OneAmerica Case Study

OneAmerica Case Study
Designing OneAmerica’s First Mobile Application

"Note: Some details have been generalized to respect confidentiality."

Snapshot

Company: OneAmerica Financial Partners
Domain: Retirement / Investments (Regulated FinTech)
Platform: iOS/Android (Mobile MVP)
My Role: Solo UX Designer (supported by UX Director)
Team: UI Designer · PM · Developers · External vendors (Infosys, DXC)
Outcome: Shipped the first mobile MVP that enabled retirement users to view account details and complete key actions with clearer navigation and accessibility-aware design.

Overview

OneAmerica is a mutual insurance holding company providing retirement, life insurance, and employee benefits services. This initiative focused on Retirement Services customers who lacked a mobile experience and were forced to manage accounts through multi-step web portals.

My role was to lead UX strategy and execution for OneAmerica’s first mobile application—from discovery and task definition to wireflows, prototyping, testing, and implementation support.

Problem Statement

Unlike key competitors, OneAmerica had no mobile app for Retirement Services users. Customers had to rely on outdated web portals to view balances, manage allocations, and complete transactions—creating friction, limiting engagement, and raising accessibility and compliance challenges.

The business needed a modern, intuitive mobile MVP that balanced usability with regulated requirements.

Users & Audience

Primary users

Retirement account holders managing 401(k) and related accounts
Users who want quick visibility into investments and performance
Plan sponsors needing timely access to plan/account information

Key user context

Mobile users are often checking quickly (on breaks, commuting, between meetings). The app needed high clarity and fast scanning, especially for financial terminology.

MVP scope

Top MVP tasks

Sign in securely and land on an account overview
View balance, performance, and allocation at a glance
Review recent activity / transactions
Take a core action (e.g., change contribution/allocation, initiate a transaction)

Manage alerts/notifications for important account events

Project Goals

Launch OneAmerica’s first mobile MVP for public use

Reduce friction across core “check + act” user flows

Simplify account visibility and key actions through strong information hierarchy

Ensure ADA/accessibility awareness and stakeholder alignment in a regulated environment

My Responsibilities

As the only UX Designer on the project (supported by a UX Director), I:

Conducted market research and competitive analysis (Fidelity, Vanguard, Principal)
Created user journeys and wireflows across dashboards, transactions, and alerts
Designed low-fidelity → high-fidelity prototypes and facilitated usability testing
Delivered annotated designs and accessibility-aware specs for vendor implementation
Partnered in agile ceremonies (sprint planning, reviews) and supported QA on implemented designs

User Experience Process

1. Discovery & Research

Benchmarked competitor patterns to identify expected behaviors (navigation, account overview, quick actions)
Conducted internal interviews and aligned on MVP scope, constraints, and success signals

2. Ideation & Wireflows

Mapped end-to-end flows for: overview → drilldown → action → confirmation
Defined key states and edge cases (errors, empty states, lockouts, compliance copy needs)

3. Prototyping & Testing

Built interactive prototypes for core flows and tested comprehension, navigation clarity, and task completion
Iterated labels, hierarchy, and flow steps to reduce confusion and prevent risky mis-taps

4. Implementation Support

Produced annotated handoff specs and accessibility notes for vendors
Supported QA by validating that implemented UI matched approved UX intent

Key Design Decisions

1. “Account overview first” hierarchy

Prioritized the highest-frequency need: fast understanding of account health (balance, performance, allocation) with clear drilldowns.

2. Progressive disclosure for complex finance details

Kept the top-level view simple, with deeper details available without overwhelming first-time users.

3. Action safety and confirmation

Designed high-confidence CTAs and confirmation patterns to reduce errors in transactional flows.

4. Accessibility-aware patterns baked in early

Considered readability, focus states, and interaction clarity early to reduce late-stage rework in a regulated environment.

Results & Impact

Successfully launched OneAmerica’s first mobile app MVP
Improved clarity of navigation and key tasks through tested information hierarchy and flow simplification
Delivered accessible, annotated designs that supported vendor implementation and reduced handoff ambiguity

How we knew

Prototype testing and stakeholder reviews validated navigation clarity and reduced confusion before build
QA/design reviews ensured the final experience matched approved designs

Key Takeaways

Solo UX doesn’t mean working alone—cross-functional alignment drove speed and clarity
Regulated environments require early coordination with stakeholders and careful content decisions
Early prototyping/testing reduced rework and improved confidence before implementation

Prototyping And User Flows

Sometimes low fidelity can be mistaken for the final product.

I was able to complete and contribute to journey mapping, user flows, low fidelity designs and high fidelity prototyping. The breakdown to this was to:

Create User flows and wire-flows for interactive pieces and mapping out all possible paths. Wire-flows were used to give a visual aid on different paths of the application.
Create Low Fidelity Prototypes for quick design reviews. This is a great way to kick out screens and even functionality for the team.
Create Interactive High Fidelity Prototypes. This would help finalize designs and even be utilized for iterating through user testing for improvement of screens.
Lead and Validate ADA compliance was implemented while designing and developing the application. This included ADA Validation and Providing ADA annotations for vendors.
Utilize user testing for improving design and improving user experience make the app user friendly as well as intuitive. Testing screens and even testing flows.
Go through sprint planning to see what work will be done as well as meet with BA and UI Designer to walk through processes.