Discovery and research
Engaged stakeholders early, conducted competitive analysis and heuristic evaluation, interviewed users, and created personas and journey maps to identify pain points and opportunities.
Morgan Stanley / Wealth Management
Advisor Platform Redesign
Turning an overwhelming stream of research into relevant, actionable client insight.
My roleLead UX Designer, AVP · Discovery, journey mapping, information architecture, interaction design and usability
Operational overview
See what needs attention.
ACTIVE128
REVIEW24
EXCEPTIONS07
Project overview
Designing from the operating model out.
After Morgan Stanley merged with Citi’s Smith Barney division, the 3D research and advisory system produced a vast amount of investment content but gave advisors too little control over relevance. Valuable opportunities were buried in noise, confidence in the system fell, and advisors struggled to connect research to specific client needs.
The challenge
Complex work was getting in the way of good decisions.
- Research volume overwhelmed advisors and obscured relevant opportunities.
- The system offered limited filtering and prioritization.
- Branch-level and client-level information lived in separate mental models.
- The redesign needed to support both a broad overview and deep analysis.
The work
Design process and solution
Ideation and prototyping
Moved from sketches into low-fidelity prototypes, testing and refining the core model with advisors and business partners.
Business View
Designed a branch-wide view of performance, research, and opportunities so advisors could understand the big picture and identify where to focus.
Client View
Created a connected client-level experience for portfolios, products, and relevant insight, allowing users to move from aggregate context into a specific opportunity.
Modular information
Introduced configurable modules that advisors could add, remove, or rearrange, with fast access to deeper tools when needed.
Outcome
A clearer operating model—not just a cleaner interface.
The redesigned platform consolidated research, client data, and products into a more actionable experience. Advisors could better anticipate client needs, work more efficiently, and respond to evolving fiduciary requirements without losing context.
ImpactAnonymous internal satisfaction increased from 2 to 8 on a 10-point scale
Supporting work
Project documents
The same supporting PDFs included in the original portfolio are available here.