problem statement
How might we simplify the appointment onboarding experience, set clear user expectations, & improve accessibility to reduce drop-offs & drive higher booking completion rates?
Final iteration!
Let’s start from the beginning!
background on this project
Despite a 300% increase in site traffic, the appointment booking completion rate remained low. We focused on redesigning the onboarding booking experience to simplify steps, set clear expectations, and ensure accessibility to reduce drop-offs.
The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection asked us to redesign the Financial Empowerment Center's appointment portal to improve booking completion rate and user experience.
hypothesis
Redesigning the appointment flow into a clear, supportive onboarding journey—featuring step indicators, interactive loadings, and accessibility-focused design for older adults—will increase booking completion rates by reducing confusion and cognitive load.
our Project goal to achieve user needs
As is
To be
Older users had trouble scrolling all the way down
Unclear CTA
Delayed loading leading to cognitive fatigue
Progressive Disclosure
Microinteractions During Loading
Clear Progress Indicators
Understanding the users needs and painpoints
Stakeholder interviews, workshop & live poll
(8 interviews, facilitated workshop and 60+ responses from the poll)
Collected User surveys thorugh Googleforms
(15 user responses)
75% users make appointment through their mobile phones
20% of clients are older adults
52% responded that the pages loading was too slow and they were likely to drop off
37% are non-English speakers
Accessible Design
26% of Americans live with disability. Other portal's appointment completion rate went up to 77% from 42% upon implementing accessible design.
42%
Before
77%
After
Need intuitive and simple design that reduces drop offs
Mobile first approach
Implementation of Accessible design
Key Findings
User feedback revealed three recurring pain points. These insights underscored the need for a more guided, responsive, and accessible experience across all user groups.
Older users had trouble scrolling all the way down
“I didn’t even realize I had to scroll—I thought the list just wasn’t loading.”
Unclear CTA
“I didn’t know what to click to move forward"
Delayed loading leading to cognitive fatigue
“It was so slow that I thought the site was broken”
validating the designs with user testing
Moderated User Testing
We conducted moderated usability tests with 8+ users, including 50% aged 55+, to gather valuable insights. These insights informed thoughtful design iterations, ensuring the process was more intuitive, accessible, and user-centered.
Users were able to understand clear progress indication
Users wanted more clear visuals
Simplify ux writing to reduce confusion for non-english speakers
Accessible for elder users instead of endless scrolling
Users feels visually cluttered for users
Users are confused with “Map View” and “List View”
Users now understand that the page is loading
Users wanted more interactive elements that indicates loading.
final design based on the feedback!
Solution 1:
Clear progress indicator
Displays which step the user is on and how many steps remain, helping users stay oriented and reducing uncertainty during the booking flow.
Solution 2:
Interactive loading page
Designed an engaging loading screen that highlights the benefits of counseling while users wait, turning idle time into a moment of reassurance and value.
Solution 3:
Toggle “View Map” & “View List”
Added a toggle feature during location selection, allowing users to easily switch between map view and list view based on their preference or accessibility needs.
Design system & accessibility
As part of our design system and accessibility efforts, we followed the Bootstrap framework to ensure smooth developer handoff and maintain consistent UI patterns. We ensured WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all screens to support accessible interactions for users of varying abilities. Typography and button sizes were refined for better legibility, particularly on mobile devices and for older adults. Additionally, we optimized UX writing to deliver clear, concise messaging that resonates with diverse user groups, including non-native English speakers.
IMPAct / positive client feedback!
We received enthusiastic and positive feedback during the final presentation, which highlighted the design’s intuitive navigation, simplicity, and effectiveness in addressing previously overlooked challenges. The client was particularly impressed with our detail-oriented approach and efficient execution, expressing excitement about implementing the design. Our clients not only plan to implement our design solutions to the financial counseling scheduler but also intend to apply this approach to other scheduling processes across their entire services.
Lessons learnt
Designing for public-facing services requires more than clean UI—it demands trust, clarity, and cultural inclusivity. By reframing the booking flow as an onboarding experience, we helped reduce uncertainty and empowered diverse users to take action confidently.