Case Study: Transforming Form Creation and Processing at Fidelity Investments

Role

UX Lead and Workflow Designer

Timeline

2006–2008

Overview

Between 2006 and 2008, I led a large-scale initiative at Fidelity Investments to redesign how online and offline forms and applications were created, produced, and processed. The existing form ecosystem was slow, error-prone, and costly, creating friction for clients, advisors, and internal operations teams.

My mandate was to modernize the end-to-end workflow for form creation and processing while ensuring regulatory compliance, improving accuracy, and significantly reducing operational costs.

Problem

Fidelity’s form and application lifecycle suffered from several systemic issues:
• Form creation and approval cycles averaged 120 days
• High error rates led to 45% of submissions being NIGO (Not In Good Order)
• Manual processing and rework delayed account funding and client onboarding
• Frequent regulatory changes required costly and time-consuming form updates
• Printing, mailing, and handling created significant ongoing expenses

These issues negatively impacted advisor efficiency, client satisfaction, and business growth.

My Responsibilities

As the UX lead on this initiative, I was responsible for:
• Designing a new end-to-end workflow for form creation, publishing, and processing
• Leading cross-functional teams across the U.S., including compliance, legal, operations, engineering, and design
• Establishing user-centered standards for form usability and error prevention
• Driving alignment across online and offline experiences
• Overseeing research, testing, and validation with real users

Process & Approach

Research & Systems Analysis
I began by mapping the full lifecycle of forms, from initial request through advisor submission and back-office processing. This included:
• Interviews with advisors, clients, and data entry teams
• Analysis of common NIGO causes and processing bottlenecks
• Reviews of regulatory and compliance constraints

A key insight was that many forms were built as monolithic documents, making them difficult to update, reuse, or adapt to changing requirements.

Modular Form Design & Workflow Redesign

To address this, I led the effort to break forms down into reusable component elements. This approach allowed the organization to:
• Rapidly assemble new forms from pre-approved components
• Keep forms compliant longer with fewer full revisions
• Reduce duplication across product lines

The new workflow emphasized clarity, validation, and ease of completion, reducing errors at the source while accelerating downstream processing.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Validation

This was a large, distributed effort that required coordination across teams nationwide. I led:
• Cross-functional working sessions to align on requirements and constraints
• Usability testing to validate form clarity and completion success
• Iterative reviews with compliance and operations to ensure readiness

By focusing on the end-user experience while respecting regulatory realities, the team was able to move faster without increasing risk.

Outcome & Impact

The redesigned workflow and modular form system delivered significant, measurable results:
• Faster time to market
Form and application creation cycles were reduced from 120 days to 30 days, enabling the business to respond more quickly to market and regulatory changes.
• Substantial cost savings
• $3 million saved in the first year through reduced rework and faster processing
• $9 million in annual incremental savings from reduced printing, postage, and mailing costs
• Major reduction in errors
NIGO rates dropped from 45% to under 12%, dramatically improving processing efficiency and reducing delays in account funding.
• Revenue and asset growth
Improved form accuracy and faster processing contributed to an additional $25 million added to the family office, allowing advisors to serve clients more effectively and receive investment funds sooner.

Key Takeaways

• UX-led process redesign can drive massive financial impact
Focusing on usability, validation, and modular design resulted in over $12 million in annual operational savings and significant revenue growth.
• Reducing errors at the source scales better than fixing them downstream
Improving form clarity and structure reduced NIGO rates by more than 30 points, saving time, money, and client trust.
• Modular systems create long-term agility in regulated environments
Breaking forms into reusable components allowed Fidelity to remain compliant while dramatically reducing update and creation time.
• Cross-functional alignment is critical in enterprise transformation
Leading teams across compliance, operations, and technology ensured solutions were both usable and scalable.
• Better experiences lead to better business outcomes
Advisors were able to serve clients faster, funds moved more quickly, and the organization captured meaningful new value as a result.