Redesigning a complex purchase control experience to improve clarity, efficiency, and user satisfaction.
Project Overview
Role: Lead UX Designer | Team: 3 Designers, 1 PM, 4 Developers
Duration: 24 Weeks | Tools: Figma, Maze, UserTesting
Goal: Simplify the multi-step purchase control process to reduce friction and enhance card assignment clarity, while integrating new design elements and usability improvements.
The Challenge
WEX’s existing purchase control interface required users to navigate through 6 complex steps. Despite offering two card types (Fuel Only & Custom), there was no personalized experience, creating confusion. Users frequently skipped steps due to cumbersome navigation, and card assignments were disconnected from the controls, leaving many unsure of how purchase limits applied.
Key Problems Identified:
🚧 Complex Process – Six-step journey felt excessive for simple tasks.
🔄 Lack of Personalization – Same content for all users, leading to inefficiencies.
❌ Disconnected Controls – No clarity on which controls applied to which cards.
❓ Confusing CTAs – Terms like "Finish" left users uncertain about the completion stage.
🛒 Missed Upsell Opportunities – No contextual cross-sell or up-sell paths.
The Ideal Design – Testing Phase
We initiated testing of a reimagined design that focused on simplification and alignment with core user needs. The new flow streamlined the process into one intuitive step, incorporated visual card assignments, and introduced color and structural hierarchy for better navigation.
Key Improvements:
📍 1-Step Flow – Drastically reduced the time required to complete tasks.
🃏 Card Assignment Clarity – Users could see which controls applied to specific cards.
🎨 Visual Enhancements – New color elements for easier wayfinding.
🔑 Prioritized Features – Focus on 80% of user needs, aligning with transaction limits and notifications over custom complex settings.
🔔 Simplified Alerts – One-click notification setup when limits were hit.
Testing Insights
Testing with fleet decision-makers revealed overwhelmingly positive feedback. Users praised the simplicity and directness of the redesign.
✅ Ease of Navigation – The form felt simple and intuitive.
✅ Value in Control – Customizable features for specific cards were appreciated.
✅ Fraud Prevention – Users highlighted the redesign’s potential to mitigate fraudulent use.
Iterative Design – Compromise for Feasibility
While the ideal design performed well, development constraints led to a compromise between innovation and feasibility. We retained core improvements but adjusted some features to align with existing system capabilities.
Detailed Section Breakdown
🔹 Profile Section
Research: Emergency designations lacked meaningful action.
Design Solution: Removed the emergency tag, retaining only essential features.
Outcome: Tag retained temporarily with analytics added for future decisions.
🔹 Spend Categories
Research: Users struggled with unclear category labels.
Design Solution: Added descriptions under categories, aligned with Siebel terminology.
Outcome: Successfully eliminated redundant card type selections.
🔹 Purchase Schedule
Research: Desire for automated notifications for out-of-schedule transactions.
Design Solution: Added notifications directly to the flow.
Outcome: Users can still set daily limits individually to retain legacy functionality.
🔹 Global Limits
Research: Users valued limit options but needed clearer default settings.
Design Solution: Suggested pre-filled time frames with alert options.
Outcome: Users must still set limits manually for specific time frames.
🔹 Real-Time Alerts
Design Solution: Enabling real-time alert enrollment through the primary flow.
Outcome: Implementation expected to boost engagement.
Final Results & Takeaways
The redesign led to a simplified and user-focused purchase control system. While not all aspects of the ideal design could be implemented immediately, the project laid the foundation for future iterations, driving higher engagement and smoother user experiences.
🚀 User Testing Score: +35% increase in task completion.
📊 Engagement: Anticipated growth in real-time alert enrollment.
🔍 Future Considerations: Iterative analytics to further refine based on user behavior.
