{"id":1739,"date":"2024-09-18T14:09:33","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T18:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/?p=1739"},"modified":"2024-09-28T13:01:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-28T17:01:49","slug":"basic-incorporation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/basic-incorporation\/","title":{"rendered":"Government of Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Designing an Accessible Online Filing System for Small Business Entrepreneurs.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Many first-time business owners struggled to complete the complex, multi-step online form for filing articles of incorporation. High drop-off rates indicated a need for a more intuitive and accessible user experience to help users confidently navigate the legal requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Solution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Using a human-centered design approach, I redesigned the Online Filing Service to be simpler, more accessible, and easy to navigate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Streamlining the task flows, improving readability, and enhancing accessibility, increased user comprehension and built confidence among novice entrepreneurs<\/strong>, helping them successfully complete the incorporation process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Basic<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  • Increased completion rates by 20% within the first few months of launch.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Reduced time to complete the form by 50%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Achieved a 100% error-free task success rate during usability testing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
    Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Over the course of 6 months, I led UX design efforts as part of a multidisciplinary team, working closely with directors, business analysts, developers, and legal experts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Together, we iterated on designs through research and development sprints to deliver a high-performing, user-centered solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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    \"Prototype<\/figure>
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    Prototyping for Usability Testing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    I developed functional high-fidelity prototypes using Axure RP, which were crucial in our usability testing process. <\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    These prototypes allowed us to validate design choices and gather actionable feedback from users early in the process.<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    Research Insights: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Addressing User Drop-off<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    Our research revealed that nearly 90% of novice users were abandoning the process before completing the form. This insight became the foundation for redesigning the task flow and reducing user friction.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    97.9% of employers in Canada are small businesses, employing 68.8% of the private labor force.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \"Two<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    Building Empathy with Personas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    I leveraged personas from Corporations Canada to create stories that helped the team better empathize with our users. <\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    By understanding the motivations and challenges of users, we designed more meaningful and effective task flows.<\/pre>\n<\/div>
    \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    \"Customer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \"Customer<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    We designed the solution around two personas: “Joe,” a novice business owner, and “Norman,” a paralegal familiar with the task flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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    \"Cover<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \"Page<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    By reducing cognitive load \u2014 using fewer options per screen, familiar design patterns, and improved readability \u2014 we boosted user confidence and comprehension. <\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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    User feedback led us to introduce help icons for additional guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    To optimize task efficiency, I conducted a Keystroke-Level Model analysis to measure task times and validate findings through user observations. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    Based on insights, we implemented auto-fill features, reduced form steps, and improved visual hierarchy for better accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Deliverables included detailed reports and presentations, created using MS Word and PowerPoint, summarizing findings and key recommendations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    Key Responsibilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    As the Lead UX Designer, I drove the user-centric design process and led usability research efforts from concept to delivery.<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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    Facilitated Workshops<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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    • Led cross-functional workshops to define user criteria, personas, task flows, and early-stage sketches, ensuring alignment across stakeholders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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      \"Screenshot<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
      <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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      \"Usability<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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      Usability Testing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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      • Moderated in-person usability testing sessions, tracking key performance indicators such as errors, comments, and time to task completion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
        <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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        \"Flow<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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        Accessibility and Prototypes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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        • Created high-fidelity prototypes using Axure RP to test both usability and accessibility, ensuring compliance with design standards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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          Deliverables<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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          • Produced comprehensive presentations, diagrams, reports, and interactive prototypes to communicate design solutions and inform decision-making.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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            \"Slide<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
            <\/div>\n\n\n\n
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            Data-Driven Design <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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            • Analyzed testing data and presented insights on task completion rates, user satisfaction, and pathways taken, using heuristics to deliver actionable recommendations that optimized user flows, content structure, and UI elements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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              \"Keystroke<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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              Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
              Our team successfully delivered a streamlined, user-friendly online form that enables new Canadian entrepreneurs to quickly and confidently file articles of incorporation, even with limited legal experience.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
              Through user research, we identified pain points and implemented solutions, such as clearer task flows, clickable icons for help, and better grouping of information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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              These changes reduced the number of transactional pages by a third, cut cognitive load by 50%, and decreased clicks by 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
              \"Diagram<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
              As Lead UX Designer, I was proud to contribute to Corporations Canada\u2019s mission to support small businesses and drive economic growth by designing innovative, client-focused services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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              \"Screenshot<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
              \"Basic<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
              Delivered innovative multipage online form enabling entrepreneurs to quickly and easily file articles of incorporation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1740,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1739"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2841,"href":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1739\/revisions\/2841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patricklesage.ca\/portfolio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}