthy, not flashy.
Handoff: Setting Up for SuccessI created a comprehensive Figma file with:
Detailed annotations
Use cases for different scenarios
Dev Mode enabled for seamless engineering handoff
This was my final project at the company before moving on. While I didn't see launch metrics, the project moved to development without major issues, which I consider validation of thorough design work.
Future Vision: Day 2 OpportunitiesA mature version of this platform could include:
Enhanced customer experience:
Payment features so users can pay bills, not just download them
All invoice types (Day 1 only released certain documents)
AI-powered data analysis to help users understand their information faster
Enhanced data visualization for trend analysis
Design system expansion:
Fully documented patterns for complex tables
Refined bulk download interactions
Expanded component library based on this use case
What This Project Taught MeAdvocate with data
When given freedom to "design whatever you want," I used the "40% time spent on triage" metric to justify self-service features and get buy-in for user testing investment
Collaborate, don't isolate
When requirements changed mid-project, I reached out to the design system team rather than working in isolation, turning a blocker into a collaboration opportunity
I made it a practice to articulate design decisions at a deeper level to product and business colleagues, helping them feel invested in the work and improving overall team communication
Explain deeply to non-technical stakeholders
Ask "silly questions" openly
Normalizing the need to clarify assumptions improved team communication and prevented costly misunderstandings downstream
Design for the audience, not the trend
Conservative investors needed clean and trustworthy, not cutting edge and flashy. Understanding user psychology was as important as understanding design trends.
What This Project Strengthened
Designing trust is as important as designing usability
Constraints can be used intentionally instead of hidden
What I’d Improve
Earlier technical feasibility partnership
More user testing on trust perception, not just usability
Why This Work MattersThis project demonstrated that even overlooked customer segments deserve thoughtful, research-driven design. By creating secure, transparent access to financial information, we didn't just build a dashboard—we built trust with customers who value stability and predictability in an uncertain world.
The patterns and processes established here became building blocks for future projects, showing that good design work compounds beyond a single launch.
Note: Specific company details and visual designs are protected by NDA. This case study focuses on process, decisions, and learnings that demonstrate my approach to complex enterprise challenges.